276 terraNCe CallaN Because a young, unmarried woman is presumed to be under the protection of her father, parqe,noj evokes the context of the family. Her father, or someone who acts in his place, has the responsibility to care for the parqe,noj until he arranges for her marriage. in Spec. 1.129 Philo explains that a widow without children should return to her father because without husband or children she has no other refuge. in Spec. 2.24 Philo says that the law does not permit parqe,noi or wives (gunai/kej) to make vows independently. parqe,noi are subject to their fathers, and wives to their husbands; the former because of their youth, the latter because they often swear to what would not be to their hus- band’s advantage (see also 4.178). in Josephus, A.J. 1.16.2 § 248 re- bekah tells abraham’s servant, who is seeking a wife for isaac, that her father has died and her brother laban is the guardian of her parqeni,a. there are several references to a father’s giving a parqe,noj to someone as a wife. For example lXX exod 22,15-16 speaks of the case where a father refuses to give a parqe,noj as a wife 42. iii. the issue discussed in 1 Cor 7,36-38 Parqe,noj and its cognates very frequently refer to daughters. Many interpreters, however, think the word designates something different in 1 Cor 7,25-40 mainly because of what Paul says in vv. 36-38. While v. 38, which speaks about giving a parqe,noj in marriage, suits very well the situation of a father and daughter, vv. 36-37 do not suit this situation equally well. these verses speak of behaving shamefully towards one’s parqe,noj and having power over one’s own will. this seems to suit better the situation of a fiancé (or the husband in a spiritual marriage) 43. as we will see, these verses can be interpreted as referring to father and daughter. Perhaps the greatest obstacle to doing so is that the second clause of v. 36 would then have a different subject than the rest of vv. 36-38. if vv. 36-38 are speaking about father and daughter, the father is the subject almost everywhere in the passage except in the second clause of v. 36 where the daughter is the subject 44. Neverthe- 42 See also Philo, Spec. 2.125; Josephus, A.J., 8.1.1 § 5, 8; 17.11.5 § 322; 2 Cor 11,2; Plutarch, Regum et imperatorum apophthegmata 189C. 43 an influential argument that 1 Cor 7,36-38 refers to fiancées was made by W.G. KüMMel, “Verlobung und Heirat bei Paulus (i. Cor 7:36-38)”, Neutestamentliche Studien für Rudolf Bultmann (ed. W. elteSter) (BzNW 21; Berlin 1954) 275-295. 44 Barrett, First Epistle to the Corinthians, 183. Note, however, that another exception is the last clause of v. 36 where the daughter and her prospective hus- band are the subject.