Due Benevolence

BENEVOLENCE, DUE. This phrase is found in the KJV tr. of 1 Corinthians 7:3, “Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence....” The two words are a tr. of the Gr. phrase ὀφειλομένην εὔνοιαν which literally means “the affection that one owes.” It is a euphemism for marital conjugal obligations.

Some of the more important Gr. MSS did not include the word for benevolence or affection (eūnoian) in their texts. For this reason a number of the more current trs. of this verse focus on the words “due” or “obligation.” RSV—“her conjugal rights,” NASB—“his duty,” NEB—“what is due to her” are different examples of the tr. of opheilēn.