First Corinthians 10:1-13 in Light of the Rhetoric of Self-Control over the Desires

Paul recounts the Israelite experience in the wilderness in 1 Cor 10:1-13 as a warning against sexual misconduct, using vocabulary significant in Greek discourses promoting self-control over the passions. These discourses were widespread by the first century CE and familiar to both Paul and the Corinthians. He appeals to these discourses in his retelling of the Septuagint story to demonstrate to the Corinthians the consequences of losing self-control and giving in to the passions.