I Corinthians 5:1 · Bible study
1 Corinthians 5:1 Commentary: Incest, Shame, and Church Discipline
Greek · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why Paul calls Corinth's incest scandal worse than pagan tolerance, and what that means for the church's responsibility to address sin openly.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Paul publicly names an incestuous relationship in the Corinthian church, arguing that it exceeds even pagan moral limits and demanding church action.
- Key words: Ὅλως (actually/absolutely), πορνεία (sexual immorality, here incest), γυναῖκα … τοῦ πατρὸς (his father's wife/stepmother).
- Main debate: Whether the father was still alive (most commentators) or deceased (Clarke), and whether the relationship was marriage or concubinage.
- Theological theme: The church's holiness reflects Christ's lordship; discipline protects both the sinner and the community's witness.
- Best use: Teaching on church discipline, sexual ethics, corporate sin, and the relationship between gospel standards and the surrounding culture.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is intolerable even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.
WEB World English Bible 2000
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles, that one has his father’s wife.
KJV King James Version 1769
It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
It is actually reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not even among the Gentiles, that oneof you hath his father’s wife.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Whoredom is actually heard of among you, and such whoredom as is not even named among the nations--as that one hath the wife of the father! --
Darby Darby Bible 1890
It is universally reported [that there is] fornication among you, and such fornication as [is] not even among the nations, so that one should have his father's wife.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
It is absolutely heard that there is fornication among you and such fornication as the like is not among the heathens: that one should have his father's wife.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
DE cierto se oye que hay entre vosotros fornicación, y tal fornicación cual ni aun se nombra entre los Gentiles; tanto que alguno tenga la mujer de su padre.
Totalmente se ouve que há entre vós pecados sexuais, e tais pecados sexuais que nem mesmo entre os gentioshá , como alguém que tomou como mulher a esposa de seu pai.
On entend dire généralement qu’ il y a parmi vous de l’ impudicité, et une impudicité telle qu’ elle ne se rencontre pas même chez les païens; c’ est au point que l’ un de vous a la femme de son père.
Es geht eine gemeine Rede, daß Hurerei unter euch ist, und eine solche Hurerei, davon auch die Heiden nicht zu sagen wissen: daß einer seines Vaters Weib habe.
Men hoort ganselijk, dat er hoererij onder u is, en zodanige hoererij, die ook onder de heidenen niet genoemd wordt, alzo dat er een zijns vaders huisvrouw heeft.
Si ode addirittura affermare che v’è tra voi fornicazione; e tale fornicazione, che non si trova neppure fra i Gentili; al punto che uno di voi si tiene la moglie di suo padre.
Zapewne słychać, że jest między wami wszeteczeństwo, a takie wszeteczeństwo, jakie i między pogany nie bywa mianowane, aby kto miał mieć żonę ojca swego.
Есть верный слух, что у вас появилось блудодеяние, и притом такое блудодеяние, какого не слышно даже у язычников, что некто вместо жены имеет жену отца своего.
風 聞 在你們 中間 有淫亂的事。 這樣 的淫亂 連 外邦人 中 也沒有，就是 有人 收了 他的繼母。
It is said, in fact, that there is among you a sin of the flesh, such as is not seen even among the Gentiles, that one of you has his father's wife.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · I Corinthians 5:1
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree on the basic facts: a man who claims Christian faith is in an ongoing sexual relationship with his stepmother. Paul's phrase thus one of you has his father's wife (WEB) points to a woman who is not the man's biological mother, the Greek γυνή (gunē) can mean wife or woman, and the phrase his father's wife matches Old Testament language for a stepmother (Lev 18:8; Deut 22:30).
More contested is whether the father is still alive. Barnes and the Cambridge Bible argue that 2 Cor 7:12, where Paul mentions both the one who did the wrong and the one who suffered the wrong, points to a living father. Calvin is less certain whether the man had seduced her or claimed her as a wife under false pretence. Clarke thinks the father had died, and the son married the widow, still incest, but a marital arrangement rather than mere adultery.
