1 Corinthians 15:32

After the manner of men (kata anqrwpon). Like men, for applause, money, etc. (I Corinthians 4:9 ff.; Philippians 3:7).

If I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus (ei eqhriomaxhsa en Efesw). Late verb from qhriomaxov, a fighter with wild beasts. Found in inscriptions and in Ignatius. Those who argue for an Ephesian imprisonment for Paul and Ephesus as the place where he wrote the imprisonment epistles (see Duncan's book just mentioned) take the verb literally. There is in the ruins of Ephesus now a place called St. Paul's Prison. But Paul was a Roman citizen and it was unlawful to make such a one be a qhriomaxov. If he were cast to the lions unlawfully, he could have prevented it by claiming his citizenship. Besides, shortly after this Paul wrote II Corinthians, but he does not mention so unusual a peril in the list in II Corinthians 11:23 f. The incident, whatever it was, whether literal or figurative language, took place before Paul wrote I Corinthians.

What doth it profit me? (ti moi to ofelos). What the profit to me?

Let us eat and drink (fagwmen kai piwmen). Volitive second aorist subjunctives of esqiw and pinw. Cited from Isaiah 22:13. It is the outcry of the people of Jerusalem during the siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians. At Anchiale near Tarsus is a statue of Sardanapalus with the inscription: "Eat, drink, enjoy thyself. The rest is nothing." This was the motto of the Epicureans. Paul is not giving his own view, but that of people who deny the resurrection.