NT Text: 1 Corinthians 15:55
OT Source(s):
Source: Beale & Carson (eds.), Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (2007); Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Direct Quotation
Connection Method(s): Promise-Fulfillment + Contrast
Significance: Paul quotes Hosea 13:14 in 1 Corinthians 15:55, transforming a text whose original context is ambiguous — in Hosea, God may be summoning death as an instrument of judgment against unrepentant Ephraim ("I will be your plagues, O Death; I will be your destruction, O Sheol"). Paul, however, reads this as a taunt over death's defeat, turning judgment language into a victory shout: "Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?" (pou sou, thanate, to nikos? pou sou, thanate, to kentron?). The text form departs significantly from both MT and LXX, suggesting Paul is giving an inspired interpretive rendering. This reading is warranted by the inaugurated eschatological framework: what Hosea's audience experienced as judgment, the risen Christ has reversed into triumph. Paul pairs this with Isaiah 25:8 (v. 54, "Death has been swallowed up in victory") to create a composite celebration of death's defeat. The shift from judgment to triumph exemplifies how the resurrection transforms the meaning of OT death-language.
NT Use Pattern: Assimilated — Second half of the Isaiah 25:8 + Hosea 13:14 composite at 1 Corinthians 15:54-55.