PAUL AND THE RHETORIC OF REVERSAL: KERYGMATIC ...

implied in chapter 16. 168 It is worth considering, however, whether Paul may have had a
rhetorical reason in chapter 1 for singling out the people he baptised and for separating the
mention of Stephanas. Baptism is mentioned six times in this crucial section that
introduces the issue of divisions (1:10-17); and nowhere else in the main body of the letter
are people from Corinth named – not even the man who has publicly committed sexual
immorality in chapter 5. These facts may hint that there was something about this issue of
baptism, and the particular people Paul first names, that was known both to Paul and the
Corinthians in relation to the divisions, but which is now obscure. It may be, for example,
that Paul wanted to separate the mention of Stephanas (a local leader whom he commends
in chapter 16) from any hint of the squabbling over baptism. Of course, this cannot be
insisted upon; but the fact that it can neither be emphatically denied again illustrates
Merklein’s point that there will necessarily be obscurities and apparent incongruities in
dealing with a letter text, which carries pragmatic coherence between author and primary
audience.
Apparent Editorial Interpolations
Redaction Criticism is often accompanied by the suggestion of editorial interpolations that
aim to improve overall coherence, and to sharpen the letter’s application to the redactional
situation. It has already been noted that Sellin is unconvinced by most of the suggestions
of editorial interpolations in 1 Corinthians, although he does, for example, think that 1:2c
is given away as an interpolation by a catholicising tendency. 169
Such assertions of interpolation, without manuscript evidence, are hard to evaluate,
particularly because they require an accessible redactional situation that makes better
sense of them than their literary context. I remain unconvinced that it can be argued with
sufficient certainty that original circumstances could not have supplied adequate reason
for – specifically – reminders of catholicity. Indeed, such reminders do not appear at all
out of place in a letter that argues vigorously against proud autonomy.
168 Schenk, “Der 1 Korintherbrief als Briefsammlung,” 223.
169 Sellin, “Hauptprobleme,” 2983.
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