1–6. These verses are introductory, apologizing for the folly of glorying, to which a godly zeal on their behalf impels him. At the beginning, middle, and end of this section he calls attention to the _folly_ of this parade of his claims (2 Corinthians 11:1; 2 Corinthians 11:16; 2 Corinthians 12:11)... [ Continue Reading ]
ὌΦΕΛΟΝ (אBD1MP) rather than ὤφελον (D3FGKL); and ἀνείχεσθε (אBDFGLMP) rather than ἀνέχεσθε (K 37, 73, Theodoret), which comes from the following ἀνέχεσθε, or than ἠνείχεσθε (cursives); and ΜΙΚΡΌΝ ΤΙ (אBDM, f Vulg. Pesh. Goth.) rather than μικρόν (FGKLP, d g r); also ἈΦΡΟΣΎΝΗΣ (אBDP 17, Vulg.) rather... [ Continue Reading ]
ΖΗΛΩ͂ ΓᾺΡ ὙΜΑ͂Σ ΘΕΟΥ͂ ΖΉΛΩΙ. This explains the second half of 2 Corinthians 11:1 : because his feeling for them is of so lofty a character, he is sure that they will not refuse him toleration, however foolish they may think him. As the first half of 2 Corinthians 11:1 has been corrected by the secon... [ Continue Reading ]
ΦΘΑΡΗ͂Ι (אBDFGP, d g r Copt. Arm. Goth.) rather than οὔτω φθαρῇ (D2D3KLM, f Vulg. Syrr. Aeth.): the variant φθαρει (KLP) may be ignored. It is not easy to decide as to the genuineness of καὶ τῆς ἁγνότητος, which אBFG 17, 74, g Aeth. have _after_ ἀπλότητος, while D, d have τῆς�, and א3D3KLMP, f have... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΝΈΧΕΣΘΕ (BD 17) is more probable than ἀνείχεσθε (אD3GKLMP): ἠνείχεσθε (Rec.) has here scarcely any authority; comp. 2 Corinthians 11:1. 4. This obscure verse has received an immense amount of discussion, and it would be confusing to reproduce the numerous suggestions which have been made respectin... [ Continue Reading ]
ΛΟΓΊΖΟΜΑΙ ΓᾺΡ ΜΗΔῈΝ ὙΣΤΕΡΗΚΈΝΑΙ ΤΩ͂Ν ὙΠΕΡΛΊΑΝ�. _For I_ COUNT (2 Corinthians 10:7; 2 Corinthians 10:11) _that I am not a whit behind_ THOSE PREEMINENT _apostles_. The rare compound ὑπερλίαν (here and 2 Corinthians 12:11 only) has been variously translated and explained; ‘overmuch,’ ‘superlative,’ ‘s... [ Continue Reading ]
5, 6. These verses lead up to the περιαυτολογία and καύχησις which is coming. The γάρ connects them with what precedes: ‘Of course this is not acting καλῶς, _for_ &c.’... [ Continue Reading ]
ΦΑΝΕΡΏΣΑΝΤΕΣ (אBFG 17) rather than φανερώσαντες ἑαυτούς (M 108, Goth.), or φανερωθέντες (א3D3KLP), or φανερωθείς (D, d f am.). 6. ΕἸ ΔῈ ΚΑῚ ἸΔΙΏΤΗΣ ΤΩ͂Ι ΛΌΓΩΙ. Comp. 2 Corinthians 4:3; 1 Corinthians 4:7. _But though_ I am _rude in speech_; εἰ καί implying _rem ita esse, ut dicitur_. For ἰδιώτης comp... [ Continue Reading ]
Ἤ ἉΜΑΡΤΊΑΝ ἘΠΟΊΗΣΑ Κ.Τ.Λ. _Or_ DID I COMMIT A SIN _in abasing myself that you might be exalted, because I preached to you_ GOD’S GOSPEL FOR NOTHING? For ἤ introducing an emphatic question comp. 1 Corinthians 6:2; Romans 2:4; Romans 3:29; Romans 6:3. The strong expression ἁμαρτίαν ποιῆσαι (1 John 3:9... [ Continue Reading ]
THE APOSTLE’S GLORYING ABOUT WORKING GRATUITOUSLY With this passage 1 Corinthians 9, especially 2 Corinthians 11:12; 2 Corinthians 11:15; 2 Corinthians 11:18, should be compared. It was one of the marked characteristics of S. Paul’s ministry, that he did not avail himself of Christ’s principle, that... [ Continue Reading ]
