The Meaning of 1 Corinthians 15:32 Explained

1 Corinthians 15:32

KJV: If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.

YLT: if after the manner of a man with wild beasts I fought in Ephesus, what the advantage to me if the dead do not rise? let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die!

Darby: If, to speak after the manner of man, I have fought with beasts in Ephesus, what is the profit to me if those that are dead do not rise? let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die.

ASV: If after the manner of men I fought with beasts at Ephesus, what doth it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

If  after the manner  of men  I have fought with beasts  at  Ephesus,  what  advantageth it  me,  if  the dead  rise  not?  let us eat  and  drink;  for  to morrow  we die. 

What does 1 Corinthians 15:32 Mean?

Verse Meaning

One example of facing death occurred in Ephesus where Paul was when he wrote this epistle. His fight with "wild beasts" was not with wild animals. This expression describes his conflict with very hostile human adversaries. The phrase kata anthropon ("from human motives" or "for ... human reasons," lit. according to man) identifies Paul"s words as figurative language. Furthermore Roman citizens did not participate in hand to hand combat with animals in the arenas. [1] Perhaps Demetrius and or Alexander were Paul"s antagonists ( Acts 19:24-41; 2 Timothy 4:14).
Paul quoted Isaiah 22:13 to prove his point (cf. Ecclesiastes 2:24; Ecclesiastes 9:7-10). If there is no resurrection we may as well live only for the present.

Context Summary

1 Corinthians 15:29-41 - This Body The Seed Of A Glorious One
The anticipation of the final resurrection enabled the early Christians to endure incredible sufferings. As one rank fell martyred, another was ready to step into its place; and the catechumens, or young believers, took the names of the martyrs, so as to perpetuate their testimony. With this hope in his heart Paul himself had confronted at Ephesus the tumult of the infuriated mob, Acts 19:1-41. Belief in this sublime undoing of the last effects of sin was one of the chief features in the conquering power of Christianity.
In every seed there is the germ of a new and beautiful growth, more elaborate and yet identical; so in each of us there is something which has the capacity and potentiality of furnishing another body, through which the emancipated spirit will be able to express itself more perfectly than it can in this body, which is composed of coarser materials. It is not difficult to believe in this, when we have seen the caterpillar become the butterfly. The world is full of wonderful and beautiful things. God's inventiveness reveals itself in a myriad differing organisms. It is by His will that the golden head of wheat is fairer than the little brown seed cast into the furrow; so it is His pleasure that the body which is to be shall surpass the present in glory. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Corinthians 15

1  By Christ's resurrection,
12  he proves the necessity of our resurrection,
16  against all such as deny the resurrection of the body
21  The fruit,
35  and the manner thereof;
51  and of the resurrection of those who shall be found alive at the last day

