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corpus-paul - Re: The symbolism of '14 years'

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  • From: Richard Fellows <rfellows AT intergate.ca>
  • To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: The symbolism of '14 years'
  • Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2001 17:52:29 -0800


Moises Mayordomo wrote:
>I am not so convinced by numerical symbolism unles there are clear
indications
>that they are supported by a cultural code shared by the potential readers of
>Paul's letters which would direct them to make these sort of connections.

>The only remarkable thing about "14" is that it
>is 2x7, and even so I very much doubt that there any valuable indications
of a
>"symbolic convention" for this number.

> I find that
>there is a problem of "communicability" with this proposal.

My suggestion (and it is only a suggestion) is that Paul compared his own
experience to that of Jacob and noticed the parallels. He may have shared
these observations with his churches in Galatia and Corinth, and told them
about his own '14 years'. His readers would then have understood the
symbolic significance of the '14 years' in Gal 2.1 and 2 Cor 12.2. I
therefore do not see a "problem of communicability" here.

However, I agree that the proposal would be stronger if we could find
evidence for the symbolic use of '14 years' in ancient texts. Would someone
like to research this issue? It would make a great project for a student.

Changing the subject slightly, why is it always assumed that the 14 year
period in 2 Cor 12.2 ended at the time of writing of the letter? Can't we
translate 'before a 14 year period', instead of '14 years ago'? If we
accept the former translation, then 2 Cor 12.2 and Gal 2.1 can refer to the
exact same time interval.

Richard Fellows
Vancouver.





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