Paul’s reception of the Deuteronomic matrix is further
expressed immediately following 1 Cor 8:4 with reference to the Shema
(Deut 6:4) in 1 Cor 8:5–6. Even within the context of the monolatrous central
confession of ancient Israel, Paul asserts the reality of the existence of the
other gods as in the Deuteronomic vision of the cosmos (see above) in 1 Cor
8:5b, “as indeed there are many gods and many lords” (ὥσπερ εἰσὶν θεοὶ πολλοὶ
καὶ κύριοι πολλοί) (cf. Deut 10:17) (David A. Burnett, "A
Neglected Deuteronomic Scriptural Matrix for the Nature of the Resurrection
Body in 1 Corinthians 15:39-42," in Scripture, Texts, and Tracing
in 1 Corinthians, ed. Linda L. Belleville and B. J. Oropeza [The Scripture
and Paul Series; Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2019], 197)