Greek Commentary for 1 Corinthians 15:32

After the manner of men [κατα αντρωπον]
Like men, for applause, money, etc. (1 Corinthians 4:9.; Philemon 3:7). [source]
If I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus [ει ετηριομαχησα εν Επεσωι]
Late verb from τηριομαχος — thēriomachos a fighter with wild beasts. Found in inscriptions and in Ignatius. Those who argue for an Ephesian imprisonment for Paul and Ephesus as the place where he wrote the imprisonment epistles (see Duncan‘s book just mentioned) take the verb literally. There is in the ruins of Ephesus now a place called St. Paul‘s Prison. But Paul was a Roman citizen and it was unlawful to make such a one be a τηριομαχος — thēriomachos If he were cast to the lions unlawfully, he could have prevented it by claiming his citizenship. Besides, shortly after this Paul wrote II Corinthians, but he does not mention so unusual a peril in the list in 2 Corinthians 11:23. The incident, whatever it was, whether literal or figurative language, took place before Paul wrote I Corinthians. What doth it profit me? (τι μοι το οπελοσ — ti moi to opheloṡ). What the profit to me? Let us eat and drink Volitive second aorist subjunctives of εστιω — esthiō and πινω — pinō Cited from Isaiah 22:13. It is the outcry of the people of Jerusalem during the siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians. At Anchiale near Tarsus is a statue of Sardanapalus with the inscription: “Eat, drink, enjoy thyself. The rest is nothing.” This was the motto of the Epicureans. Paul is not giving his own view, but that of people who deny the resurrection. [source]
What doth it profit me? [τι μοι το οπελοσ]
What the profit to me? [source]
Let us eat and drink [παγωμεν και πιωμεν]
Volitive second aorist subjunctives of εστιω — esthiō and πινω — pinō Cited from Isaiah 22:13. It is the outcry of the people of Jerusalem during the siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians. At Anchiale near Tarsus is a statue of Sardanapalus with the inscription: “Eat, drink, enjoy thyself. The rest is nothing.” This was the motto of the Epicureans. Paul is not giving his own view, but that of people who deny the resurrection. [source]
After the manner of men [κατὰ ἄνθρωπον]
As men ordinarily do, for temporal reward; and not under the influence of any higher principle or hope. [source]
I have fought with beasts [ἐθηριομάχησα]
Only here in the New Testament. Figuratively. Paul, as a Roman citizen, would not have been set to fight with beasts in the arena; and such an incident would not have been likely to be passed over by Luke in the Acts. Compare similar metaphors in 1 Corinthians 4:9, 2 Timothy 4:17; Titus 1:12; Psalm 22:12, Psalm 22:13, Psalm 22:20, Psalm 22:21. Some, however, think it is to be taken literally. They refer to the presence at Ephesus of the Asiarchs (Acts 19:31), who had charge of the public games, as indicating that the tumult took place at the season of the celebration of the games in honor of Diana; to the fact that the young men at Ephesus were famous for their bull-fights; and to the words at Ephesus as indicating a particular incident. On the assumption that he speaks figuratively, the natural reference is to his experience with the ferocious mob at Ephesus. There was a legend that Paul was thrown, first of all, to a lion; then to other beasts, but was left untouched by them all. In the Epistle of Ignatius to the Romans occur these words: “From Syria even unto Rome, I fight with beasts, both by land and sea, both night and day, being bound to ten leopards. I mean a band of soldiers, who, even when they receive benefits, show themselves all the worse” (5). Compare Epistle to Tralles, 10: “Why do I pray that I may fight with wild beasts?” So in the Epistle to Smyrna he says: “I would put you on your guard against these monsters in human shape ” ( θηρίων τῶν ἀνθρωπομόρφων ); and in the Antiochene “Acts of Martyrdom” it is said: “He (Ignatius) was seized by a beastly soldiery, to be led away to Rome as a prey for carnivorous beasts” (ii.). [source]
Let us eat and drink, etc. []
Cited, after the Septuagint, from Isaiah 22:13. It is the exclamation of the people of Jerusalem during the siege by the Assyrians. The traditional founder of Tarsus was Sardanapalus, who was worshipped, along with Semiramis, with licentious rites which resembled those of the Feast of Tabernacles. Paul had probably witnessed this festival, and had seen, at the neighboring town of Anchiale, the statue of Sardanapalus, represented as snapping his fingers, and with the inscription upon the pedestal, “Eat, drink, enjoy thyself. The rest is nothing.” Farrar cites the fable of the Epicurean fly, dying in the honey-pot with the words, “I have eaten and drunk and bathed, and I care nothing if I die.” Among the inscriptions from the catacombs, preserved in the Vatican are these: “To the divine shade of Titus, who lived fifty-seven years. Here he enjoys everything. Baths and wine ruin our constitutions, but they make life what it is. Farewell, farewell.” “While I lived I lived well. My play is now ended - soon yours will be. Farewell and applaud me.” Compare Wisdom of Solomon, 2:1-9. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for 1 Corinthians 15:32

