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Home > New Testament > 2 Corinthians 2 Corinthians At a Glance Letter Genre: (5/5) ***** Reliability of Dating: (3/5) *** Length of Text: Greek Original Language: Ancient Translations: Modern Translations: English Estimated Range of Dating: 50-60 A.D. Chronological List of Early Christian Writings Discuss this text on the Early Writings forum. Text American Standard Version King James Version World English Bible Resources e-Catena: References to the New Testament in the Church Fathers Patristic References to 2nd Corinthians, Chapters 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Edgar Goodspeed: The Second Letter to the Corinthians Catholic Encyclopedia: Epistles to the Corinthians Offsite Links Perseus NT (English/Greek/Latin) God Shows His Power when We Are Weak: An EasyEnglish Commentary Daniel Wallace's Introduction IVP Commentary Books Burton L.

Mack, Who Wrote the New Testament? : The Making of the Christian Myth (San Francisco, CA: HarperCollins, 1996), pp. 125-137. Raymond Edward Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament (New York: Doubleday, 1997), pp. 541-558. Udo Schnelle, translated by M. Eugene Boring, The History and Theology of the New Testament Writings (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998), pp. 75-92. Gerald Bray, 1-2 Corinthians (Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers 2000). Recommended Books for the Study of Early Christian Writings Information on 2 Corinthians Second Corinthians is one of the four letters of Paul known as the Hauptbriefe, which are universally accepted to contain authentic Pauline correspondence. Werner Georg Kummel would like to view the letter to be a whole composed by the apostle Paul on one occasion (Introduction to the New Testament, pp.

287-293). However, there are difficulties that have suggested to several commentators that 2 Corinthians has been compiled from several pieces of correspondence. Since the "sorrowful letter" mentioned in 2:4 does not describe 1 Corinthians, we know that Paul had written at least three letters to the Corinthians. A quite reasonable suggestion is that the last four chapters contain the "sorrowful letter" that is mentioned in 2:4. Other evidence bears out this view. Edgar J. Goodspeed notes a few considerations that suggest disunity in 2 Corinthians (An Introduction to the New Testament, pp. 58-59). On the one hand, "From the beginning through

chapter 9

chapter 10

. . This undeniable incongruity between the two parts of II Corinthians naturally suggests that we have in it two letters instead of one - one conciliatory and gratified, the other injured and incensed. And as the early part of II Corinthians clearly looks back upon a painful, regretted letter, the possibility suggests itself that we actually have that letter in chapters 10-13." Norman Perrin offers the following solution with five Pauline fragments and one non-Pauline interpolation (The New Testament: An Introduction, pp. 104-105). Verses 2:14-6:13 and 7:2-4 are "part of a letter that Paul wrote to defend himself and his authority against opponents who came to Corinth bearing letters of recommendation from Christian communities in which they had previously worked and who rapidly assumed positions of authority in the Corinthian community." Verses 10:1-13:14 contain the sorrowful letter.

After his first unsuccessful attempt to assert his authority with the Corinthian community failed, Paul visited the church and was humiliated in public (2:5, 7:12). After this incident, from Ephesus Paul wrote against the "superlative apostles" who appealed to visions and miracle-working as proof of their authority. Paul himself "appeals to the original effectiveness of the gospel he preached in Corinth so as not to be a burden on his converts, and to his own Jewish heritage and his sufferings as a servant of Christ" in order to win back authority in Corinth. Verses 1:1-2:13 and 7:5-16 are a "letter of reconciliation." After the success achieved through his painful letter, Paul "wrote a letter rejoicing in the resumption of good relations between him and the Corinthian Christian community." Verse 8:1-24 are "part of a letter of recommendation for Titus as organizer of the collection of saints in Jerusalem." It is impossible to know the relationship between this letter and the rest of Paul's correspondence with Corinth.

Verses 9:1-15 are "part of a letter concerning the collection for the saints." It is again impossible to determine this letter's relationship to the rest of Paul's letters to Corinth. Finally, verses 6:14-7:1 contain a fragment that has next to no connection to Paul in ideas or wording, although it does have some affinities with the Dead Sea Scrolls. Kummel allows that 6:14-7:1 is interpolated yet still maintains that it is Pauline. However, Joseph Fitzmyer has argued that 6:14-7:1 is an interpolation from a document at Qumran in an essay reproduced in The Semitic Background of the New Testament, pp. 205-217. There are three reasons to posit that the passage is interpolated: "the paragraph radically interrupts the chain of thought between 6:13 and 7:2," the passage is "a unit intelligible in itself," and "six of the key-words in the passage are not found elsewhere in the New Testament." Fitzmyer argues that references to triple dualism, the opposition to idols, the temple of God, separation from all impurity, and the concatenation of Old Testament texts point to a Qumranic origin for the interpolated fragment.

