There are seven major theories about the nature and sequence of the correspondence following Timothy’s return to Ephesus. According to the first and simplest theory, the “letter of tears” is Paul’s third letter to Corinth (Letter C) and has been lost. 2 Corinthians as a whole is Paul’s fourth letter (Letter D). Written from Macedonia after Titus’s return, it contains no fragments of earlier letters. Although this theory, which typically explains differences within the Letter in terms of Paul’s use of various rhetorical strategies, has been vigorously championed in recent years, most scholars regard it as inadequate to explain the complexities of the textual data. A second theory seeks to explain the sharp change in tone between chs. 1–9 and 10–13 by positing a change of situation for chs. 10–13. According to this hypothesis, 2 Corinthians is a literary unity, but whereas Paul wrote chs. 1–9 in response to Titus’s optimistic report (7.5–16), he wrote chs. 10–13 after receiving new and troubling information about the situation in Corinth.
The third theory, like the second, assumes that Paul is addressing different situations in chs. 1–9 and 10–13. It too assumes that Letter C is the lost “letter of tears.” It differs from the second theory by dividing 2 Corinthians into two originally independent letters. Paul’s fourth letter (Letter D) is contained in chs. 1–9, and a fifth, later letter (Letter E) is partially preserved in chs. 10–13. Letters D and E both were written in Macedonia; Letter D was occasioned by Titus’s optimistic report (7.5–16) and Letter E by a later, more pessimistic assessment of the state of affairs in the Corinthian church. A fourth theory differs from the third only by viewing ch. 9 as originally a separate letter about the collection. Advocates of this partition theory view chs. 1–8 as Letter D, ch. 9 as Letter E, and chs. 10–13 as Letter F.
The fifth theory, like the first four, maintains that the “letter of tears” is Paul’s third letter (Letter C). It differs by identifying Letter C with chs. 10–13 and by usually assigning its place of composition to Ephesus (though Macedonia is favored in some reconstructions). Paul’s fourth letter (Letter D) is equivalent to chs. 1–9; Titus’s report is its occasion and Macedonia its place of composition. By making chs. 10–13 earlier than chs. 1–9, the fifth theory thus reverses the third theory’s chronological sequence.
The sixth and seventh theories are the most complex. According to the sixth theory, Paul’s third letter to Corinth (Letter C) is not the “letter of tears,” but a letter (partially preserved in 2.14–6.13; 7.2–4) in which Paul defends himself against the verbal attacks of his opponents in Corinth. This letter, which preceded Paul’s second visit to Corinth, was followed by another defensive letter (Letter D), partially preserved in chs. 10–13, which is probably, though not necessarily, the “letter of tears.” Letters C and D were both composed in Ephesus. Paul’s fifth letter (Letter E), occasioned by Titus’s glowing report, is his “letter of reconciliation” with the Corinthian church. Written in Macedonia and completely preserved in 1.1–2.13; 7.5–16; 13.11–13, it provides the editorial frame for the entire canonical Letter. Chs. 8 and 9 (Letters F and G, respectively), which deal with the collection for the Jerusalem church, are chronologically the last of Paul’s correspondence with the Christians of Achaia, though one of the chapters (probably 8) may originally have been attached to the “letter of reconciliation” (Letter E).
The seventh theory, like the sixth, divides 2 Corinthians into five different fragments, but it differs dramatically from all other reconstructions by viewing ch. 8, one of Paul’s fund-raising missives, as Letter C. Instead of facilitating the collection, this deliberative appeal to the Corinthians backfired and created enormous problems for Paul, including angry charges that he was guilty of financial malfeasance and was usurping Corinthian prerogatives. This reaction led to Letter D (2.14–6.13; 7.2–4), in which the maligned apostle defended himself against these and other accusations. After his disastrous second visit to Corinth, Paul wrote Letter E (chs. 10–13), a sharp and often ironic self-defense of his apostolic legitimacy. Its success led to Letter F (1.1–2.13; 7.5–16; 13.11–13), which was written in order to effect a full reconciliation with the Corinthians, and Letter G (ch. 9), a final fund-raising missive directed to all believers in Achaia.
Date and Occasion of the Letter(s)
THE ARRIVAL OF PAUL’S OPPONENTS in Corinth, his unpleasant second visit to the city, his estrangement from part of the Corinthian church, the continuing problem of sin and impenitence in Corinth (12.20–21), the “letter of tears,” the need for full reconciliation with both the church as a whole and Paul’s offender (2.5–11; 7.12), Titus’s glowing report, and possibly other, more negative reports provide the occasion for 2 Corinthians, either in part or as a whole. According to all seven reconstructions, Paul’s later correspondence with Corinth belongs to the mid-50s of the first century (ca. 54–56 CE). This places it in the most theologically productive period of Paul’s life, between 1 Thessalonians and Romans. Unquestionably Paul’s interactions with the Corinthian church helped give both form and substance to his whole theology. [JOHN T. FITZGERALD]
2 Corinthians 1
Salutation
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the church of God that is in Corinth, including all the saints throughout Achaia:
2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul’s Thanksgiving after Affliction
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation, 4who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. 6If we are being afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation; if we are being consoled, it is for your consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we are also suffering. 7Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our consolation.