Acts 19:23 Concerning the Way [περι της οδου]
See this phrase for Christianity in Acts 9:2; Acts 19:9; Acts 24:22 which see, like the “Jesus Way” of the Indians. There had already been opposition and “stir” before this stage (cf. Acts 19:11-20). The fight with wild beasts in 1 Corinthians 15:32 (whatever it was) was before that Epistle was written and so before this new uproar. Paul as a Roman citizen could not be thrown to wild beasts, but he so pictured the violent opponents of Christ in Ephesus. [source]
Acts 17:28 As certain even of your own poets [hōs kai tines tōn kath' humās poiētōn)]
“As also some of the poets among you.” Aratus of Soli in Cilicia (ab. b.c. 270) has these very words in his Ta Phainomena and Cleanthes, Stoic philosopher (300-220 b.c.) in his Hymn to Zeus has Ek sou gar genos esōmen In 1 Corinthians 15:32 Paul quotes from Menander and in Titus 1:12 from Epimenides. J. Rendel Harris claims that he finds allusions in Paul‘s Epistles to Pindar, Aristophanes, and other Greek writers. There is no reason in the world why Paul should not have acquaintance with Greek literature, though one need not strain a point to prove it. Paul, of course, knew that the words were written of Zeus (Jupiter), not of Jehovah, but he applies the idea in them to his point just made that all men are the offspring of God. [source]
1 Corinthians 9:24 In a race [ἐν σταδίῳ]
Or, better, in a race-course. From ἵστημι toplace or establish. Hence a stated distance; a standard of length. In all other New-Testament passages it is used of a measure of length, and is rendered furlong, representing 606.75 English feet. From the fact that the race-courses were usually of exactly this length, the word was applied to the race-course itself. The position chosen for the stadium was usually on the side of a hill, which would furnish a natural slope for seats; a corresponding elevation on the opposite side, being formed by a mound of earth, and the seats being supported upon arches. The stadium was oblong in shape, and semicircular at one end; though, after the Roman conquest of Greece, both ends were often made semicircular. A straight wall shut in the area at one end, and here were the entrances and the starting-place for the runners. At the other end was the goal, which, like the starting-point, was marked by a square pillar. Half-way between these was a third pillar. On the first pillar was inscribed excel; on the second, hasten; on the third, turn, since the racers turned round the column to go back to the starting-point. The isthmus of Corinth was the scene of the Isthmian games, one of the four great national festivals of the Greeks. The celebration was a season of great rejoicing and feasting. The contests included horse, foot, and chariot-racing; wrestling, boxing, musical and poetical trials, and later, fights of animals. The victor's prize was a garland of pine leaves, and his victory was generally celebrated in triumphal odes called epinikia of which specimens remain among the poems of Pindar. At the period of Paul's epistles the games were still celebrated, and the apostle himself may very probably have been present. At the same time, he would have been familiar with similar scenes in Tarsus, in all the great cities of Asia Minor, especially Ephesus, and even in Jerusalem. Metaphors and allusions founded upon such spectacles abound in Paul's writings. Racers, 1 Corinthians 9:24; boxers, 1 Corinthians 9:26, 1 Corinthians 9:27; gladiators fighting with beasts, 1 Corinthians 15:32; the judge awarding the prize, 2 Timothy 4:8; the goal and the prize, 1 Corinthians 9:24; Philemon 3:14; the chaplet, 1 Corinthians 9:25; 2 Timothy 2:5; 2 Timothy 4:8, the training for the contest, 1 Timothy 4:7, 1 Timothy 4:8; the rules governing it, 2 Timothy 2:5; the chariot-race, Philemon 3:14. These images never occur in the gospels. See on of life, Revelation 2:10. [source]
1 Corinthians 4:9 Appointed to death [ἐπιθανατίους]
Rev., doomed. Only here in the New Testament. Probably an allusion to the practice of exposing condemned criminals in the amphitheatre to fight with beasts or with one another as gladiators. The gladiators, on entering the arena, saluted the presiding officer with the words Nos morituri salutamus, We who are to die greet you. Tertullian paraphrases this passage, God hath chosen us apostles last as beast-fighters. “The vast range of an amphitheatre under the open sky, well represents the magnificent vision of all created things, from men up to angels, gazing on the dreadful death-struggle; and then the contrast of the selfish Corinthians sitting by unconcerned and unmoved by the awful spectacle” (Stanley). For a similar image of spectators watching the contest in the arena, see Hebrews 12:1. Compare also 1 Corinthians 15:32. [source]
1 Corinthians 16:9 And there are many adversaries [και αντικειμενοι πολλοι]
“And many are lying opposed to me,” lined up against me. These Paul mentions as a reason for staying in, not for leaving, Ephesus. Read Acts 19 and see the opposition from Jews and Gentiles with the explosion under the lead of Demetrius. And yet Paul suddenly leaves. He hints of much of which we should like to know more (1 Corinthians 15:32; 2 Corinthians 1:8.). [source]
1 Corinthians 4:9 Hath set forth us the apostles last [ημας τους αποστολους εσχατους απεδειχεν]
