The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. (1 Cor 15:47 NRSV)
Commenting on the Rabbinic background to 1 Cor 15:47, Robin Scroggs writes:
Verses 47f. are parallel in a similar way. ‘The first man is from the earth; the second man is from heaven. As is the man of dust, so are those of dust; and as is the man of heaven so are those of heaven’ (translation mine). The two races of men have the same nature as the originators of the races. The whole context indicates furthermore that those scholars are correct who understand the phrase in verse 47, ‘the second man from heaven’ (ο δευτερος ανθρωπος εξ ουρανου), to refer not to the heavenly origin of Christ, nor to the second coming, but to the nature of his resurrected body. The rabbis described physical and spiritual existence in somewhat similar ways. Angels have natures ‘from above’, מלמעלה. Animals have natures ‘from below’, מלמטן. In the resurrection man will become like the angels, of a nature ‘from above’, although מלמעלה is not ordinarily used, as far as I know, to describe eschatological nature. Paul’s statements are so similar here that he may very well have had rabbinic theology in mind. (Robin Scroggs, The Last Adam: A Study in Pauline Anthropology [Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1966], 88; emphasis in original)
