The Jewish Annotated New Testament (270 page)

9
:
I did not burden anyone
, see 12.13; 1 Cor 9 on self-support; see 1 Thess 2.9; Phil 4.16,18, for Macedonian support. Accepting support obligated the recipient (client) to the benefactor (patron). By refusing their support, Paul refuses the Corinthians the status and authority of patronage; by accepting Macedonian support, Paul is seen as slighting the Corinthian congregation; see 12.12–18n.

12
–15
: Characterization of Paul’s opponents.

14
:
Satan disguises himself
, see 2.11n. Jewish sources depict Satan’s disguising himself as a woman to entangle in sin even such rabbis as Meir and Akiva, who declared that people can easily subdue their evil inclination (
b. Qidd
. 81a). The Talmudic literature does not imagine opponents as “ministers” of Satan.

11.16
–12.10: Paul compares himself to his opponents.
Paul’s hardships validate his apostolic authenticity.

16
–21
:
Fool
, see 11.1n. One who boasts of human accomplishments is a fool, for these things are meaningless compared to the true life offered to believers in the Christ. Paul, responding to those who claim they are greater than he, ironically lists his achievements. He announces that he will accordingly speak as a fool and boast
according to human standards
.

22
:
Hebrews … Israelites … descendants of Abraham
, suggests that Paul’s opponents boast of their Jewish pedigree. Paul declares his own Jewish heritage whenever the situation requires it; see Rom 9.4; 11.1; Gal 1.13; Phil 3.5, but cf. 11.24n.

23a
:
Madman
, see 11.1n.

23b
–27
: Catalogue of hardships used ironically to show Paul’s afflictions; see annotations on 1.3–7; 4.8–9; 10.1.

24
:
Forty lashes minus one
, see Deut 25.3 which the rabbis interpreted as 39. In the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Deut 25.1–3) and rabbinic literature (
m. Makk
. 1.3 and throughout), lashes are a judicial punishment imposed by a court for violations of communal norms.
From the Jews
, Paul, who just spoke proudly of his Jewish heritage, now depicts himself as an outsider to the Jewish community, a common tactic in his writings (see, e.g., Rom 15.30; 1 Cor 9.19–22; Gal 5.11).

25
:
Beaten with rods
, Roman, not Jewish, punishment.
Stoning
, not the punishment described by Jewish sources, where stoning is a form of capital punishment in which the convicted person is pushed off of a high place and then, if he is still alive, crushed with a single, heavy boulder that is dropped on him (
m. Sanh
. 6.1–4).

32
–33
: See Acts 9.23–25.
Aretas
IV ruled the Nabateans from 9 BCE until his death ca. 41 CE. The Nabateans took Damascus in 37 CE, soon after which Paul escaped from the city
in a basket
.

12.1
–10
: Paul relates an out-of-body experience, since his opponents claim such experiences as validation of their spiritual prowess; see 5.13n.

1
:
Visions and revelations
, extra-sensory events that endow the seer with power and status; see v. 7; 1 Cor 9.1; 15.5–8; Gal 1.12; 2.1–2.

2
–3
:
I know a person
(also v. 5), an oblique self-reference, following the apocalyptic convention of anonymous authorship; see vv. 7–9. In rabbinic anecdotes, similarly, the narrator may refer to himself in the third person, generally as “that man” (see, e.g.,
b. Mo’ed Qat
. 17a).
Third heaven
, i.e.,
Paradise
(v. 4), where, according to mystical Judaism (see, e.g.,
Ex. Rab
. 25.7–8; 45.6, and, esp.,
b. Hag
. 14b), one obtains a vision of God. The earliest portions of
1 En
. 14 depict a three-tiered cosmology. By Paul’s time, seven tiers were more common. Paul is either unfamiliar with the later conception or, dismissing triumphant mystical enthusiasm, he presents himself as a failed mystic, a point that emerges in v. 7. Again, Paul ironically boasts that he is as great in spiritual matters as his adversaries even as he maintains that, for one in Christ, power is represented in weakness. Cf. vv. 9–11.

4
: That the content of mystical revelations is to be kept secret is commonplace. See especially
m. Hag
. 2.1.

7
: The nature of the
thorn
is unknown.