The first aorist active indicative of αποδεικνυμι — apodeiknumi old verb to show, to expose to view or exhibit (Herodotus), in technical sense (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:4) for gladiatorial show as in ετηριομαχησα — ethēriomachēsa (1 Corinthians 15:32). In this grand pageant Paul and other apostles come last (εσχατους — eschatous predicate accusative after απεδειχεν — apedeixen) as a grand finale. [source]
1 Corinthians 9:8 Do I speak these things after the manner of men? [Μη κατα αντρωπον ταυτα λαλω]
Negative answer expected. Paul uses κατα αντρωπον — kata anthrōpon six times (1 Corinthians 3:3; 1 Corinthians 9:8; 1 Corinthians 15:32; Galatians 1:11; Galatians 3:15; Romans 3:5). The illustrations from human life are pertinent, but he has some of a higher order, from Scripture. [source]
1 Corinthians 4:13 As the filth of the world [ως περικαταρματα του κοσμου]
Literally, sweepings, rinsings, cleansings around, dust from the floor, from περικαταιρω — perikathairō to cleanse all around (Plato and Aristotle) and so the refuse thrown off in cleansing. Here only in the N.T. and only twice elsewhere. Καταρμα — Katharma was the refuse of a sacrifice. In Proverbs 21:18 περικαταρμα — perikatharma occurs for the scapegoat. The other example is Epictetus iii. 22, 78, in the same sense of an expiatory offering of a worthless fellow. It was the custom in Athens during a plague to throw to the sea some wretch in the hope of appeasing the gods. One hesitates to take it so here in Paul, though Findlay thinks that possibly in Ephesus Paul may have heard some such cry like that in the later martyrdoms Christiani ad leones. At any rate in 1 Corinthians 15:32 Paul says “I fought with wild beasts” and in 2 Corinthians 1:9 “I had the answer of death.” Some terrible experience may be alluded to here. The word shows the contempt of the Ephesian populace for Paul as is shown in Acts 19:23-41 under the influence of Demetrius and the craftsmen. The offscouring of all things (παντων περιπσημα — pantōn peripsēma). Late word, here only in N.T., though in Tob. 5:18. The word was used in a formula at Athens when victims were flung into the sea, περιπσημα ημων γενου — peripsēma hēmōn genou (Became a περιπσημα — peripsēma for us), in the sense of expiation. The word merely means scraping around from περιπσαω — peripsaō offscrapings or refuse. That is probably the idea here as in Tob. 5:18. It came to have a complimentary sense for the Christians who in a plague gave their lives for the sick. But it is a bold figure here with Paul of a piece with περικαταρματα — perikatharmata f0). [source]
2 Corinthians 7:5 Without were fightings [εχωτεν μαχαι]
Asyndeton and no copula, a parenthesis also in structure. Perhaps pagan adversaries in Macedonia (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:32). Within were fears (εσωτεν ποβοι — esōthen phoboi). Same construction. “Mental perturbations” (Augustine) as in 2 Corinthians 11:28. [source]
2 Corinthians 7:5 Had no relief [ουδεμιαν εσχηκεν ανεσιν]
Perfect active indicative precisely as in 2 Corinthians 2:13 which see, “has had no relief” (dramatic perfect). Afflicted (τλιβομενοι — thlibomenoi). Present passive participle of τλιβω — thlibō as in 2 Corinthians 4:8, but with anacoluthon, for the nominative case agrees not with the genitive ημων — hēmōn nor with the accusative ημας — hēmas in 2 Corinthians 7:6. It is used as if a principal verb as in 2 Corinthians 9:11; 2 Corinthians 11:6; Romans 12:16 (Moulton, Prolegomena, p. 182; Robertson, Grammar, pp. 1132-35). Without were fightings Asyndeton and no copula, a parenthesis also in structure. Perhaps pagan adversaries in Macedonia (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:32). Within were fears (εσωτεν ποβοι — esōthen phoboi). Same construction. “Mental perturbations” (Augustine) as in 2 Corinthians 11:28. [source]
Galatians 3:15 After the manner of men [κατὰ ἄνθρωπον]
According to human analogy; reasoning as men would reason in ordinary affairs. The phrase is peculiar to Paul. See Romans 3:5; 1 Corinthians 3:3; 1 Corinthians 9:8; 1 Corinthians 15:32; Galatians 1:11. Comp. ἀνθρώπινος asa man, Romans 6:19. [source]
Galatians 1:11 After man [κατὰ ἄνθρωπον]
According to any human standard. The phrase only in Paul. See Romans 3:5; 1 Corinthians 3:3; 1 Corinthians 9:8; 1 Corinthians 15:32. Κατὰ ἀνθρώπους accordingto men, 1 Peter 4:6. [source]
Galatians 1:11 It is not after man [ουκ εστιν κατα αντρωπον]
Not after a human standard and so he does not try to conform to the human ideal. Paul alone (1 Corinthians 3:3; 1 Corinthians 9:8; 1 Corinthians 15:32; Romans 3:15) in the N.T. uses this old and common idiom. [source]
2 Timothy 4:17 Out of the mouth of the lion [ἐκ στόματος λέοντος]
Figurative expression for danger of death. Comp. 1 Corinthians 15:32. As usual, all manner of special references have been imagined: the lions of the amphitheatre; Nero; the chief accuser; the Jews; the Devil. [source]
James 2:14 What doth it profit? [τί τὸ ὄφελος]
Lit., what is the profit? Ὄφελος , profit, only here, James 2:16, and 1 Corinthians 15:32. [source]
James 2:14 What doth it profit? [τι οπελοσ]
Rhetorical question, almost of impatience. Old word from οπελλω — ophellō to increase, in N.T. only here, James 2:16; 1 Corinthians 15:32. “Τι οπελος — Ti ophelos was a common expression in the vivacious style of a moral diatribe” (Ropes). [source]

