‘Better Than I Ever Was’: ‘Not Enslaved’ as a Higher Status in 1 Corinthians 7.15

In 1 Cor. 7.15 the believer is not bound when the non-Christ-believer insists on divorce. What is often overlooked is that Paul neither employs δέω/‘bound’ as in 1 Cor. 7.39 nor claims a spouse’s ‘freedom’/‘permission’ to remarry, a defining feature of contemporary divorce certificates. Also overlooked is the discussion of slavery and freedom that follows. The most suitable backdrop for 7.15’s ‘not enslaved’ (δεδούλωται) is not likely the slave wife of Exod. 21.2–11 or a slavery under the Mosaic Law but rather Greco-Roman sentiments lamenting marriage as an encumbering form of slavery. Verse 15’s δεδούλωται thus prepares for the ensuing discussion of slavery/freedom in vv. 21–23, which entails—for the status-conscious Corinthians—status reversals and ranking in Christ. Paul encourages the unencumbered divorced, i.e., not enslaved (δεδούλωται) in v. 15, by saying that they enjoy higher status in the Lord.