8We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,a of the affliction we experienced in Asia; for we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself. 9Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death so that we would rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10He who rescued us from so deadly a peril will continue to rescue us; on him we have set our hope that he will rescue us again, 11as you also join in helping us by your prayers, so that many will give thanks on ourb behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
The Postponement of Paul’s Visit
12Indeed, this is our boast, the testimony of our conscience: we have behaved in the world with franknessc and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God—and all the more toward you. 13For we write you nothing other than what you can read and also understand; I hope you will understand until the end—14as you have already understood us in part—that on the day of the Lord Jesus we are your boast even as you are our boast.
15Since I was sure of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a double favor;d 16I wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on to Judea. 17Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to ordinary human standards,e ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? 18As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been “Yes and No.” 19For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not “Yes and No” but in him it is always “Yes.” 20For in him every one of God’s promises is a “Yes.” For this reason it is through him that we say the “Amen,” to the glory of God. 21But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, 22by putting his seal on us and giving us his Spirit in our hearts as a first installment.
23But I call on God as witness aga
inst me: it was to spare you that I did not come again to Corinth. 24I do not mean to imply that we lord it over your faith; rather, we are workers with you for your joy, because you stand firm in the faith.
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a Gk brothers
b Other ancient authorities read your
c Other ancient authorities read holiness
d Other ancient authorities read pleasure
e Gk according to the flesh
1.1–2 The form of the salutation follows ancient letter-writing practice.
1.1 The co-sender of the Letter is Paul’s protégé Timothy, who was with him when the church was established at Corinth (Acts 18.5; 2 Cor 1.19) and later returned there as his intermediary (Acts 19.22; 1 Cor 4.17; 16.10–11). Church of God collectively designates several groups of believers who met in the homes of various members (see 1 Cor 16.19). Saints, lit. “holy ones,” a popular early designation of Christians as consecrated to God (see 1 Cor 1.2; 6.1–2). Since 27 BCE, Corinth had served as the capital of the Roman senatorial province of Achaia.
1.3–11 Instead of his customary thanksgiving (see Rom 1.8–15; 1 Cor 1.4–9), Paul uses here a benediction derived from ancient Jewish liturgical formulas such as “Blessed be the Lord” (see Gen 24.26–27; see also Eph 1.3–14; 1 Pet 1.3–9).
1.3 Father of mercies. See Ps 103.13; Lk 6.36; Rom 12.1. God of all consolation. See Rom 15.5.
1.4 Affliction and consolation are central themes both of the blessing and of the Letter as a whole; see 1.3–8; 2.4; 4.8, 17; 6.4; 7.4–7; 8.2, 13.
1.5 The sufferings of Christ indicates not only the afflictions Christ himself experienced, but also those his followers suffer in his name and on his behalf (4.10–11; Phil 3.10; 1 Pet 1.11; 4.13).
1.6 For Paul, divine consolation may occasionally take the form of deliverance from suffering (as in vv. 8–10), but it consists more fundamentally in the gift of divine power (4.7–9) that enables one to endure (see 6.4; Rom 5.3–5; 2 Thess 1.4; Rev 1.9) an abiding adverse circumstance (12.7–10).
1.7 Our hope for you is unshaken, one of several expressions of Paul’s confidence in the Corinthians; see also v. 24; 7.4, 14, 16; 8.7.
1.8 We do not want you to be unaware, a disclosure formula frequently used by Paul to impart new or important information (see Rom 1.13; 11.25; 1 Cor 10.1; 12.1; 1 Thess 4.13). Asia, a Roman senatorial province located in Asia Minor. Nothing certain is known about the event Paul mentions; some conjecture that it was an otherwise unknown imprisonment in Ephesus during which he faced the possibility of execution (v. 9; see also Phil 1.12–26).
1.12–14 Paul’s personal integrity is a primary theme in 2 Corinthians.
1.12 The topic of Paul’s boast, or self-commendation, is prominent in the Letters to Corinth; see 1 Cor 9.15; 2 Cor 3.1; 4.2; 5.12; 6.4; 10.8, 12–18; 11.10, 16–18, 30; 12.1, 5–6, 9, 11. The conscience, which plays an important role in the discussion of communal ethics in 1 Cor 8.7–13; 10.25–29, is invoked here in support of Paul’s assertions about his own ethical conduct (see also Acts 23.1; 24.16; Rom 9.1; 2 Cor 4.2; 5.11). Frankness. The alternate reading holiness (see text note b) is preferred by many commentators. Sincerity, a term that Paul associates with “truthfulness” (see 1 Cor 5.8) and the divine (godly; see also 2 Cor 2.17). It thus stands in contrast to earthly wisdom, which uses duplicity and derives its power from rhetorical eloquence rather than the cross of Christ (see 1 Cor 1.17–25; 2.1–5).
1.13 Until the end, or “fully,” yielding a contrast between partial (v. 14) and complete (v. 13) understanding (see 1 Cor 13.12).
1.14 The day of the Lord Jesus, i.e., the Second Coming (Greek parousia); see Phil 2.16. Paul’s goal in 2 Corinthians is reconciliation and restoration of mutual pride between himself and the church. For Paul’s pride in the Corinthians (you are our boast), see also 1 Cor 15.31; 2 Cor 7.4, 14; 8.24; 9.2–3; for the Corinthians’ pride in Paul (we are your boast), see also 5.12.
1.15–2.4 An explanation for Paul’s decision to send the Corinthians a grieving letter rather than revisit them.
1.15–16 For Paul’s various travel plans in regard to Corinth, see also 1 Cor 4.18–21; 11.34; 16.3–9; 2 Cor 9.4; 12.14; 13.1.
1.16 Macedonia, the Roman senatorial province where both Philippi and Thessalonica were located. Send me on, i.e., provide financial assistance for the journey (see Rom 15.24; 1 Cor 16.6, 11; Titus 3.13; 3 Jn 6–8). Judea, the southern part of Palestine, where Jerusalem was located. For this destination, see also Rom 15.25; 1 Cor 16.3.
1.17 To some, Paul’s departure from his announced itinerary (see 2.1) suggested he was vacillating. As a result, they accused him of base motives by alleging that he made and changed his travel plans according to ordinary human standards (see text note d; 10.2). Yes and no. Cf. Mt 5.37; Jas 5.12.
1.18 God is faithful. The OT theme of divine fidelity (see Deut 7.9), which appears frequently in the NT (1 Cor 1.9; 10.13; 1 Thess 5.24), functions here as an oath to confirm Paul’s testimony (see also v. 23).
1.19 Silvanus (1 Thess 1.1; 2 Thess 1.1; 1 Pet 5.12), also known as Silas, was a prophet and leader in the Jerusalem church (Acts 15.22, 32) who accompanied Paul on his so-called second missionary journey (Acts 15.40–18.22). Consequently, he was with Paul and Timothy (see v. 1) when the church was established at Corinth (Acts 18.5). In Greek, the three men are mentioned in the order of importance: Paul, Silvanus, Timothy.
1.20 Amen, a Jewish and Christian liturgical acclamation meaning “So let it be” uttered by the congregation in response to benedictions and thanksgivings (see 1 Cor 14.16; Gal 1.5; Phil 4.20).
1.22 First installment, a commercial term rendered guarantee in 5.5 and “pledge” in Eph 1.14. The Spirit, whom believers receive at the time of conversion (see Gal 3.2–3), is the “down payment” that provides assurance that all God’s saving promises (v. 20) will be fulfilled (see Rom 8.11; Eph 4.30).
1.23 For God as witness to Paul’s oaths, see Rom 1.9; Phil 1.8; 1 Thess 2.5, 10.
1.24 Thematically, joy and pain (2.2) in 1.23–2.11 resume Paul’s earlier discussion of affliction and consolation (1.3–11). You stand firm in the faith. See v. 7.
2 Corinthians 2
1So I made up my mind not to make you another painful visit. 2For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? 3And I wrote as I did, so that when I came, I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice; for I am confident about all of you, that my joy would be the joy of all of you. 4For I wrote you out of much distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain, but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.
Forgiveness for the Offender
5But if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but to some extent—not to exaggerate it—to all of you. 6This punishment by the majority is enough for such a person; 7so now instead you should forgive and console him, so that he may not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8So I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. 9I wrote for this reason: to test you and to know whether you are obedient in everything. 10Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ. 11And we do this so that we may not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
Paul’s Anxiety in Troas
12When I came to Troas to proclaim the good news of Christ, a door was opened for me in the Lord; 13but my mind could not rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said farewell to them and went on to Macedonia.
14But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him. 15For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; 16to the one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17For we are not peddlers of God’s word like so many;a but in Christ we speak as pers
ons of sincerity, as persons sent from God and standing in his presence.
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a Other ancient authorities read like the others
2.1 The painful visit was Paul’s second trip to Corinth; the next visit will be his third (see 12.14, 21; 13.1).
2.3 I wrote. See also v. 4, 9; 7.8, 12. For hypotheses concerning this “letter of tears,” see Introduction.
2.5–11 A major goal of Paul is the reconciliation of the person who mistreated him during his second visit.
2.5 If anyone has caused pain (see also 7.12). Both the identity of this individual and the details of his actions are unknown. Earlier critics normally identified him with the “incestuous” man of 1 Cor 5, whereas most modern interpreters see him as either another member of the Corinthian church or someone from outside of Corinth.
2.6 Punishment, or “strong moral rebuke.”
2.7 Forgive (see also Eph 4.32; Col 3.13), so that the church’s action may be redemptive rather than destructive (7.10).
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