'brothers' in 1 & 2 Corinthians

The term ‘brothers’ is used 36 times in 1 & 2 Corinthians. The ESV translates this directly from ‘adelphoi’. With the rise of gender-inclusive language over the past two decades there has been a greater need to clarify the translation of this word. While some translations have opted to be inclusive in the text (ie: ‘brothers and sisters’ as translated by the TNIV and NLT) it is best to keep the text pure and understand how this word should be understood.

Adelphoi often refers to the family bond between two males from the same mother. In the gospels, this is the usual sense (Matthew 4:18, John 7:3), but not the only (Matthew 25:40). In 1 Corinthians, only once does the word have this force (9:5 when Paul refers to the half-brothers of Jesus). So what does it mean 35 other times?

In his correspondence with the Corinthians, Paul uses the term ‘adelphoi’ to refer to the whole church. Several indicators have led to this conclusion. First, Paul is writing a letter with the understanding that it would be read aloud to the entire church. Second, it is obvious that Paul is not writing to a group of biological brothers (1:2). Third, Paul uses other terms to address them that do not have a male quality (ie: 3:16, 4:14, 7:8, 7:25).

The word that usually refers to male siblings is now being used to refer to a church. Why doesn’t Paul use the expression ‘brothers and sisters’? Probably the most natural reason is because it is the same word root. In the greek language words are either masculine, feminine or neuter. This usually has nothing to do with sexuality (ie: ‘night’ is feminine, yet is is a time of the day). However, in the case of ‘adelph’ the ending changes the gender. Adelphoi means brothers and Adelphai means sisters. It would seem redundant to use the masculine and feminine forms in the 35 uses of the word.

In our reading of the text of 1 & 2 Corinthians, we understand Paul to be addressing the whole congregation of believers when he uses the word ‘brothers’.

Those of you who don’t enjoy such technical work haven’t read this far. But the implications of this are huge. Was the letter written to just the men of the the church, or to the men and women? I am preaching and applying this to all of us because I believe this to be Paul’s intended audience. And we must be careful to gain this application from the text itself, not from broader to be gender inclusive.