ἍΛΛΑΣ ἘΚΚΛΗΣΊΑΣ ἘΣΎΛΗΣΑ. _Other churches I robbed;_ a hyperbolical expression, indicative of strong feeling, but at once preserved from being misleading by the explanation which follows. Here also he may be adopting a phrase used by his enemies. The verb is very rare in Biblical Greek: elsewhere onl... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ΠΑΡῺΝ ΠΡῸΣ ὙΜΑ͂Σ ΚΑῚ ὙΣΤΕΡΗΘΕΊΣ. _And when I was with you and_ WAS REDUCED TO WANT (Luke 15:14). He brought Macedonian supplies with him and they were exhausted before fresh contributions from Macedonia came. ΟΥ̓ ΚΑΤΕΝΆΡΚΗΣΑ ΟΥ̓ΘΕΝΌΣ. _I was_ A BURDEN ON _no man_. The verb is found here, 2 Corin... [ Continue Reading ]
ΦΡΑΓΉΣΕΤΑΙ (אBDFKLMP) rather than σφραγίσεται, which Rec. has _de conjectura vel errore_ (Tisch.). 10. ἜΣΤΙΝ�. _The truth of Christ is in me that_. This is not exactly an oath; ‘I swear by the truth of Christ’; but it is an appeal to a spirit of truthfulness in him, which is not his own but Christ’s... [ Continue Reading ]
ΔΙᾺ ΤΊ; ‘_Why_ am I so firmly resolved never to accept maintenance from you?’ Is it because I care too little about you to wish to be under any obligation to you, or dislike you too much to accept anything of yours?’ This had very possibly been insinuated. Ὁ ΘΕῸΣ ΟἾΔΕΝ. _God knoweth_ whether he lov... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὃ ΔῈ ΠΟΙΩ͂ ΚΑῚ ΠΟΙΉΣΩ, ἽΝΑ ἙΚΚΌΨΩ ΤῊΝ�. _But what I do, that I_ WILL ALSO CONTINUE TO _do_, _that I may cut off_ THE _occasion_ OF THOSE WHO WISH FOR AN _occasion_. There is no obscurity thus far. He will continue to work δωρεάν, in order that he may give no handle to those who wish to have a handle... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ ΓᾺΡ ΤΟΙΟΥ͂ΤΟΙ ΨΕΥΔΑΠΌΣΤΟΛΟΙ, ἘΡΓΆΤΑΙ ΔΌΛΙΟΙ. _For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers_. The γάρ implies some such thought as, ‘I am justified in saying these severe things, _for_ people of that kind (Romans 16:18) are most dangerous deceivers.’ No doubt οἱ τοιοῦτοι is subject, and the... [ Continue Reading ]
ΘΑΥ͂ΜΑ (אBDFGPR) rather than θαυμαστόν (D2D3KLM). 14. ΚΑῚ ΟΥ̓ ΘΑΥ͂ΜΑ. See critical note. Comp. ΠΛ. πολλοῦ γὰρ αὐτοὺς οὐχ ἑώρακά πω χρόνου. ΧΡ. καὶ θαῦμά γʼ οὐδέν· οὐδʼ ἐγὼ γὰρ ὁ βλέπων (Aristoph. _Plut_. 98, 99). ΑΥ̓ΤῸΣ ΓᾺΡ Ὁ ΣΑΤΑΝΑ͂Σ. The αὐτός prepares us for what is coming,—that these false apos... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓ ΜΈΓΑ ΟΥ̓͂Ν ΕἸ. Comp. μέγα εἰ ἠμεῖς ὑμῶν τὰ σαρκικὰ θερίσομεν; (1 Corinthians 9:11): μέγα μοί ἐστιν εἴ ἔτι ὁ υἱός μου Ἰωσὴφ ζῇ (Genesis 45:28). ΕἸ ΚΑῚ ΟἹ ΔΙΆΚΟΝΟΙ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΥ͂ ΜΕΤΑΣΧΗΜΑΤΊΖΟΝΤΑΙ ὩΣ ΔΙΆΚΟΝΟΙ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΣΎΝΗΣ. _If his ministers also_ FASHION THEMSELVES _AS_ MINISTERS _of righteousness_. The... [ Continue Reading ]
GLORYING ABOUT HIS SERVICES AND SUFFERINGS... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑΥΧΉΣΩΜΑΙ (אBFGM) rather than καυχήσομαι (DKLP). 16. ΠΆΛΙΝ ΛΈΓΩ, ΜΉ ΤΙΣ ΜΕ ΔΌΞΗΙ ἌΦΡΟΝΑ ΕἾΝΑΙ. As in 2 Corinthians 11:1, he admits that all this glorying may be stigmatized as folly. But it is not folly of his own choosing; he would gladly have left it alone. Therefore, he here makes two alternativ... [ Continue Reading ]
16–21. Like 2 Corinthians 11:1-6, these six verses are ‘again’ introductory to the glorying which follows, apologizing for the folly of it.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓ ΚΑΤᾺ ΚΎΡΙΟΝ ΛΑΛΩ͂. He does this on his own responsibility and claims no inspiration for it. The expression seems to mean ‘in accordance with the character of the Lord.’ Comp. οὐ κατὰ Χριστόν (Colossians 2:8); κατὰ Χρ. Ἰησοῦν (Romans 15:5); κατὰ Θεόν (2 Corinthians 7:9; Ephesians 4:24); and espec... [ Continue Reading ]
