Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

2 Corinthians 11:3

φοβοῦμαι δὲ μή πως κ. τ. λ.: but I fear lest by any means, as “the serpent beguiled” Eve in his craftiness (in Genesis 3:1 the serpent is called φρονιμώτατος, but St. Paul changes the word to indicate the baseness of the serpent's wisdom. Aristotle uses πανουργία in direct contrast to φρόνησις; cf. Nic. Eth., vi., 12), your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity (cf. chap. 2 Corinthians 6:6) that is toward Christ. It would appear that the belief of the synagogues was that the serpent literally “seduced” Eve (cf. 4Ma 18:6-8, and Iren., contra Haer., i., 307), and it is probably in reference to this that St. Paul substitutes the stronger word ἐξαπατάω (as he does at 1 Timothy 2:14) for the simple verb ἀπατ. of Genesis 3:13. Carrying on the metaphor of 2 Corinthians 11:2, he expresses his anxiety lest the Corinthian Church, the Bride of Christ, should be seduced by the devil from her singleness of affection (cf. 1Ma 2:37; 1Ma 2:60, and see on 2 Corinthians 8:2 for ἁπλότης) and her purity, and so should be guilty of spiritual fornication. He assumes that “the serpent” is to be identified with Satan, the tempter of mankind, as he does also at Romans 16:20; the earliest trace of this identification, which has become so familiar, is Wis 2:24, cf. Revelation 12:9; Revelation 20:2. He now gives the reason of his anxiety, lest they should fall away; viz., they were showing themselves too willing to listen to strange teachings.

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Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

2 Corinthians 11:3

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