SEV Biblia, Chapter 10:8
Ni forniquemos, como algunos de ellos fornicaron, y cayeron muertos en un día veintitrs mil.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - 1 Corinthians 10:8
Verse 8. Fell in one day three and twenty thousand.] In Numbers xxv. 9, the number is 24, 000; and, allowing this to be the genuine reading, (and none of the Hebrew MSS. exhibit any various reading in the place,) Moses and the apostle may be thus reconciled: in Num. xxv. 4, God commands Moses to take all the heads (the rulers) of the people, and hang them up before the Lord against the sun; these possibly amounted to 1000, and those who fell by the plague were 23, 000, so that the whole amounted to 24, 000. Instead of eikositreiv ciliadev, 23, 000, two MSS., with the later Syriac and the Armenian, have eikositessarev ciliadev, 24, 000; but this authority is too slender to establish a various reading, which recedes so much from the received text. I think the discordance may be best accounted for by supposing, as above, that Phineas and his companions might have slain 1000 men, who were heads of the people, and chief in this idolatry; and that the plague sent from the Lord destroyed 23, 000 more; so an equal number to the whole tribe of Levi perished in one day, who were just 23, 000. See Num. xxvi. 62; and see Lightfoot.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 8. Neither let us commit fornication , etc.] To which the Corinthians were much addicted: hence the apostle elsewhere, in this epistle, makes use of arguments, to dissuade from it, as he does here, they judging it to be no evil: as some of them committed ; i.e. fornication; as they did at Shittim, with the daughters of Moab, ( Numbers 25:1) which was a stratagem of Balaams, and the advice he gave to Balak king of Moab, to draw them into that sin, which made way for their commission of idolatry, which they committed by eating the sacrifices of their gods, and bowing down unto them; particularly they joined themselves to Baal Peor, the same with Priapus, one part of whose religious rites lay in acts of uncleanness, and this brought the divine displeasure on them: and fell in one day three and twenty thousand ; in ( Numbers 25:9) the number said to be twenty and four thousand: and so say all the three Targums on the place f188 , and both the Talmuds and others f190 ; on the other hand, all the Greek copies of this epistle, and the Oriental versions, agree in the number of twenty and three thousand; so that it does not appear to be any mistake of copies, in either Testament. To reconcile this matter, or at least to abate the difficulties of it, let the following things be observed; as that the apostle does not write as an historian, and so not with that exactness as Moses did; besides, he does not say that there fell only three and twenty thousand, and this beings lesser number than is contained in his, and so a certain truth; moreover, Moses and the apostle use different words in their account; Moses says there died so many, including the heads of the people that were hanged up against the sun, and all that perished by the sword; the apostle says, that there fell such a number, referring only to the latter, who only could be properly said to fall, and not those that were hanged up: now the heads of the people that suffered the first kind of death, might, as is very probable, be a thousand; and they that died in the other way, three and twenty thousand, which make the sums to agree, and both are expressed by Moses, under the general name of a plague or stroke; to all this, that the apostle uses a limiting clause, which Moses does not, and says that these three and twenty thousand fell in one day. So that it is very likely that the heads of the people, supposed to be a thousand, were hanged up in one day; and the three and twenty thousand that fell by the sword died the next, which the apostle only takes notice of. Hence the Jew has no reason to charge the apostle with an error.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 6-14 - Carnal desires gain strength by indulgence, therefore should be checke in their first rise. Let us fear the sins of Israel, if we would shu their plagues. And it is but just to fear, that such as tempt Christ will be left by him in the power of the old serpent. Murmuring agains God's disposals and commands, greatly provokes him. Nothing in Scripture is written in vain; and it is our wisdom and duty to lear from it. Others have fallen, and so may we. The Christian's securit against sin is distrust of himself. God has not promised to keep u from falling, if we do not look to ourselves. To this word of caution a word of comfort is added. Others have the like burdens, and the lik temptations: what they bear up under, and break through, we may also God is wise as well as faithful, and will make our burdens according to our strength. He knows what we can bear. He will make a way to escape he will deliver either from the trial itself, or at least the mischie of it. We have full encouragement to flee from sin, and to be faithfu to God. We cannot fall by temptation, if we cleave fast to him. Whethe the world smiles or frowns, it is an enemy; but believers shall be strengthened to overcome it, with all its terrors and enticements. The fear of the Lord, put into their hearts, will be the great means of safety.
Greek Textus Receptus
μηδε 3366 CONJ πορνευωμεν 4203 5725 V-PAS-1P καθως 2531 ADV τινες 5100 X-NPM αυτων 846 P-GPM επορνευσαν 4203 5656 V-AAI-3P και 2532 CONJ επεσον 4098 5627 V-2AAI-3P εν 1722 PREP μια 1520 A-DSF ημερα 2250 N-DSF εικοσιτρεις 1501 5140 A-NPM χιλιαδες 5505 A-NPF
Robertson's NT Word Studies
10:8 {Neither let us commit fornication} (mede porneuwmen). More exactly, And let us cease practicing fornication as some were already doing (#1Co 6:11; 7:2). The connection between idolatry and fornication was very close (see Jowett, _Epistles of Paul_, II, p. 70) and see about Baal-Peor (#Nu 25:1-9). It was terribly true of Corinth where prostitution was part of the worship of Aphrodite. {In one day} (miai hemerai). An item that adds to horror of the plague in #Nu 25:9 where the total number is 24,000 instead of 23,000 as here for one day.