9
–11
: Participation in angelic worship is acceptable only when it is characterized by Christlike humility, vulnerability, and reliance on God. Paul’s strength is evidenced in his failure to become exalted. He rejects spiritual experiences that detract from the central message of faith. Note the similar rabbinic treatment of

ḥ
oni the Circle Drawer (
m. Ta’an
. 3.8); the rabbis praise his spiritual power and closeness to God even as they assert that anyone else who acts has
ḥ
oni does would be subject to excommunication (see “Jewish Miracle Workers,” p.
536
).

9
:
Sufficient
, unlike the Hellenistic ideal of sufficiency that transcends hardships (see 9.8), Paul accepts these hardships as real, because in their
weakness
they manifest God’s
power
; see 10.1n.

12.11
–13: Conclusion of the “fool’s speech.” 11
:
Commending
, see 3.1n.
Super-apostles
, see 10.2n.

12
: Again decrying having acted as a fool by boasting, Paul is not above reminding the Corinthians that he too performed miracles.

13
: See 11.9n.

12.14
–21: Paul prepares for a third visit. 14–18
: Paul answers charges that he has been enriching himself through the collection (chs 8–9).

14
:
Third
visit (also v. 21; 13.1), see 2.1n. for the second “painful visit.”
I will not be a burden
, see 11.9n.
Parents
, for Paul as father to his converts, see 11.2.

16
:
I took you in by deceit
, some Corinthians evidently accused Paul of skimming the collection funds.

18
: Paul sent
Titus
to oversee the collection (8.6,16,23); see also 2.13n.
The brother
, sent to accompany Titus (8.22–23); not the “brother” elected by the congregations in 8.18.

19
:
Building you up
, see 10.8; 13.10.

20
–21
: Catalogue of vices, see Rom 1.29–31; 13.13; 1 Cor 5.10–11; 6.9–10; Gal 5.19–21.

21
: Ironic use of
humble
, here meaning “humiliate”; see 11.7n.

13.1
–10: Previous themes resume in a warning of harsh discipline. 1
:
Third
visit, see 12.14n. “
Any … witnesses
,” Deut 19.15.

3
–4
:
Christ … is not weak … but is powerful
, the weakness–powerful paradox summarized; see 10.1n.; 12.10n.

5
:
Examine yourselves … test yourselves
, a central rabbinic theme, e.g.,
b. Ber
. 5a: “If a person sees that sufferings afflict him, let him examine his deeds.”

10
: Strong warning while
away
, so that Paul will not have to resort to
severe
discipline, precisely what the opponents accused Paul of doing (10.10–11).

10
: Paul reminds the Corinthians that this is so for the purpose of
building up
, not
tearing down;
see 10.8; 12.19.

13.11
–13: Final benediction. 11
:
Finally
, a standard device to conclude a discussion.
Farewell
(or “rejoice”)
… put … listen … agree … live …
, a series of parting exhortations.
God of love and peace
, the exact formulation does not appear in Jewish sources, although midrashic literature and liturgy routinely characterize the relationship between God and Israel as one of mutual love (see 2.4n.). God’s role in bringing peace is also a central theme. The final benediction of the “Amidah” praises God for blessing the people of Israel with peace.

12
:
Holy kiss
, see Rom 16.16; 1 Cor 16.20; 1 Thess 5.26. Cf.
Gen. Rab
. 70.12, “All kissing is indecent, except in three instances: the kiss of high office, the kiss of reunion, and the kiss of separation.”

13
: A full triadic benediction found nowhere else in Paul’s letters.

1.1
–5: Salutation.
Paul’s salutations typically combine autobiography with theology. Paul perceives himself as sent by God (1.15; Acts 9.3–6; 1 Cor 15.8). Rabbinic literature similarly mentions emissaries (Heb “sheli
ḥ
im”) sent by some central authority to the hinterlands of Judea or the Diaspora (
m. Rosh Ha-Shanah
1.3).

1
:
Jesus Christ and God the Father
, Paul regularly refers to God as “father,” “our father,” or “father of the Lord” (e.g., v. 3, Rom 15.6; 2 Cor 1.3; Phil 2.11). Jesus is “Lord” or “our Lord” (e.g., Rom 1.4; 4.24; 1 Cor 15.57).
Who raised him from the dead
, Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection are for Paul the only important facts of Jesus’ biography.

2
:
Members of God’s family
, lit., “brothers,” a common early Christian address.
Churches
(Gk “ekklēsiai”), places of worship or congregations (see v. 3). Believers in Jesus called their assemblies “ekklēsiai” to distinguish them from “synagōgai.”