what verse is Paul building on in 1 Corinthians 6:16?
Paul is building on Genesis 2:24. In 1 Corinthians 6:16 he quotes the principle that the two shall be one flesh, and the context directs us back to Genesis, where verse 24 says a man shall leave his father and mother, cleave to his wife, and they shall be one flesh.
Les explains that Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 6:16 about being joined to a harlot and becoming one body rests on the Genesis account. He takes the listener back to Genesis chapter 2, beginning at verse 21, where God took a rib from Adam and made the woman. Then in verse 24, the foundational marriage principle is given: a man leaves father and mother, cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. Paul is still resting on that verse.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
More Questions
what does it mean to be joined to a harlot in 1 Corinthians 6:16?
In 1 Corinthians 6:16, being "joined" to a harlot means being joined sexually, so that the two become one body.