1 Corinthians and Passover

Observance of Passover		1 Corinthians
13^th Nisan	Search for leaven	5.7	Purge out the old leaven
14^th Nisan	Burn leaven in morning (ca. 10 am) Slaughtering of Pesach sacrifice (lamb or goat) at Temple in three sessions, ca. 3-5 p.m.	5.7 5.7b	Purge out the old leaven For indeed our Passover has been sacrificed, [namely] Christ
15^th Nisan	(First Day of Passover)	(7.10-16, esp. 14: For the unbelieving [spouse] … is sanctified in the [believing partner] …, else were your children unclean, but now they are holy. - This may well have to do with ritual purity by avoiding defiling contact with the unclean, which, according to John 18.28, would prevent them from sharing in eating the Passover.)
	The Passover Seder (Supper) [1]
	1. hors d’oeuvre. The head of the household over the first cup pronounces the blessing for the day and a blessing or the wine, which is then drunk by him and the others present. The first blessing is the kiddush, the second in the traditional form, ‘Blessed art thou who createst the fruit of the vine’. [2] Then are eaten green herbs, bitter herbs, and Haroseth, a sauce consisting of fruits, spices and vinegar into which the bitter herbs are dipped.
	2. Haggadah (means ‘narration’). When the food (unleavened bread, the roast lamb, wine, bitter herbs, etc.) for the meal proper is brought in, the son in a household asks his father why this night differs from other nights in several respects, particularly in that all the.bread is unleavened. The reply is that the Passover lamb is eaten ‘because God passed over the houses of our fathers in Egypt’ (Exod.12.26 f.); unleavened bread ‘because our fathers were redeemed from Egypt’ (cf. Exod. 12.39);bitter herbs ‘because the Egyptians embittered the lives of our fathers in Egypt’ (cf. Exod. 1.14). Everyone must regard himself as if he had come out of Egypt (cf. Exod. 13.8). [3]	The Passover Narrative (Haggadah) had two alternative beginnings: (1) The Passover and departure from Egypt;(2) Our Fathers formerly worshipped idols, i.e., concerned with Abraham’s supposed turning from idolatry. Both of these appear to be echoed in 1 Corinthians, each time introduced by the solemn phrase, ‘I would not have you be unknowing, brethren, …’ (1) 10.1 ff.: ‘how that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea ….’ (2) 12.1 f.: ‘You know that when you were Gentiles, you were led up to dumb idols.’
	3. The singing of the first part of the Hallel [4] (according to the school of Shammai, Ps. 113;according to the school of Hillel, Pss. 113 and 114).
	4. The drinking of a second cup of wine.
	5. The president takes unleavened bread, blesses God in the words, ‘Blessed art thou who who bringest forth bread from the earth’, and breaks it in pieces	5.8: 11.23 f.:	Let us keep the feast … with the unleavened bread …. … the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed, took bread, gave thanks and broke it.
	6. The meal proper.
	7. At the conclusion the president offers a prayer of thanksgiving for the meal over a third cup, ‘the cup of blessing’.	11.25: 10.16:	In like manner also the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood …’ ‘the cup of blessing which we bless ….’
16^th Nisan	Offering of a sheaf of the new barley, the ‘firstfruits’ of the harvest as a wave-offering. [‘Firstfruits’ as meaning not only the first part but also the best part of the beginning of the harvest.]	15.22-13:	For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order, Christ the firstfruits (ἀπαρχή); then they that are Christ’s at his Coming/Presence (παρουσία)

[1] This probable order of the Seder in Jesus’ time is taken verbatim from A. J. B. Higgins, The Lord’s Supper in the New Testament (SBT 6; SCM Press, London, 1952), pp. 45-47.
[2] Mishnah, Berakoth 6.1. This is the order observed by the school of Shammai. The rival school of Hillel reversed the order of the blessings, Mishnah, Pesahim 10.2.
[3] Mishnah, Pesahim 10.4, 5.
[4] ‘Hallel’means ‘Praise’; the Hallel is Pss. 113-118, used on Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, Dedication and New Moons.

The Four Types of Sons in 1 Corinthians 10:
The Torah in four passages requires the father to tell his son about the Passover. These were taken to refer to four different kinds of sons. It was then extended to sons in general in their attitude to the Torah.

10.1-5:	The son who is too simple to ask (cf. Exod. 13.8: ‘And thou shalt tell…): ‘For I do not want you to be unknowing, brothers’
10.6-11:	Addressed to the tam or derek ’erets, the simple upright man, giving a simple explanation leading to upright behaviour (cf. Exod. 13.14: ‘What is this?’): ‘Now these things are warnings for us’
10.12-14:	Addressed to the scoffing son (cf. Exod. 12.26: ‘What is this service to you?’): ‘Therefore let any one who thinks that he stands [i.e. in his own strength] take heed lest he fall.’
10.12-14:	Addressed to the wise son (cf. Deut. 6.20: ‘What mean … commanded you?’): ‘I speak as to sensible persons (φρόνιμοι – sensible, thoughtful, prudent, wise).’