The adverb Ὅλως (holōs) stands at the opening. Vincent says it means actually or absolutely, not a vague rumor but a well-established report. The verb ἀκούεται (akouetai) is present passive indicative: it is being heard now, openly. This is public knowledge, not a secret. The phrase not even named among the Gentiles (with a textual variant on named) captures Paul's horror: the Corinthians are tolerating what the surrounding pagan culture itself abhorred.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Father alive — aggravated incest: 2 Cor 7:12 (wrongdoer and sufferer); Lev 18:8; Roman and Greek laws against marriage to stepmother
- Father dead — incestuous marriage: Clarke's reading: son married stepmother after father's death; forbidden by Lev 18:8, but less scandalous to pagans
What is clear: A professing Christian in Corinth was in an illicit sexual relationship with his stepmother, which Paul condemns as shockingly sinful and demands the church take action.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Father's marital status | The woman is the father's wife (stepmother), not the man's biological mother. | Most commentators (Barnes, Cambridge, Calvin) think the father was still alive, making it adultery and incest; Clarke argues the father had died and the son married the widow. |
| Nature of the relationship | A sexual relationship existed between the man and his stepmother. | Some (Vincent, Alford) think it was a formal marriage; others (Barnes, Cambridge) think it was concubinage. The verb ἔχειν ('to have') can support either reading. |
| Not even named among the Gentiles | Paul intends to show that this sin is extraordinarily shameful, even by pagan standards. | Some manuscripts omit the verb ὀνομάζεται ('is named'), making the phrase 'not even among the Gentiles' (see ASV). Translators differ on whether to include it. |
| Why the woman is not rebuked | Paul directs the rebuke only to the church and the man involved. | JFB suggests she may have been a pagan, so Paul leaves her to the civil sphere. Others see it as consistent with his focus on the professing believer's responsibility. |
Historical & Cultural Context
First‑century Corinth was famous for its sexual license. The temple of Aphrodite, the city's patron goddess, employed hundreds of sacred prostitutes, and the phrase to Corinthianize meant to practice sexual immorality. Yet even in this environment, Paul insists that the case before him goes too far.
Roman law forbade a man to marry his stepmother while his father lived, and Greek morality held incest as an offence against nature. Cicero called the very thought of a son marrying his stepmother an incredible and unheard‑of crime (Barnes cites Pro Cluentio). For Paul to say that this sin is not even named among the Gentiles means it was not allowed, not approved, not gestured toward as permissible. Some manuscripts omit the verb is named (ὀνομάζεται), reading simply not even among the Gentiles, the fact itself is unspeakable.
Paul had likely received this intelligence from Chloe's people (1 Cor 1:11). The Corinthians, for their part, had written to him about marriage and idols (1 Cor 7:1) but had said nothing about this crisis. They were proud of their wisdom and spiritual gifts, yet blind to the rot in their own fellowship. The cross‑references to Leviticus 18:8 and Deuteronomy 22:30 show that Paul measures the sin not only by pagan standards but by God's explicit law: a man must not uncover his father's nakedness.
Church discipline in the early decades was swift and public, nothing like the long, secretive penances of the late third century (Cambridge Bible notes this contrast). Paul expected the assembly to act immediately. The gospel's reputation was at stake among the very pagans who could reliably judge an incest taboo.
Textual Notes
The textual point most frequently discussed is whether the phrase not even named (οὐδὲ … ὀνομάζεται) is original. Some early manuscripts omit the verb, reading simply such fornication as is not even among the Gentiles (a reading reflected in the ASV and YLT). The majority of modern editors, including the United Bible Societies, retain the verb, but the variant does not change the core meaning: Paul is saying that this kind of behaviour is not even found or tolerated among pagans.
No other significant textual variants affect the interpretation of this verse.
Reception History
The early church treated 1 Corinthians 5:1 as a key text for establishing penitential discipline. By the third century, the church had developed elaborate systems of public penance for grave sins, a practice that arose partly from this passage, though the Cambridge Bible notes that Paul's swift, direct approach differs from the long penitential periods that later became standard.
During the Reformation, both Catholic and Protestant traditions used this verse to argue for the church's authority to excommunicate. The Anabaptist tradition emphasized the duty of the entire congregation to mourn and act. In modern times, the passage is often cited in discussions of clergy sexual abuse, reminding churches that hidden sin eventually becomes public, and the community's silence is complicity.
Preaching This Verse
Three‑point outline
- The sin must be spoken. Paul does not let the rumor stay a rumor. He names it: incest with a stepmother. The church needed to hear what it had been ignoring.
- The standard of witness. That pagans find this unspeakable deepens the scandal. The church is called to a holiness that outshines the surrounding culture, not one that sinks below it.
- Discipline protects the whole. In verses that follow, Paul orders the man's removal. The goal is not punishment but rescue: that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord (v. 5). Discipline is love for the sinner and for the body.
Five‑point outline
- Report. The matter is public; denial is impossible.
- Shock. Even the Gentiles draw a line this case crosses.
- Complicity. The church's arrogance (v. 2) made it an accomplice.
- Mourn. Grief over sin restores the community's spiritual health.
- Purge. The old leaven must be thrown out so the new lump can rise.
Illustration hooks
- A church that spends months debating a detailed vision statement while a known sexual predator sits on the worship team. The contrast between fine talk and moral silence is the Corinthian problem.
- Non‑Christian neighbours who insist that a church should have higher standards on sexual ethics than the world does, and who mock when that standard is not met. Their very mockery is Paul's argument.
