Tool Beta
The Ancient World Behind the Text
Pick a passage anywhere in the New Testament. See the customs and ideas a first reader knew without being told.
2 Corinthians 1:12-2:4, Changed plans, the seal and the down payment
Accused of fickleness for changing his travel plans, Paul answers that his word is reliable because all God's promises are Yes in Christ, who has anointed and sealed them and given the Spirit as a down payment, and explains that he stayed away to spare them.
2 Corinthians 1:12-2:4, in every translation this tool compares.
Paul's conscience tells him he has behaved toward them with sincerity, and he hopes they will be proud of him as he is of them. He had planned to visit them twice, on the way to Macedonia and back, and denies that changing the plan means he says yes and no at once, for all God's promises find their Yes in Christ, and it is God who establishes them with Paul in Christ, has anointed them, put his seal on them and given the Spirit in their hearts as a down payment. Calling God as his witness, Paul says he did not come again in order to spare them, and wrote to them instead out of much anguish and many tears.
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- {"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/ancient-world-ideas\/honor-and-shame\/","n":"Honor before a crowd","s":"Public standing was the currency of the ancient Mediterranean. People competed for honor and dreaded being shamed in front of others.","r":""}
- {"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/ancient-world-ideas\/anointing-with-oil\/","n":"Anointing with oil","s":"Oil poured on the head was a courtesy to a guest, the sign of a new king, a medicine, and care for the dead. The setting decided which.","r":""}
- {"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/ancient-world-ideas\/seals-and-deposits\/","n":"Seals, down payments and deposits","s":"A seal pressed into wax showed who owned or witnessed a document or a jar of goods and proved that no one had opened it. A down payment was the first part of the price, paid as a pledge that the rest would follow. A deposit left in someone's keeping had to be guarded and returned.","r":""}
- {"u":"https:\/\/jayms.com\/bible-study-tools-2\/ancient-world-ideas\/oaths-and-vows\/","n":"Oaths and vows","s":"Calling God, or something holy, to witness that you speak the truth or will keep your word. People swore by lesser things to keep God's name safe if they broke it.","r":""}
Carson, Moo and Morris reconstruct the background. Timothy found Corinth beyond him, Paul hurried there, and the visit was painful: at least one opponent insulted him, and he left resolved not to return at once, which opened him to the charge of fickleness. Ancient sources condemned fickleness, especially in leaders, who had to give good reasons for changing announced plans (the cultural backgrounds notes). Hospitality was a key virtue and hosting a prominent guest an honor, so Paul's failure to come could look like an insult (Keener and his notes). The benefit of 1:15 is the word for grace: "Paul is their benefactor, not their client", yet he seeks honor only for God (the cultural backgrounds notes; Keener). Friendly letters often protested a friend's failure to visit, and a writer might explain that he stayed away for the reader's own good (the cultural backgrounds notes). Titus carried the tearful letter, which demanded that the ringleader be punished; Keener and Carson, Moo and Morris think it lost, while some think it survives as chapters 10-13, which Carson, Moo and Morris reject, noting among other things that those chapters lack that demand.
- Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, introduction to 2 Corinthians 1:12-22, and on 2 Corinthians 1:15, 1:16 and 2:1-4
- NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, notes on 2 Corinthians 1:12-22, 1:15, 1:17, 1:23 and 2:4
- D. A. Carson, Douglas J. Moo and Leon Morris, An Introduction to the New Testament, ch. 9, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Occasion (Historical Reconstruction; The Integrity of 1 and 2 Corinthians)
