Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

2 Corinthians 11:30

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 that S. Paul consciously dictated in paragraphs: see Introduction § 3. The fut. καυχήσομαι does not refer specially to what follows. It expresses his general intention in such things, the principle which guides him; and it refers to what has just been said (2 Corinthians 11:23-29) as well as to what is coming.

τὰ τῆς�. These were not at all what his adversaries gloried in. They gloried in their birth, their circumcision, their connexion with the Twelve, their prosperity as a mark of God’s favour. S. Paul says I will glory of the things which concern my weakness. The repetition of καυχ. and of ἀσθεν. in this part of the letter must not be marred, as in the A.V., by varying between ‘boast’ and ‘glory’ and between ‘infirmity’ and ‘weakness.’ For καυχᾶσθαι with an acc. of what is gloried in comp. 2 Corinthians 9:2. Note the oxymoron in glorying of weakness, and comp. 2 Corinthians 12:4; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. He knows that his weak points are stronger than his opponents’ strong ones: they prove his likeness to his Master (2 Corinthians 1:5; 1 Corinthians 1:27).

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

2 Corinthians 11:30

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