Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

2 Corinthians 2:11

ἵνα μὴ πλεονεκτηθῶμεν ὑπὸ τοῦ Σατανᾶ. That we be not overreached by Satan. Comp. 2 Corinthians 7:2; 2 Corinthians 12:17-18; 1 Thessalonians 4:6. Here only is the verb used in the passive. The ‘we’ unites the interests of the Corinthians with his own. The evil one, whose personality is clearly marked, would defraud the Church, if he caused it to lose one of its members. Comp. 1 Peter 5:8. Chrysostom explains the πλεονεξία somewhat strangely. That Satan should defeat us by means of our sins is natural enough: but that he should defeat us by means of our penitence is grasping at more than can be allowed to him. That Satan is mentioned here as well as in 1 Corinthians 5:5 is no more evidence than the use of ὁ τοιοῦτος in both places that the offender in each case is the same. In every sinful act there must be ὁ τοιοῦτος and the work of Satan. Satan is mentioned very differently in the two passages.

οὐ γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὰ νοήματα�. Comp. τὰς μεθοδείας τοῦ διαβόλου (Ephesians 6:11). Νόημα is almost peculiar to this Epistle; 2 Corinthians 3:14; 2 Corinthians 4:4; 2 Corinthians 10:5; 2 Corinthians 11:3; Philippians 4:7. It is not found in the O.T. and is rare in the Apocrypha. Note the paronomasia in νοήματα�, and comp. 2 Corinthians 1:13; 2 Corinthians 3:2; 2 Corinthians 4:8; 2 Corinthians 4:15; 2 Corinthians 6:10; 2 Corinthians 7:10; 2 Corinthians 10:5-6; 2 Corinthians 10:12.

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

2 Corinthians 2:11

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