What do the individual words in 1 Corinthians 15:32 mean?

If according to man I fought wild beasts in Ephesus what to me the profit [the] dead not are raised Let us eat and let us drink tomorrow for we die
εἰ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον ἐθηριομάχησα ἐν Ἐφέσῳ τί μοι τὸ ὄφελος νεκροὶ οὐκ ἐγείρονται Φάγωμεν καὶ πίωμεν αὔριον γὰρ ἀποθνήσκομεν

κατὰ  according  to 
Parse: Preposition
Root: κατά 
Sense: down from, through out.
ἄνθρωπον  man 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: ἄνθρωπος  
Sense: a human being, whether male or female.
ἐθηριομάχησα  I  fought  wild  beasts 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: θηριομαχέω  
Sense: to fight with wild beasts.
Ἐφέσῳ  Ephesus 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: Ἔφεσος  
Sense: a maritime city of Asia Minor, capital of Ionia and under the Romans, of proconsular Asia, situated on the Icarian Sea between Smyrna and Miletus.
μοι  to  me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
ὄφελος  profit 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root: ὄφελος  
Sense: advantage, profit.
νεκροὶ  [the]  dead 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: νεκρός  
Sense: properly.
ἐγείρονται  are  raised 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ἐγείρω  
Sense: to arouse, cause to rise.
Φάγωμεν  Let  us  eat 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 1st Person Plural
Root: ἐσθίω  
Sense: to eat.
πίωμεν  let  us  drink 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Active, 1st Person Plural
Root: πίνω  
Sense: to drink.
αὔριον  tomorrow 
Parse: Adverb
Root: αὔριον  
Sense: tomorrow.
ἀποθνήσκομεν  we  die 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Plural
Root: ἀποθνῄσκω  
Sense: to die.