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  • From: Richard Fellows <rfellows AT intergate.bc.ca>
  • To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Paul's boasting in 2 Cor 8&9
  • Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1999 21:53:13 -0800


Paul boasted to the Macedonians about the eagerness of the Achaians to
contribute towards the collection (2 Cor 9:2). This simple fact raises a
number of problems:

1. How could Paul boast about the Corinthians while sending the brothers
to Corinth to ensure that his boasting was not empty? It would appear that
either his boasting is dishonest, or he is playing a rather devious game of
moral blackmail.

2. How could Paul boast about the Corinthians to the Macedonians while
boasting about the Macedonians to the Corinthians on exactly the same
matter (2 Cor 8:1-8).

3. If Paul was confident enough in the Corinthians to boast to the
Macedonians it is surprising that he should feel it necessary to spend two
chapters encouraging them to renew their efforts.

Now, it seems to me that these problems disappear when we recognise that
the boasting in question was initiated BEFORE the arrival of Titus from
Corinth (2 Cor 7). From the time when he arrived in Macedonia Paul boasted
about the Corinthians in good faith. But when Titus arrived with news that
the Corinthians had lost their initial enthusiasm, he had the choice of
either withdrawing his boast or sending Titus back to Corinth to get the
collection going again. It would have been embarrassing to withdraw his
boast since it was precisely that boasting which had motivated the
Macedonians, so he decided to sent Titus back.

So has anyone else argued that Paul's boasting about the Corinthians began
before the arrival of Titus? Would anyone like to offer an alternative
solution to the problems listed above?

Should we be surprised that Paul should boast about the Corinthians
eagerness upon arrival in Macedonia? Not if, as I have argued before, 1
Cor was Paul's most recent contact with Corinth (see 1 Cor 16:1-3), and if
Paul's anxiety in 2 Cor 2:12-13 concerns Titus rather than the situation in
Corinth. That is to say, Paul's boasting in 2 Cor 8&9 presents no problems
for those of us who believe that Titus was Timothy and reconstruct Paul's
dealings with the Corinthians accordingly.

Richard Fellows
rfellows AT intergate.bc.ca
Vancouver





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