Paul’s Comparison of Himself with “the Abortion” (1 Cor 15:8): A Missing Link between the Qumran Book of Giants and the Manichaean Book of Giants

When Paul states in 1 Cor 15:8, “Last of all, as to the abortion, he [Christ] appeared also to me” (ἔσχατον δὲ πάντων ὡσπερεὶ τῷ ἐκτρώµατι ὤφθη κἀµοί), the article τῷ indicates that Paul is referring to the well-known “abortion”/giant, ʾOhyah, the one giant—uniquely in all of extant early Jewish literature—to whom God appeared in a dream-vision signifying theophanic judgment. This casts Paul in the role of a violent giant who, on trial before Christ, acknowledged his past crimes and pled for forgiveness. This understanding of 1 Cor 15:8 has important implications not only for the interpretation of Paul and his letters, but also for understanding the relationship between the Qumran Book of Giants and the Manichaean Book of Giants.