- The parent who suffers in silence while an adult child and a spouse are involved, the father in this story is never named, but Paul's phrase the one who suffered the wrong (2 Cor 7:12) suggests his pain is real.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does the Bible speak so harshly about sexual sin but seem quieter about greed and gossip? (Paul actually addresses both in this letter.)
- If a Christian falls into serious sin, should the church expose them or protect them privately?
- How does church discipline work in a world where the word discipline sounds abusive to many?
Leading a Discussion
Paul confronts a church that has grown comfortable with a scandal. The man has his father's wife, an arrangement that even Corinthians found shocking. But the congregation is puffed up, not grieved. This passage asks us to consider where pride keeps us from addressing sin.
Discussion questions
- Observation: What does Paul say is widely known about the Corinthian church? (v. 1)
- Observation: How does Paul describe the severity of this sin in relation to the broader culture?
- Interpretation: Why might the Corinthians have been proud rather than mournful? What does that suggest about their spiritual priorities?
- Interpretation: Paul uses the phrase one of you. How does that phrase shape the sense of corporate responsibility?
- Interpretation: The cross‑references (Lev 18:8, Deut 22:30) show the sin violates God's law. Why do you think Paul also appeals to pagan standards?
- Application: Where might your church family be overlooking serious sin because confronting it would be awkward or costly?
- Application: How can Christians both hold one another accountable and extend the grace that Paul later shows in 2 Corinthians 2:5‑8?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 35:22 | While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve. |
| Genesis 37:2 | This is the history of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. Joseph brought an evil report of them to their father. |
| Genesis 49:4 | Boiling over like water, you shall not excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, then defiled it. He went up to my couch. |
| Leviticus 18:8 | “‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife. It is your father’s nakedness. |
| Leviticus 20:11 | “‘The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both of them shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon themselves. |
| Deuteronomy 22:30 | A man shall not take his father’s wife, and shall not uncover his father’s skirt. |
| Deuteronomy 27:20 | ‘Cursed is he who lies with his father’s wife, because he dishonors his father’s bed.’ All the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ |
| I Samuel 2:24 | No, my sons; for it is not a good report that I hear! You make Yahweh’s people disobey. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
11 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke argues that the word translated as "fornication" here covers every kind of sexual impurity, not just one specific act, because the Corinthians were notorious for all sorts of debauchery. He also clarifies that the woman was the man's stepmother, not his mother, and concludes the father was likely dead.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes stresses that the sin in Corinth was especially disgraceful because even pagan society regarded such incest with horror and refused to tolerate it. He interprets Paul's words as meaning the crime was not approved or allowed among Gentiles, which made its presence in a Christian church far more scandalous. The apostle therefore demanded immediate church discipline to remove this offense.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin reads the phrase "generally reported" as proof that this was not a vague rumor but a widespread, public scandal. He also rejects the idea that Paul mentions Gentiles instead of Jews to recall Reuben's incest; rather, Paul's point is that even pagans would not tolerate such a sin, which makes the Corinthians' complacency even worse.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator stresses that the early Corinthian church was far from a perfect model, needing basic moral instruction. He contrasts Paul's swift discipline with the lifelong penances that later church tradition imposed for grave sins, and clarifies that the woman in question was likely a divorced stepmother living with her stepson.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note stresses the shocking certainty of the report: a man in the Corinthian church is living with his father's wife, a form of incest so vile that even pagans do not practice it. The sin is not merely condemned but is unheard-of among those outside the faith.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses that the sin was incest with a stepmother, a crime so vile that even morally upright Gentiles would not speak of it. He further notes the church's shocking response: instead of mourning, they were swollen with pride over their gifts, indifferent to the scandal in their midst.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB stresses that this incest—a man taking his father's wife as a concubine—was so vile that even pagans would not tolerate it, yet the Corinthians failed to report it to Paul themselves. He also notes that the woman was likely a pagan, which explains why Paul directs no rebuke at her directly.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange argues that delivering a sinner to Satan means more than excommunication; it hands the offender over to actual satanic affliction of the body. God uses Satan as an unwilling instrument to bring physical suffering and repentance, aiming not to destroy but to save the person's spirit on the final day.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry notes that the Corinthians' sin was so shameful that even pagans would not speak of it, yet the church was puffed up instead of grieving. Their pride in tolerating such scandal brought reproach on the Christian name, while they should have mourned and removed the offender.
Vincent's Word Studies Evangelical 1887
Vincent argues that the relationship in question was more likely incestuous marriage than concubinage. He notes that the verb "to have" usually refers to marriage in the New Testament, and the grammar implies an actual marriage had already occurred. Even with Roman laws allowing easy divorce, marrying a stepmother was considered a scandal.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley takes the term fornication in its broadest sense, covering any kind of illicit sexual intercourse. He also notes that the phrase "his father's wife" assumes the father was still alive at the time, making the offense a direct violation of the marriage bond.