Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

2 Corinthians 7:1-2

to 2 Corinthians 7:1. PARENTHETICAL. HE WARNS THEM AGAINST TOO FAMILIAR ASSOCIATION WITH THEIR HEATHEN NEIGHBOURS. These verses are somewhat perplexing, inasmuch as they seem to interrupt the appeal of 2 Corinthians 6:11-13 by the introduction of an irrelevant warning. If they be omitted, the argument is quite consecutive, 2 Corinthians 7:2 f. being in close and evident connexion with 2 Corinthians 6:11-13. And it has been supposed that the whole section is an interpolation either (a) added by St. Paul after the arrival of Titus, in consequence of the news he had received as to the state of the Corinthian Church; or (b) belonging to another Pauline letter (possibly the Lost Epistle of 1 Corinthians 5:9), and inserted here at a later date when a collection of Pauline letters began to be made; or (c) it has been regarded (e.g., by Heinrici) as a fragment of an ancient homily, not by St. Paul, which has found a resting place here. It is urged in favour of the non-Pauline authorship of the section that (α) it contains a considerable number of words which do not occur elsewhere in St. Paul. To this it may be replied that ἑτεροζυγεῖν and βελίαρ have their origin in O.T. phraseology, while μολυσμός is a LXX word (see reff.); and that, as to the words μετοχή, συμφώνησις, συγκατάθεσις, it is not surprising that some of the synonyms which are found in this section should be comparatively rare. It is not easy to find (as has here been done, with no small skill) five distinct terms to convey almost the same idea. (β) Schmiedel urges that the phrase μολυσμός σαρκός (2 Corinthians 7:1) is quite un-Pauline, and that it is inconsistent with St. Paul's psychology to speak of being “cleansed” from it, inasmuch as for him the σάρξ is always tainted by sin. But there is no thought here of the taint of sin which remains in fallen man; μολυσμός is always used in the LXX (see reff.) of a too intimate association of the chosen people with heathen nations, and such “contamination” is exactly what it stands for in this place. As an argument on the other side, there occur in this section several quite common Pauline ideas and phrases, e.g., the contrast of Christianity and heathendom as light and darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14), the description of Christians as God's temple (2 Corinthians 6:16), the phrases “the living God” (2 Corinthians 6:16) and “the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1), the introduction of the term ἀγαπητοί (2 Corinthians 7:1), etc. We regard, therefore, the section as undoubtedly Pauline; and, further, its connexion with what precedes reveals itself on a close inspection of the phraseology. The Apostle has bidden the Corinthians “Be ye enlarged in heart”. But he is reminded that this phrase has a bad meaning in the Law (Deuteronomy 11:16; see Chase, Classical Review, 1890, p. 151), where it is applied to that excessive tolerance which should permit the worship of other gods beside Jehovah; and so he hastens to give a warning (parenthetically introduced) to the Corinthians that he does not mean by enlargement of heart any undue tolerance of or contaminating association with their heathen neighbours (see on 2 Corinthians 4:4 above for ἄπιστος).

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Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

2 Corinthians 7:1-2

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