were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea: Paul here refers to a great miracle that took place during the Exodus in Moses’ day. Jehovah made the waters of the Red Sea stand up like walls on either side of the Israelites so that they could cross the seabed on dry ground. (Ex 14:21, 22, 29) The pillar of cloud signifying Jehovah’s protective care was above and behind them. (Ex 14:19, 24) The Israelites were thus “under the cloud” as they “passed through the sea.”

baptized into Moses: Or “immersed into Moses.” Paul here speaks about a symbolic baptism, or immersion, of the congregation of Israel. In this case, the Greek word ba·ptiʹzo signifies that the Israelite forefathers were being entrusted to Moses as their God-given leader. Jehovah did the baptizing by means of his angel. As the Israelites moved eastward on the bed of the Red Sea, they were surrounded by the waters and hidden from the pursuing army of Pharaoh by the cloud. God then figuratively lifted them out of these waters by bringing them onto the eastern shores as a free nation. (Ex 14:19, 22, 24, 25) To experience this baptism, the Israelites had to unite themselves with Moses and follow him through the sea. So this symbolic baptism was “into Moses” in that the people had to follow his leadership.

rock: The Greek word peʹtra in the feminine gender is rendered “rock,” and it may denote bedrock, a cliff, or a mass of rock. This Greek word also occurs at Mt 7:24, 25; 16:18; 27:60; Lu 6:48; 8:6; Ro 9:33; 1Pe 2:8. (See study note on Mt 16:18.) On at least two occasions and in two different locations, the Israelites received a miraculous provision of water from a rock. (Ex 17:5-7; Nu 20:1-11) Therefore, the rock as a source of water, in effect, followed them. The rock itself was symbolic, picturing the Christ, who said to the Jews: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.”​—Joh 7:37.

meant: Or “was.” Here the form of the Greek verb for “to be” has the sense of “to signify; to mean.”​—Compare study note on Mt 26:26.

examples: The plural form of the Greek word tyʹpos could in this context also be rendered “warning examples” or “lessons.” In this verse and in the following verses, Paul mentions several events in the history of God’s ancient people that can serve as powerful warning examples for Christians.

not to desire injurious things: The Israelites began “to desire injurious things,” or “evil things,” as some Bibles render this expression, in part because of failing to appreciate the good things that Jehovah provided. For example, the Israelites repeatedly showed that they viewed the miraculously provided manna with contempt. (Nu 11:4-6; 21:5) Their unappreciative spirit manifested itself in a disgraceful display of greed when Jehovah provided them with an ample supply of quail to eat. The quail were not in themselves “injurious things,” any more than were the leeks, onions, and cucumbers that the Israelites were longing for. (Nu 11:19, 20, 31-34) It was the Israelites’ greedy, selfish longing that made these things “injurious” and “evil,” as Paul expressed it.

Neither become idolaters, as some of them did: Paul here refers to the occasion when the Israelites worshipped a golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinai. (Ex 32:1-6) They directly violated Jehovah’s command against that wicked practice, a law that they had agreed to obey just a few weeks earlier. (Ex 20:4-6; 24:3) They apparently did not intend to reject Jehovah as their God; Aaron even called their idolatrous celebration “a festival to Jehovah.” However, the Israelites fell into the trap of trying to mix the worship of Jehovah with idolatry.

practice sexual immorality . . . committed sexual immorality: Just before the Israelites were to enter the Promised Land, Moabite women enticed thousands of them to commit sexual immorality and engage in the unclean worship of the Baal of Peor in Shittim on the Plains of Moab.​—Nu 25:1-3, 9; see study note on 1Co 5:1.

23,000 of them in one day: Paul is apparently referring to the event described at Nu 25:9 as a strong warning against getting involved in sexual immorality. (See study note on 1Co 5:9.) Because Nu 25:9 says that “those who died from the scourge amounted to 24,000,” some have pointed to a seeming contradiction between that account and the figure that Paul gives here. However, Paul clearly specifies that the number here listed died “in one day,” likely meaning that 23,000 were directly killed by the scourge. The “leaders” of those people died at the hands of the judges. (Nu 25:4, 5) It may be that the figure in Numbers is the total of all who died, including the leaders whom God held responsible for the sins of the people.

Neither let us put Jehovah to the test: Paul apparently had in mind different times when the Israelites put Jehovah to the test in the wilderness, such as on the occasions mentioned at Ex 16:2, 3; 17:2, 3, 7; and Nu 14:22. Paul alludes to a specific time in the second part of this verse by saying as some of them put him to the test, only to perish by the serpents. This event is described at Nu 21:5, 6, where the record says that “the people kept speaking against God and Moses” and that “Jehovah sent poisonous serpents among the people.” Paul may also be alluding to Ps 78:18, where the psalmist says that the Israelites “challenged [lit., “tested”] God in their heart.”​—See App. C3 introduction; 1Co 10:9.

