Joining

When Peter speaks to the men from Cornelius, he reminds them that for Jews it is unlawful to “join” or “come to” men from any other nation. Both verbs are significant.

“Join” can have a political sense; to join a community is to become a polites , citizen, of that community. This is what the prodigal does when he is in the far country (Luke 10:11). In 1 Corinthians 6:16-17, however, the word is used in a sexual context: Any man who “joins” with a harlot is one body with her, Paul says. We should instead by “joined” to Christ in spirit. (A form of the same word is used in the LXX of Genesis 2:24 to describe the “joining” of a man and wife.) For Jews and Gentiles to “join” together, then, is for them to form a single polity, or, more intimately still, a single body. Peter is saying that Jews were once prohibited from becoming one flesh with Gentiles by sharing unclean flesh; now that flesh has been cleansed, Jew and Gentile are united in one table, one flesh.

“Come to” is not a technical term. It can also have a sexual connotation (cf. LXX of Exodus 19:15), but can also be used in liturgical connections (cf. LXX of Leviticus 9:7). It can also be used of aliens who “come to” join together with Israel (Leviticus 19:33). Hebrews uses the verb several times in a liturgical sense (4:16; 10:22; 12:18, 22). Though not as sharply defined as “join,” this wor might imply that Jews and Gentiles, once forbidden to make the same liturgical “approach” are not joined in a single liturgical community.