Some Contemporary Texts 1 Thessalonians (50-60 A.D.) Philippians (50-60 A.D.) Galatians (50-60 A.D.) 1 Corinthians (50-60 A.D.) 2 Corinthians (50-60 A.D.) Romans (50-60 A.D.) Philemon (50-60 A.D.) Colossians (50-80 A.D.) Signs Gospel (50-90 A.D.) Go to the Chronological List of all Early Christian Writings Please buy the CD to support the site, view it without ads, and get bonus stuff! Early Christian Writings is copyright © Peter Kirby <E-Mail&gt. Follow @mrpeterkirby MLA Style Kirby, Peter. "2 Corinthians." Early Christian Writings. <http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/2corinthians.html>. Gospels Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Letters of Paul Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus Philemon Letter to the Hebrews General Letters James 1 Peter 2 Peter 1 John 2 John 3 John Jude Revelation Gospels Gospel of Thomas Egerton Gospel Gospel of Peter Oxyrhynchus 840 Gospel of Mary Epistula Apostolorum Infancy Gospel of James Infancy Gospel of Thomas Acts of Pilate Diatessaron Gospel Fragments Oxyrhynchus 1224 Fayyum Fragment Gospel of the Egyptians Gospel of the Hebrews Gospel of the Ebionites Gospel of the Nazoreans Traditions of Matthias Dura-Europos Gospel Harmony Apostolic Acts Preaching of Peter Acts of Peter Acts of John Acts of Paul Acts of Andrew Acts of Peter and the Twelve Book of Thomas the Contender Acts of Thomas Martyrologies Martyrdom of Polycarp Fifth and Sixth Books of Esra Acts of Carpus, Papylus, and Agathonice Letter from Vienna and Lyons Passion of the Scillitan Martyrs Acts of Apollonius Acts of Perpetua and Felicitas Didache Apocalypse of Peter Didascalia Dialogues with Jesus Sophia of Jesus Christ Secret James Gospel of Mary Dialogue of the Savior Gospel of the Savior Books of Jeu Pistis Sophia Apocalypses 2nd Apocalypse of James Coptic Apocalypse of Paul 1st Apocalypse of James Coptic Apocalypse of Peter Acts Acts of Peter and the Twelve Book of Thomas the Contender Letter of Peter to Philip More Nag Hammadi Apocryphon of John Gospel of Truth Treatise on the Resurrection Gospel of Philip Trimorphic Protennoia Authoritative Teaching Discourse on the Eighth and the Ninth Melchizedek Quoted Authors Basilides Naassene Fragments Valentinus Marcion Epiphanes Ophite Diagrams Gospel of Judas More Quoted Authors Ptolemy Isidore Theodotus Heracleon Apelles Julius Cassianus Apostolic Fathers Didache Epistle of Barnabas First Clement Shepherd of Hermas Ignatius of Antioch Polycarp to the Philippians Second Clement Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus Martyrdom of Polycarp Apologists Aristides Justin Martyr Tatian Minucius Felix Athenagoras of Athens Theophilus of Antioch Quoted Authors Papias Quadratus Aristo of Pella Claudius Apollinaris Melito of Sardis Hegesippus Dionysius of Corinth Rhodon Theophilus of Caesarea More Quoted Authors Bardesanes Maximus of Jerusalem Polycrates of Ephesus Victor I Pantaenus Anonymous Anti-Montanist Serapion of Antioch Apollonius Caius Irenaeus of Lyons Hippolytus of Rome Clement of Alexandria Tertullian Origen Pagan and Jewish Mara bar Serapion Josephus Pliny the Younger Suetonius Tacitus Fronto Lucian of Samosata Marcus Aurelius Galen Celsus Talmud Philostratus Jewish/Christian The Twelve Patriarchs Non-Pagan Sibyllines Odes of Solomon Book of Elchasai Ascension of Isaiah Hypothesized Sources Passion Narrative Sayings Gospel Q Signs Gospel Anti-Marcionite Prologues Muratorian Canon Kerygmata Petrou Inscription of Abercias