18. It is hard to decide between ΚΑΤᾺ ΤῊΝ ΣΆΡΚΑ (א3BD3KLMP) and κατὰ σάρκα (אDFGR 17, 71, 73). 18. ΚΑΤᾺ[ΤῊΝ]ΣΆΡΚΑ. See critical note. Everywhere else, and very frequently (2 Corinthians 1:17; 2 Corinthians 5:16; 2 Corinthians 10:2-3; 1 Corinthians 1:26; 1 Corinthians 10:18; &c.), S. Paul writes κατὰ... [ Continue Reading ]
ἩΔΈΩΣ ΓᾺΡ�. The ἡδέως is emphatic by position, and τῶν� and φρόνιμοι are in emphatic juxtaposition. _For_ GLADLY YE BEAR WITH (as in 2 Corinthians 11:1; 2 Corinthians 11:4) THE FOOLISH, BECAUSE _ye are wise_. They were so sure of their own wisdom, that they could be serenely tolerant of what they co... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΝΈΧΕΣΘΕ ΓΆΡ. ‘Am I not right in saying that in your sublime wisdom you can be serenely tolerant of folly? _For_ you put up with what is a great deal more intolerable than folly. You put up with tyranny, with extortion, with craftiness, with arrogance, with violence and insult. All this you bear wit... [ Continue Reading ]
ἨΣΘΕΝΉΚΑΜΕΝ (אB 80) rather than ἠσθενήσαμεν (DFGKLMP). 21. ΚΑΤᾺ�, ὩΣ ὍΤΙ ἩΜΕΙ͂Σ ἨΣΘΕΝΉΚΑΜΕΝ. See critical note. _By way of_ DISHONOUR (2 Corinthians 6:8) _I speak, as though we_ HAVE _been weak_. This apparently means, ‘To my own discredit I admit that I was so weak as to be unequal to treating you... [ Continue Reading ]
22. He begins by comparing himself point by point with the Judaizers, who had, no doubt, urged these very points in their own favour. He has been answering their attacks on him, implying throughout that their accusation recoiled on themselves. He now answers the claims which they made on their own b... [ Continue Reading ]
22–33. Now follows the actual glorying. Several times he had begun this assertion of himself (2 Corinthians 10:7-8; 2 Corinthians 11:1; 2 Corinthians 11:7; 2 Corinthians 11:16), but each time something has diverted him for awhile. Now he is fairly launched; and the result is a sketch of his life, wh... [ Continue Reading ]
ΛΑΛΩ͂ (אBKLMP) rather than λέγω (DFG, Latt. _dico_, as in 2 Corinthians 11:16; 2 Corinthians 11:21, not _loquor_, as in 2 Corinthians 11:17); and ἐν φυλακαῖς περισσοτέρως, ἐν πληγαῖς ὑπερβαλλόντως (BD, d f Vulg. Aeth. Goth.) rather than ἐν πλ. περισς., ἐν φυλ. ὑπερβ. (אFG, g), or ἐν πληγ. ὑπερβ., ἐν... [ Continue Reading ]
24–28. We have, in rough order, three groups; 1. the details of being ἐν θανάτοις πολλάκις (2 Corinthians 11:24-25); 2. the details of being ὁδοιπορίαις πολλάκις (2 Corinthians 11:26); 3. a variety of sufferings (2 Corinthians 11:27-28). In the first group he begins with what was inflicted on him in... [ Continue Reading ]
ὙΠῸ ἸΟΥΔΑΊΩΝ. These words belong to the first clause only: perhaps he meant to go on to ὑπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν, but forgot to make the formal antithesis. For this use of ὑπό comp. 1 Corinthians 10:9; 1 Thessalonians 2:14; Matthew 17:12. None of these Jewish floggings are recorded elsewhere. Such punishments,... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΡῚΣ ἘΡΑΒΔΊΣΘΗΝ. This beating with rods is a Roman punishment. We know of only one of these three cases, the one at Philippi (Acts 16:23; comp. 1 Thessalonians 2:2). Possibly the protest that he and Silas were Roman citizens, which frightened the praetors afterwards (Acts 16:37-38), was not heard in... [ Continue Reading ]
