V. BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD.—In I Cor. xv. 29, Paul asks, ' What shall they do who are baptized for the dead (ol garriMievot fnrep ray pelipc2ov)? if the dead rise not at all, why are they at all (Cal) baptized for the dead.' On this difficult passage much has been written, and various explanations of the phrase, 'baptized for the dead,' have been offered. 'Tanta,' says Bengel (Guam. in loc), est interpretationum varietas, ut is qui, non dicam varie tates ipsas, sed varietatum catalogos colligere vult, dissertationem scripturus sit.' Of these interpreta tions, a collection may be seen in Poole's Synopsis; Wolf, Curio Philo/. in. N. T. ; Heydenreich, Comment. in Ep. I., Pauli ad Car. ; Meyer, Krit. Handbuch ; Alford, Gr. Test.; and Brown's Resurrection of Life, Edin. 1852. In the former edition of this work, a conspectus of these was given by Professor Jacobi of Halle, which is here retained.
They chiefly turn upon the question, whether the baptism here mentioned is the general church baptism, or some particular one independent of the former. We shall examine, first ' A. Those interpretations which take it to be some particular application of baptism.
From the wording of the sentence, the most simple impression certainly is, that Paul speaks of a baptism which a living man receives in the place of a dead one. This interpretation is particularly adopted by those expounders with whom gramma tical construction is paramount.
Foremost among the older critics is Ambrose (Hilar) : In tantum natum et stabilem volt osten dere resurrectionem mortuorum, ut exemplum det eorum, qui tam sccuri erant de futura resurrectione, ut etiam pro mortuis baptizarentur, si quern forte mors timentes, ne aut male ant non resurgeret, qui baptizatus non fuerat ; vivus nomine mortui tinguebatur.' Among the moderns are Erasmus, Scaliger, Grotius, Calixtus ; and of the more recent the most considerable are Augusti (Archival. iv.), Meyer (who understands iirep = to the advantage, in favour, which may indeed well be the case), Billroth and Ruckert, who supposes that the Corinthians, convinced of the necessity and benefit of baptism, but erroneously considering it not as a symbol, but as a real means of purifying the heart itself, had taken it into their heads to give the benefit thereof also to the dead, by administer ing baptism to them by a substitute, a living per son, and thus imagined that a baptism by proxy was practicable. De Wette considers this the only possible meaning of the words.
With regard to this interpretation, some doubt arises as to the actual existence at that time of such a custom, since the only information respecting it would be this passage, though Ruckert thinks this is sufficient evidence. It is true, that they refer to the Shepherd of Hermas (Simil. ix. 16) ; but all that can be inferred from it is, that they had at that time already begun to evince an overdue and extravagant respect for outward baptism. Tertul lian (Contr. Ha rc ion, v. 10) seems in a more direct way to speak of the existence of the custom : Noll apostolum novum statim auctorem ant confirma torem emus (institutionis) denotare, ut tanto magis sisteret carnis resurrectionem, quarto illi qui vane pro mortuis baptizarentur, fide resurrectionis hoc facerent. Habemus ilium alicubi unius baptismi
definitorem. Igitur et pro mortuis tingui pro cor poribus est tingui ; mortuum enim corpus osten dimus ' (comp. De Resurrect. Carn. 48). Ter tullian in these words distinguishes a false ap plication of baptism by substitution, from the general one adhered to by the apostle ; he thinks that the apostle confirms baptism pro mortuir, not in that erroneous but in a proper sense, compatible with his other and general views of baptism. Of that erroneous practice, however, Tertullian, in this as in the other place, evidently knows no more than what is indicated by Paul in the above passage ; neither does he mention that such a custom had prevailed in his time among the Marcionites or any others (comp. Neander, Hist. of the Church, ii. 194, Clark's ed.) More certain information is given by Chrysostom, who relates of the Marcionites (Hand/. 40, ad r Cor.) that when a catechumen died among them, a liv ing person used to lay himself under the bed of the deceased, and answer in his stead the customary questions, after which the deceased was baptized. He says that they referred to the approval of St. Paul in the above passage. It is true that this ab surd custom is certainly met with among the uncul tured and superstitious Marcionites of later times, yet is it highly improbable, as Neander justly ob serves, that such a custom should ever hay.ema nated from Marcion himself, who had entered so deeply into the spirit of the Pauline Faith.' A similar account is given by Epiphanius (Hares. xxviii. 7) of the Gnostic sect of Cerinthus, who were much opposed to the Marcionites : In this country,—I mean, Asia,--and even in Galatia, their school flourished eminently ; and a traditional fact concerning them has reached us, that when any of them had died without baptism, they used to baptize others in their name, lest in the resur rection they should suffer punishment as unbap tized.' We are not justified in denying credence to this statement, though there is just suspicion against Epiphanius from his total want of critical judgment, and his erroneous supposition that Paul was par ticularly combating the opinions of Cerinthus, a supposition which he applies also to the passage before us. In the Conch. Carthagin., A.D. 397, can. 6, and Codex Eccles. Afric., can. IS, it is for bidden to administer baptism and the holy com munion to the dead : but here baptism by proxy is not alluded to, and we have therefore no reason to assume that this custom then existed in those parts. Augusti (1. 1. vii., p. 42) refers to the proselyte baptism of the Jews, where, he thinks, parents underwent the rite for their children. But all the authorities quoted in its favour by Lightfoot (ad Math. iii. 6) prove nothing as to substitution ; and even if they did so, it would still be highly im probable that the Gentile churches would have adopted it from them (comp. Schneckenburger, De Bapt. Proselyt., p. 79).