Neither be murmurers, as some of them murmured: The Israelites murmured, complaining against Jehovah on several occasions. For example, they strongly criticized Moses and Aaron when 10 of the 12 spies sent out to inspect the land of Canaan brought back negative reports. They even proposed appointing a new leader instead of Moses and felt that it might be better to go back to Egypt. (Nu 14:1-4) Later, “the whole assembly . . . began to murmur” about the execution of the rebels Korah, Dathan, and Abiram and those who sided with them. The murmurers apparently thought that the execution was unjust, and their complaining spirit affected many others. Jehovah responded by sending a scourge that took the lives of 14,700 Israelites. (Nu 16:41, 49) Jehovah regarded such murmuring against his representatives as murmuring against him personally.​—Nu 17:5.

examples: Or “warning examples.”​—See study note on 1Co 10:6.

upon whom the ends of the systems of things have come: The apostle Paul had related a number of events in Israel’s history (1Co 10:1-10) leading up to the ends of the systems of things, or the prevailing states of affairs, of his time. (See Glossary, “System[s] of things.”) Those “systems of things” were closely related to the Law covenant and included such elements as the following: a priesthood, a system of sacrifices and dietary regulations, a system of tabernacle and temple worship with festivals and sabbaths, and a national system that came to involve human kings. Many of the distinguishing features of the Israelite or Jewish age, or epoch, did not come to their complete end until 70 C.E. At that time, Jerusalem and its temple were destroyed, permanently ending the Jewish priesthood, sacrifices, and temple worship as prescribed in the Law. Also, the Jewish people, once God’s chosen nation, were scattered among the nations, fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy at Lu 21:24 as well as Paul’s words here about “the ends of the [Jewish] systems of things.”

what the nations sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons: In the preceding verse, Paul made it clear that an idol is nothing. But the real danger of idol worship is the power behind it. Paul is apparently quoting from or alluding to De 32:17. A similar thought is expressed at Ps 106:36, 37. Jesus said that the power behind all such idol worship is Satan, who is “the ruler of the demons.” (Mt 12:24-26) Thus, when people of the nations were making sacrifices to idols or to false gods, they were in reality worshipping demons. Moreover, as part of the ceremony, the worshippers would often eat some of the sacrificed meat. They were, in effect, sharing a meal with their gods and thereby having fellowship with the demons.

the cup of Jehovah: Five verses earlier, Paul speaks about the cup of wine symbolizing Christ’s blood at the Lord’s Evening Meal. (1Co 10:16) There he calls the cup used at this observance “the cup of blessing that we bless.” When Jesus instituted this observance, he said a blessing, or prayer, before passing the cup to his disciples. (Mt 26:27, 28; Lu 22:19, 20) Following this pattern, a blessing, or prayer, is said before passing the cup. However, it was Jehovah who made all provisions for Christians, including Jesus’ ransom sacrifice; it was to Jehovah that Jesus offered the merit of his sacrifice; it was the will of Jehovah that governed how that sacrifice would be used; and it was Jehovah who foretold and instituted the new covenant. (Jer 31:31-34) So it is proper to speak of “the cup of Jehovah.”​—See App. C3 introduction; 1Co 10:21a.

the cup of demons . . . the table of demons: Just as the Lord’s Evening Meal is a communion meal​—in certain respects similar to the communion sacrifices in ancient Israel (Le 3:1-16; 7:28-36; 1Co 10:16)​—so sharing in sacrificial meals of idol worshippers would make Christians partakers together with demons. A Christian could not share in the Lord’s Evening Meal and also in the meals of pagans worshipping false gods.

the table of Jehovah: This expression is understood to be a quote from or an allusion to Mal 1:7, 12, where the altar in Jehovah’s temple is called “the table of Jehovah.” It is called a “table” because the sacrifices offered on it are compared to “food [lit., “bread”].” (Mal 1:7; ftn.; Eze 41:22) When the Israelites ate part of the communion sacrifices to God, they became sharers with him, as if partaking of a meal together, for God was represented by the altar.​—See study note on the cup of Jehovah in this verse and App. C3 introduction; 1Co 10:21b.

Or ‘are we inciting Jehovah to jealousy’?: Paul is warning Christians not to provoke Jehovah to jealous anger by engaging in any form of idolatry. Paul alludes to De 32:21 but does not use a direct quote. The context, De 32:19-21, shows that Jehovah is the one saying: “They have incited me to fury [or “jealousy,” ftn.] with what is not a god.”​—For a discussion of the use of the divine name in this verse, see App. C3 introduction; 1Co 10:22.

lawful: Or “permissible.”​—See study note on 1Co 6:12.

Eat whatever is sold in a meat market: “A meat market” (Greek, maʹkel·lon) sold not only meat and fish but other foods as well. Temples sometimes sold excess meat to merchants who might sell it in their stores. Meat sold at a market no longer had any “sacred” significance and was just as good as any other meat. Christians did not need to view meat that originated from a temple as bad in itself or as contaminated. They could simply buy it if it had been suitably drained of blood.​—See study notes on 1Co 8:1, 4.

Jehovah: In this quote from Ps 24:1, the divine name, represented by four Hebrew consonants (transliterated YHWH), occurs in the original Hebrew text.​—See App. C1 and C2.

because of conscience: Some later Greek manuscripts and ancient translations into other languages add the following: “For the earth belongs to the Lord, and so does its fullness.” This reading is reflected in a few modern translations. However, many early and reliable manuscripts do not include this sentence in verse 28. Apparently, it was not part of the original text. A similar statement appears at 1Co 10:26, where there is no uncertainty regarding the Greek text.​—See App. A3; see study note on 1Co 10:26.

the congregation of God: The Greek word ek·kle·siʹa, usually rendered “congregation,” is applied in a number of ways in the Christian Greek Scriptures. (See Glossary, “Congregation.”) At times, the word may apply to the entire group of spirit-anointed Christians. (Mt 16:18; Heb 2:12; 12:23) In this context, however, Paul uses the term in a more limited sense, urging Christians to avoid “becoming causes for stumbling” to members of the “congregation of God,” that is, Christians who lived at that particular time and who would be affected by their actions.