12:2: Another problem introduced by modern translations is the word “pagans,” a category that was nonexistent in the first century C.E. (see Notes on 1 Cor 5:1). The Greek word is ethnē. When contrasted with Israel, the term usually means “peoples other than Israel.” This cannot be the meaning of the word here, since one cannot change one’s ancestry or genealogy. The Corinthians were not former non-Israelites who changed into being Israelites. One’s ancestry derives from birth, like one’s biological