Games

Games in the biblical world encompassed children's play, athletic competitions, and the public spectacles of the Greco-Roman world. Scripture references children playing in the marketplace (Matthew 11:16; Zechariah 8:5), and the skill of select Benjaminite warriors in hurling stones with either hand is compared to athletic precision (Judges 20:16). Greek athletic games — the Olympics and their regional equivalents — were deeply embedded in Hellenistic culture and provided Paul with some of his most vivid metaphors for the Christian life.

Paul draws on the imagery of foot races, boxing, and wrestling to describe disciplined spiritual effort: run in such a way as to get the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24–27); I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race (2 Timothy 4:7); let us run with endurance the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1). These metaphors assume audience familiarity with competitive athletic culture. The public games — including gladiatorial combat and beast fights — that Paul and other Christians sometimes faced in Roman cities appear in the background of passages such as 1 Corinthians 15:32 and 2 Timothy 4:17.