DOES THE SPIRIT OF HADES STILL HAVE POWER OVER YOU?

1 Corinthians 15:55–56 (NKJV)

55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.

Compare manuscripts, but it is clear that the NU is especially misplaced on this variation. But why is this important to the theology of the context?

1 Corinthians 15:55–56 (LSB)

55 “O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” 56 Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;

1Cor.15:55 (SBL) NU

ποῦ σου, θάνατε, τὸ νῖκος; ποῦ σου, [θάνατε], τὸ κέντρον;

1Cor.15:55 (Steven’s) TR

που σου θανατε το κεντρον που σου [αδη] το νικος

Now, the manuscript traditions would have been under conviction to be consistent, and it is likely that Paul would have been “quoting” from the Septuagint in his teachings, and Paul may have had the Septuagint’s version on the forefront of his mind, but still, his intent was not to quote it in the same exact representation but with a new understanding as he turns Hosea’s understanding in the opposite direction to express Christ’s victory over that righteous judgment. Therefore, there is a theological order to Paul’s intent, as the context reveals. However, I believe the variation occurred because of a sincere desire to be consistent with the original Old Testament quotation. So, that was never Paul’s intent from the start in order to offer a new direction of hope in fulfillment of the Old Testament text. Therefore, Paul was adding new revelation, not merely a quotation of the old. Consequently, it would sound similar, but it is not a direct quote.

Hosea 13:14 (NKJV) Masoretic

14 “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction! Pity is hidden from My eyes.

Hosea 13:14 (GK SEPT)

14 ἐκ χειρὸς ᾅδου ῥύσομαι καὶ ἐκ θανάτου λυτρώσομαι αὐτούς· ποῦ ἡ δίκη σου, θάνατε;

ποῦ τὸ κέντρον σου, ᾅδη;

παράκλησις κέκρυπται ἀπὸ ὀφθαλμῶν μοῦ,

Hosea 13:14 (LES) Septuagint

From the hand of Hades, I will rescue, and from death, I will ransom them. Where is your penalty, O death? Where is your sting, O Hades? Comfort is hidden away from my eyes.

Hosea 13:14

מִיַּ֤ד שְׁאוֹל֙ אֶפְדֵּ֔ם מִמָּ֖וֶת אֶגְאָלֵ֑ם אֱהִ֨י דְבָרֶיךָ֜ מָ֗וֶת אֱהִ֤י קָֽטָבְךָ֙ שְׁא֔וֹל נֹ֖חַם יִסָּתֵ֥ר מֵעֵינָֽי׃

When we look at the following verse (1Cor.15:56), we find that Paul is consistent with the Byzantine tradition on the use of the word [sting] associated with the use of the word [death], but the Septuagint did use the term Hades in place of Sheol (the grave), where Paul does show he had the Septuagint version in mind when considering his thought process. But the NU makes a repetition of the word [death] and moves the order of the word [victory] around to the forefront of the word [sting]. But Paul has an order of theology in his mind here to display Christ as the first fruits of the victory over the sting of death and the destruction of the law’s righteous demand (Rom.8:3-4). The pangs (stings) of death come before the consummation (1Cor.15:20-28), which is governed by the spirit (the demon) of that age (Heb.2:14; 1Jn.3:8; Jn.8:44).

קֶטֶב and *קֹטֶב‎: *קטב‎ (cf. Bauer-L. Heb. 458s, 461 l); MHeb. קֶטֶב‎, JArm. קִטְבָא‎ the name of a demon (disaster), also in the OT ? (Fisher Parallels 3: p. 395h, 414d, f); the connection with Syr. qurṭəbā sting, thorn (KBL) is questionable, see Blau VT 7 (1957) 98; Arb. quṭb a kind of plant (see Lane 2541c, lines 8ff: a yellow flowered creeping thorn) or quṭub, cf. Brockelmann Lex. 695a: sting, thorn: קָֽטֶב, sf.11 Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 1091–1092.

Therefore, Paul was not ashamed to use the term Hades to identify the demon or spirit of that domain, which was Sheol in Hebrew. Jesus also used that term referring to the gates of our sinful depravity being born under sin and the prince of darkness, reckoned as dead to God (Matt.16:18; Ps.51:5; Eph.2:1-3; 5:8, 11; 6:12; Col.1:13), which is the spiritual order of our present destruction in Adam (2Cor.4:3-4). Therefore, a whole theology is demonstrated by Paul’s order of thought (1Cor.2:16)! Therefore, we must get at the heart of what is to be preserved as the true text being commanded by Paul to guard that trust (1Tim.6:20)!