So-Called ‘Gods’: First
Corinthians 8:5
καὶ γὰρ εἴπερ εἰσὶν λεγόμενοι θεοὶ
εἴτε ἐν οὐρανῷ εἴτε ἐπὶ γῆς, ὥσπερ εἰσὶν θεοὶ πολλοὶ καὶ κύριοι πολλοί
Markers of direct reference,
including quotation marks and ‘so-called’, function as common cues of sarcasm
in English. For example, one might complain about the ‘so-called “service”’ at
a restaurant. Such markers, however, do not appear to play a significant role
in ancient-Greek sarcasm.80 This fact makes the identification of sarcasm more
difficult in 1 Cor 8:5, where Paul refers to ‘so-called gods’ (legomenoi
theoi, λεγόμενοι θεοί). Ultimately, determining whether this designation is
sarcastic is a question of Paul’s world view: what does Paul believe about the
existence of the gods referred to? This question is debated and too large to
resolve here. Instead, I will briefly lay out three options for understanding
Paul’s reference to so-called gods depending on how one reconstructs his world
view.
First, if Paul is a monotheist,
he is being sarcastic. In this case Paul would be using legomenoi theoi
in 8:5 to imply that such ‘so-called “gods”’ do not actually exist. Although legomenos
(λεγόμενος) often indicates that something is called something else without
implying evaluation,81 this is less likely in 8:5. If Paul does not consider
other gods to exist, he is not merely stating that others call them gods,
especially in 8:5b which lacks legomenos and where the tone of Paul’s
sarcastic concession is therefore most clear: ‘Just as indeed there are many
“gods” and many “lords!”’ (ὥσπερ εἰσὶν θεοὶ πολλοὶ καὶ κύριοι πολλοί, 8:5b).
Also speaking in favour of a sarcastic reading are Paul’s emphatic double use
of the particle ‑per (‑περ, Chapter 3, §3.1.2.3),
and the contrast between 8:5 and 8:6 (cf. Chapter 3, §3.1.1.4).
Translations that take this
position would do well to put ‘gods’ in inverted commas, including the
references to ‘many “gods”’ and ‘many “lords”’ in 8:5b (θεοὶ πολλοί καὶ κύριοι
πολλοί). I suggest the following translation for bringing out the tone of
Paul’s sarcasm: ‘So what if there are many so-called “gods” in heaven and
earth, just like of course there are many “gods” and many “lords”, for
us. . .’
Second, if Paul believes in the
existence of the gods to which he refers, he may be expressing an unironic
concession. Fredriksen argues that, despite his exclusive commitment to Israel’s
God, Paul would have accepted the existence of other gods, considering them daimonia
(δαιμόνια). If this reconstruction is correct, Paul would be conceding the
existence of other deities in 8:5 before reiterating an exclusive commitment to
the God of Israel in 8:6: ‘For even if there are many beings known as gods in
heaven and earth, just as there are many gods and many lords, for us. . .’
Third, Paul may still be engaging
in sarcasm if he accepts the existence of the gods in question. On this
reading, Paul’s implied evaluation would disparage other gods rather than deny
their existence, highlighting that these ‘so-called “gods”’ compare unfavourably
with Paul’s God. This reading would represent another example of
non-counterfactual sarcasm (cf. Chapter 1, §1.2.2, Chapter 5, §§5.3.1, 5.3.2).
Without space to resolve the issue of
monotheism in early Judaism, I will leave both reconstructions of Paul’s world
view open, as well as the possibility of sarcastic and non-sarcastic readings
in the case of polytheism. If Paul is being sarcastic, he is so in a passing
fashion as we observed in 2:1, 4, dismissing offhand the existence of other
gods (or their rank vis-à-vis his own god) as he carries forward his
broader argument about the consumption of idol food. (Matthew Pawlak, Sarcasm
in Paul’s Letters [Society for New Testament Monograph Series 182; Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2023], 185-87)
