272 terraNCe CallaN describes how those who have broken their vow of parqeni,a are buried alive 25. despite all this, it does not seem that never having had sexual in- tercourse is essential to being a parqe,noj in the way presumed by use of the word “virgin” in english 26. otherwise it would not be possible to speak of widows as in some sense parqe,noi. Philo also indicates in other ways that being a parqe,noj did not entail never having had sex- ual intercourse. Philo several times refers to a wife (gunh,) becoming a parqe,noj again as the basis of an allegory. For example, in Cher. 50 Philo says that sexual union with men for the procreation of chil- dren makes parqe,noi into wives. after saying this, Philo says that when God begins to consort with a soul, he turns what was a wife into a parqe,noj again 27. the rarity of speaking about a widow as a parqe,noj makes it un- likely that this is the meaning of parqe,noj in 1 Cor 7,25-40 28. the only scholar to argue that parqe,noj in 1 Cor 7,25-40 refers to widows is J. Massingberd Ford. She thinks the word refers specifically to young widows and further argues that vv. 36-40 discuss the case of a widow eligible for levirate marriage 29. in support of this, she also argues for the Jewish character of the Corinthian church 30. it does not seem likely, however, to me or most interpreters, that the Corinthian church was primarily made up of Jews 31. b) Fiancées parqe,noj is used more frequently in connection with betrothal than as a designation for widows. For example, Herodotus, 6.57 speaks of 25 See also Fabius Maximus 18.3; Crassus 1.4; De capienda ex inimicis util- itate 89e; Aetia Romana et Graeca 284B, 286e. Such instances (or accusations) are also mentioned by dionysius of Halicarnassus in 2.65.3; 2.68.1; 2.69.1; 3.67.3; 8.89.4; 9.40.3; and by Cassius dio in 67.3.3; 67.3.4; 77.16.1; 77.16.3. 26 on this see Ford, A Trilogy, 8-22, esp. 14-19. 27 Similar statements are found in Philo, Post. 134; Migr. 224-225; Praem. 159; Q.E. 2.3b. Pausanias reports that the argives say Hera, bathing every year in a spring, becomes a parqe,noj (2.38.3). 28 the discussion of widows in vv. 39-40 may indicate, however, that parqe,noi and widows were connected in the minds of Paul and/or the Corinthians. 29 Ford, A Trilogy, 82-83, 87-99. J.d.M. derrett (“the disposal of Virgins”, Man 9 [1974] 23-30) also uses Jewish categories to interpret 1 Cor 7,25-40 but argues that the passage discusses daughters. 30 Ford, A Trilogy, 60-66. 31 Barrett, First Epistle to the Corinthians, 184.