. . . an array of biblical and Hellenistic writers make vacillating and somewhat contradictory claims about the precise status of other gods, but they emphatically maintain that those gods are powerless and insignificant relative to the supreme God. Paul’s changing arguments in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10 are actually quite consistent with this basic picture of the divine world. In this light, consider Paul’s claims in chapter 8: “An idol has no real existence (ουδεν ειδωλον εν κοσμω) and there is no God except the one God (ουδεις θεος ει μη εις)” (8:4). While these claims appear straightforward, he then turns to address a more pluralistic reality: “There are those called gods and lords in heaven and earth (και γαρ ειπερ εισιν λεγομενοι θεοι ειτε εν ουρανω ειτε επι γης), so in that sense there are many gods and lords (ωσπερ εισιν θεοι πολλοι και κυριοι πολλοι)” (8:5). Whereas outsiders imagine a more crowded cosmology, Paul distinguishes the singular, true beliefs that are supposedly held by his compatriots. So 8:6 goes on to emphasize: “For us, by contrast, there is one God, the father, from whom are all things, and for whom we are, and one lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we are (αλλ’ ημιν εις θεος ο πατηρ εξ ου τα παντα και ημεις εις αυτον και εις κυριος ‘Ιησους Χριστος δι’ ου τα παντα και ημεις δι’ αυτου).” While others may have so-called gods and lords, the Christ-followers have access to the true divine powers that reign supreme over all.
In the context of 1 Corinthians 8, then, Paul introduces other gods and then strategically ignores them. Though “idols” may be “nothing,” this need not imply that such gods are powerful and effective. So Paul writes: “Food will not better our standing before god. We are no better off if we don’t eat, or if we do (βρωμα δε ημας ου παραστησει τω θεω ουτε εαν μη φαγωμεν υστερουμεθα, ουτε εαν φαγωμεν περισσευομεν)” (8:8) . . . Paul’s claims about daimonian in chapter 10 fit particularly well with polemical traditions that avoid attributing power, efficacy, or malevolence to gentile gods (E.g., Jub. 1:8, 7:27, 10:1-13, 11:4-5, 22:16-18; cf. 1:19-21; Deut 4:28; Ps 115:4-8; Isa 44:9-20; Wis 15:15-19). Of course, the powerlessness of gentile gods is a central premise of parodies that identify them with statuary. This premise is also implied in many polemical discourses that classify these gods as lesser deities and operatives of the true divine creator and king. For instance, other gods often come on and off the scene very quickly, such as in the LXX version of Psalm 96: “All the gods of the nations are daimonian but Yahweh made the heavens” (95:5 [96:5]). In this brief encounter, other gods have diminutive powers, but it remains unclear whether they are capable of malevolent design or even independent action. (Emma Wasserman, Apocalypse as Holy War: Divine Politics and Polemics in the Letters of Paul [New Haven: Yale University Press, 2018], 156, 157-58)