ὉΔΟΙΠΟΡΊΑΙΣ ΠΟΛΛΆΚΙΣ. The omission of ἐν may be marked in English by a change of preposition; BY _journeyings often, perils of_ RIVERS, _perils of robbers, perils_ FROM KINDRED, _perils from_ GENTILES, _perils in the city, perils in the wilderness, perils in the sea, perils among false brethren_. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΌΠΩΙ (אBDFG, d g) rather than ἐν κόπῳ (KLMP, Vulg.). 27. Having mentioned thirteen cases in which he might have lost his life, and eight kinds of dangers which one who travelled as he did must incur, he goes on to mention miscellaneous trials and afflictions. In sense this verse comes immediately... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΠΊΣΤΑΣΙΣ (אBDFG) rather than ἐπισύστασις (KLMP); and μοι rather than μου (א3DKLMP). 28. ΧΩΡῚΣ ΤΩ͂Ν ΠΑΡΕΚΤΌΣ. _Beside those things that are without: Praeter illa, quae extrinsecus sunt_. But can τὰ παρεκτός mean this? (1) Assuming with both A.V. and R.V. that this meaning is possible and correct, th... [ Continue Reading ]
29. Two illustrations of his all-embracing μέριμνα, each exhibiting the Apostle’s intense sympathy. Among new converts there would be many who would be weak in faith, or in judgment, or in conduct; and in every case he felt the weakness as if it were his own: ἐγενόμην τοῖς� (1 Corinthians 9:22). Com... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἸ ΚΑΥΧΆΣΘΑΙ ΔΕΙ͂. B. Weiss makes this the beginning of the paragraph which ends with 2 Corinthians 12:10. But these four verses (30–33) are closely connected with what precedes, and 2 Corinthians 11:30 takes us back to 2 Corinthians 11:16; 2 Corinthians 11:18. We must, however, beware of assuming t... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΟΥ͂ ΚΥΡΊΟΥ (אBFGKL, g am. Pesh. Goth.) rather than τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν (DMP, d f Vulg. Copt. Arm. Aeth.); and ἸΗΣΟΥ͂ (אBFG 17, 31, 37, 118, g am. Pesh. Arm. Goth.) rather than Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (DKLMP, d f Vulg. Copt. Aeth.). 31. Ὁ ΘΕῸΣ ΚΑῚ ΠΑΤῊΡ ΤΟΥ͂ ΚΥΡΊΟΥ ἸΗΣΟΥ͂ ΟἾΔΕΝ. See critical note and notes on 2 C... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΙΆΣΑΙ ΜΕ (BD, d f Vulg. Arm.) rather than πιάσαι με θέλων (אD3KLMP), or θέλων με πιάσαι (FG, g Copt. Pesh. Aeth.). 2 Corinthians 11:1 to 2 Corinthians 12:10. THE APOSTLE’S FOOLISH GLORYING ABOUT GRATUITOUS WORKING, SERVICES AND SUFFERINGS, REVELATIONS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES 32. ἘΝ ΔΑΜΑΣΚΩ͂Ι. This... [ Continue Reading ]
32, 33. It has been proposed by Holsten, Hilgenfeld, Schmiedel, Baljon, and others to strike out these two verses, with or without all or the first part of 2 Corinthians 12:1, as a rather clumsy gloss upon τὰ τῆς�. It is said that these verses do not fit on well to the context, but interrupt the seq... [ Continue Reading ]
ΔΙᾺ ΘΥΡΊΔΟΣ. Literally, ‘a little door, small opening,’ dim. of θύρα; elsewhere in the N.T. only Acts 20:9. An aperture in the wall is still shown as the place. “In the traditions of Damascus the incidents of this escape have almost entirely eclipsed the story of his conversion” (Stanley). Comp. the... [ Continue Reading ]