1 Corinthians 10:1

For. would not, brethren, have you ignorant, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

'For' -'Moreover' (KJV) 'Paul appeals to the experience of the Israelites in the wilderness in confirmation of his statement concerning himself in 1 Corinthians 9:26f. and as. powerful warning to the Corinthians who may be tempted to flirt with the idolatrous practices of their neighbors. It is. real, not an imaginary peril.' (Robertson p. 151)

'It is possible that. may be rejected, for the Israelites were.' (Vincent p. 238)

'ignorant' -'I do not want you to be unaware' (NASV) This phrase is frequently used by Paul to stress the vital nature of. truth that he is about to state. (Romans 1:13; 1 Corinthians 12:1; 2 Corinthians 1:8; 1 Thessalonians 4:13)

'our fathers' -In the previous chapter Paul had given an illustration from the games.

'Many. Greek must have looked long and hard at some beaten athlete, sitting by himself in dejection while the victor has the applause and attention of the masses. And many. Jew must have wondered about the loss of thousands in the desert.' (McGuiggan p. 132)

'Our fathers' may be relating to those Christians of Jewish background. And yet, seeing that the Church is the 'Israel of God' since the death of Christ (Galatians 6:16; Galatians 3:27; Romans 4:11); in. sense these Jews were the ancestors of Gentile Christians too.

'were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea' -notice the stress on the word "all" in these verses. 'God included "all"; if any of them were excluded and did not remain included, this was due wholly to their own action.' (Lenski p. 390)

'under the cloud' -'"The cloud" shading and guiding the Israelites from above, and "the sea" making. path for them through its midst and drowning their enemies behind them, were glorious signs to "our fathers" of God's salvation.' (Gr. Ex. N.T. p. 857) (Exodus 2:21; Exodus 2:19; Numbers 2:14; Psalms 105:39)

'passed through the sea' -Paul agrees that the "sea" which was parted, formed walls high enough to cover the Israelites. (Exodus 2:22)