Ephesians 5:18-20 and Mealtime Propriety

Abstract

Ephesians 5:18 startlingly contrasts drunkenness with fulness with the Spirit. Previous attempts to relate this contrast to excessive behaviour within Christian gatherings have not convinced many. Instead of suggesting alternative improprieties, the present study explores behavioural patterns followed at various Graeco-Roman convivial gatherings. These patterns indicate that some people who regularly met for special meals commonly chose abstention from drunkenness in favour of stimulating, even religious, discussion. Accordingly, the present study suggests that the statements of 5:18-20, and ultimately others made throughout the moral teaching in Ephesians, simply reflect the writer’s assumption that his readers regularly gathered in a mealtime context.