Corpus-Paul

["John Dickson" <dicksonj AT bigpond.net.au>]

Frank Anthony wrote:
>In Philippians 4:15, Paul tells the Philippian church that when he left
>Macedonia, only they helped him financially. But... In 2 Corinthians 11:8,
referring >to what seems the same time period, Paul
>says he received funds from OTHER churches. plural. Now. how do we
reconcile >this contradiction?

One explanation, other than that it is, in fact, a contradiction, might be
to understand the reference in 2 Cor 11:8 as a rhetorically loaded
exaggeration. The term 'robbing' could hardly be taken otherwise. I would
suggest, therefore, that the plural is also hyperbole. J. Reumann
("Contributions of the Philippian Community") goes the other way and
describes Phil 4:15 as a 'polite exaggeration'. This is more difficult, I
feel, since in that verse Paul appeals to the Philippians' knowledge of the
uniqueness of their contribution ("you know that ..."). If the Philippians
knew otherwise this would render the supposed hyperbole ineffective and I
doubt it would be regarded as 'polite'.
Just some thoughts to ponder.
John Dickson
Department of Ancient History
Macquarie University
Sydney, Australia