Partakers of the altar

1 Cor. 9:13 Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar?

In the context of this discussion, Paul here refers to the pagan temples. They illustrate that those involved in religious work should be sustained by that work. Chapter 8 contains a lengthy dialogue about eating food offered to idols. Verse 10 refers to those who dine in an idol’s temple. The priests of Israel also ate at the altar; however, in the context of this discussion, he refers to pagan practices.

In chapter 10, Paul refers to the Israelite temple practices in his discussion of the Lord’s supper:

18 “See Israel according to the flesh! are not those eating the sacrifices in the fellowship of the altar?
19 what then do I say? that an idol is anything? or that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything? —
20 no, but that the things that the nations sacrifice — they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not wish you to come into the fellowship of the demons.”

In this passage, he is clearly referring to the Jewish temple because he says so. The passage in chapter 9 simply refers to the temple. In chapter 8 an idol’s temple [1493] is specifically mentioned. 1493 is used only once in the NT in this passage

The word translated “temple [2413]“ usually refers to the Jewish temple; however, it can refer to pagan temples when that is the point of the discussion. Pagan temples are rarely mentioned in the NT. The word is used to refer to the temple of Diana in Acts:

Acts 19:27 "Not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple <2413> of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence."