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Second Corinthians Sacra Pagina Series VolumeS Second Corinthians Jan Lambrecht, S.J. Daniel J. Harrington, S.J. Editor A Michael Glazie~ Book THE LITURGICAL PRESS I Collegeville, Minnesota Cover design by Don Bruno. A Michael Glazier Book published by The Liturgical Press. © 1999 by The Order of St. Benedict, Inc., Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights re­ served. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any re­ trieval system, without the written permission of The Liturgical Press, Col~ legeville, MN 56321. Printed in the United States of America. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Library of Congress CataIoging-in-PubIication Data Lambrecht, I an. Second Corinthians / Ian Lambrecht; Daniel I. Harrington, editor. p. cm. - (Sacra pagina series ; vol. 8) "A Michael Glazier book." Includes bibliographical references and indexes. ISBN 0-8146-5810-5 (alk. paper) 1. Bible. N.T. Corinthians, 2nd-Commentaries. I. Harrington, Daniel I. II. TItle. III. Series: Sacra pagina series; 8. BS2675.3.L36 1998 227'.2077-dc21 98-19294 CIP CONTENTS Editor's Preface vii Author's Preface ix Abbreviations xl IlItrodllClioll 1. Corinth and Paul's Visits 2 2. Paul's Corinthian Correspondence 3 3. Christianity in Corinth 4 4. The Events Between 1 and 2 Corinthians 5 5. Paul's Opponents 6 6. One Integral Letter? 7 7. A Structured Survey of the Letter 9 8. The Theological Significance of the Letter 11 9. General Bibliography 13 Trallslalioll, Illterpretatioll, Notes 1. Greeting the Saints and Blessing God (1:1-2 and 1:3-11) 17 I. PAUL'S RELIABILITY (1:12-2:13) 2. Paul's Reliability (1:12-2:13) 25 II. PAUL'S ArosnESHIr (2:14-7:4) 3. Paul's Ministry (2:14-3:6) 37 4. The New Covenant (3:7-18) 49 v vi Secolld Corill/llialls 5. The Minister and His Gospel (4:1-6) 64 6. The Treosure in Clay Jars (4:7-15) 71 7. The Future Destiny (4:16-5:10) 80 8. The Ministry of Reconciliation (5:11-21) 90 9. As Ministers of God (6:1-10) 107 10. Apostolic Appeal and Exhortation (6:11- 7:4) 116 Ill. Tnus's RETURN (7:5-16) 11. Titus's Return (7:5-16) 128 IV. THE COLLECTION (8:1-9:15) 12. The Collection for Jerusalem (8:1-24) 135 13. The Collection (Continuation) (9:1-15) 144 V. PAUL'S SELF-DEFENSE (10:1-13:10) 14. Paul's Defense of His Authority (10:1-11) 152 15. Wrong and Right Commendation (10:12-18) 163 16. Paul, the Corinthians, and the Super-Apostles (11:1-15) 171 17. Paul's Foolish Boasting (11:16-33) 187 18. More Boasting: Strength in Weakness (12:1-10) 199 19. Self-Defense and Apostolic Concern (12:11-21) 210 20. Stem Announcement and Injunction (13:1-10) 220 21. Final Exhortation, Greetings, and Blessing (13:11-13) 227 Indexes Scripture Index 231 Index of Authors 240 Index of Names, Subjects, and Terms 244 EDITOR'S PREFACE Sacra Pagina is a multi-volume commentary on the books of the New Testament. The expression Sacra Pagi"a ("Sacred Page") originally re­ ferred to the text of Scripture. In the Middle Ages it also described the study of Scripture to which the interpreter brought the tools of grammar, rhetoric, dialectic, and philosophy. Thus Sacra Pagilla encompasses both the text to be studied and the activity of interpretation. This series presents fresh translations and modem expositions of all the books of the New Testament. Written by an international team of Catholic biblical scholars, it is intended for biblical profeSSionals, gradu­ ate students, theologians, clergy, and religious educators. The volumes present basic introductory information and close exposition. They self­ consciously adopt specific methodological perspectives, but maintain a focus on the issues raised by the New Testament compositions them­ selves. The goal of Sacra Pagilla is to provide sound critical analysis with­ out any loss of sensitivity to religious meaning. This series is therefore catholic in two senses of the word: inclusive in its methods and perspec­ tives, and shaped by the context of the Catholic tradition. The Second Vatican Council described the study of the "sacred page" as the "very soul of sacred theology" (Dei VerbulII 24). The volumes in this series illustrate how Catholic scholars contribute to the council's call to provide access to Sacred Scripture for all the Christian faithful. Rather than pretending to say the final word on any text, these volumes seek to open up the riches of the New Testament and to invite as many people as possible to study seriously the "sacred page." DANIEL]. HARRINGTON, S.J. vii AUTHOR'S PREFACE Scholars and students of Paul know all too well that his second letter to the Corinthians is not easy. There is not only the question of the in­ tegrity of 2 Corinthians as a letter, but also the fact that adequate infor­ mation is lacking about the concrete situation at Corinth and the identity of Paul's opponents. Moreover, the Greek of this letter is difficult, partly due no doubt to Paul's emotional style. Yet 2 Corinthians is of utmost im­ portance, especially because of Paul's ongoing reflection on his ministry. The writer of this commentary has tried to adhere to the guidelines of the Sacra Pagilla series by offering here a one-volume commentary with­ out footnotes and without expanded surveys of the history of interpreta­ tion. Brevity of exposition has been a primary goal. A new translation has been prepared. A distinction is made between the verse-by-verse exege­ sis (Notes) and the more theological explanation (Interpretation). Finally, only a few titles, mostly English, have been added for reference and fur­ ther study. My translation is as literal as possible and is intended to help readers to detect precisely what Paul has in mind, his reasoning and the flow of his thought. More than once it was necessary to add some words and even phrases in parentheses to conform to English grammar. In the notes the translation is repeated clause by clause for the sake of easier discussion. Greek words and constructions are given in transliteration followed by the translation in parentheses. For passages from the Septuagint I have sometimes used the translation by L.CL. Brenton, The Septuagillt willI Apocryphn: Greek alld Ellglish (repr. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982). As is further explained at the end of the Introduction, the material in the inter­ pretation is divided into four (unequal) sections. The readers will notice that this commentary argues for the integrity of 2 Corinthians. On this position well-known commentators such as C K. Barrett, Rudolf Bult­ mann, Maurice Carrez, Victor P. Furnish, Hans-Josef Klauck, Ralph P. Martin, Alfred Plummer, Margaret E. Thrall, Hans Windisch, and Christian Wolff differ. These authors, however, along with many other commenta­ tors and writers of monographs or articles, are gratefully remembered here. ix x Second Corinthians I am very much indebted to two of my former students at the Katholieke Universiteit in Leuven, both of whom are now professors and specialists in Pauline studies. Dr. Veronica Koperski, 5.F.C.C., Barry Uni­ versity (Florida), has corrected and refined the English and made a num­ ber of useful suggestions pertaining to the content. Dr. Reimund Bieringer, Katholieke Universiteit of Leuven (Belgium), carefully read a first version of this commentary and in protracted discussions reacted critically to it. I am convinced that neither would have written the text in the way I did, yet I remain deeply grateful to them for their generous and time-consuming help. I wish also to thank the students in Leuven, as well as those in Rome, who by their interaction during classes and seminars took part in the preparation of this work. It is an honor for a non-Ameri­ can and, moreover, one who is not a native English speaker to have been invited to write in Sacra Pagina. For this I want to thank Michael Glazier and the editor of the series, Daniel J. Harrington, 5.J. Finally, I also extend thanks to my religious superiors in Belgium for their support, and I am likewise grateful to the staff of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome for repeated invitations to teach on 2 Corinthians and other letters of Paul. Life in the Jesuit community of the Institute and use of its excellent li­ brary have proven no small help during the last stages of the composition of this commentary. The Second Letter to the Corinthians is theologically and autobio­ graphically highly significant. May this most personal of Paul's "weighty and strong" (10:10) letters continue to contribute toward the "building up" (13:10) of its readers. January 25, 1998 Jan Lambrecht, 5.J. Feast of the Conversion of Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome Paul, Apostle ABBREVIATIONS Biblical Books a1ld ApocnJpha Gen Nah 1- 2- 3-4 Kgdms John Exod Hab Add Esth Acts Lev Zeph Bar Rom Num Hag Bel 1- 2 Cor Deut Zech 1- 2 Esdr Gal Josh Mal 4 Ezra Eph Judg Ps (pl.: Pss) Jdt Phil 1-2 Sam Job Ep Jer Col 1-2 Kgs Pr~y 1-2-3-4 Mace 1-2 Thess Isa Ruth Pr Azar 1-2 lim Jer Cant PrMan litus Ezek Ecd (orQoh) Sir Phlm Hos Lam Sus Heb Joel Esth Tob Jas Amos Dan Wis 1-2 Pet Obad Ezra Matt 1-2-3 John Jonah Neh Mark Jude Mic 1-2 Chr Luke Rev Periodicals, Refere1lce Works, a1ld Serials AB Anchor Bible ABR AustralialJ Biblical Review AnBib Analecta Biblica BA Biblical Arc/weologist BBB Bonner biblische Beitrage BBR Bulletill of Biblical Rescarc/.
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