The Jewish Annotated New Testament (266 page)

12
:
Apollos
, see 1.12.

13
:
Courageous … strong
, these verbs appear in LXX 2 Sam 10.12; Ps 27.14; 31.25 (compare LXX Deut 31.6; Josh 1.6–7).

15
:
Stephanus
, see 1.16.
Achaia
, Greek province whose capital was Corinth.

17
:
Coming
, visiting Paul in Ephesus.
Fortunatus and Achaicus
, Romans with church authority.

19
:
Aquila and Prisca
, married couple expelled from Rome when the emperor Claudius expelled the Jews, perhaps for disturbances regarding the proclamation of Jesus (Rom 16.3–4; Suetonius,
Claud
. 25.4). They were co-founders of the Corinthian church (Acts 18.2).
House
or household, see 1.16.

20
:
Holy kiss
, greeting exchanged at the Lord’s Supper.

22
:
Accursed
, Jer 17.5;
Ep. Arist
. 311;
Jub
. 23.30;
1 En
. 5.5–7;
Pss. Sol
. 4.14–22;
Sib. Or
. 3.295–349, 492–519; 1QS 2.4–9; Mt 23.13–27.
Love
, brotherly love (“phileō”), used by Paul only here (contrast 2.9,13).
Our Lord, come
, transliterated Aram into Gk “marana tha,” an invocation of judgment upon unbelievers (
1 En
. 9.1;
Did
. 10.6).

1.1
–2.13: Opening. Salutation and statement of Paul’s bond with the Corinthians.

1.1
–2: Salutation.
A greeting formula (1 Cor 1.1; Gal 1.1) reminds the Corinthians that Paul was appointed
by
(lit., “through”)
the will of God
. Paul’s status resembles that of Hebrew prophets, appointed directly by God. In rabbinic Judaism, the status of rabbi is a product of an individual’s study and personal commitment, a process in which anyone can (and is encouraged to) engage.
Timothy
, with Silvanus, accompanied Paul at the founding of the Corinthian congregation (v. 19; Acts 18.5) and acted as Paul’s representative (1 Cor 4.17; 16.10–11; cf. Acts 19.22).
Brother
, a title of respect used, though infrequently, by rabbis; e.g.,
b. B. Metz
. 107a, “My brother Rabin!”
Saints
, followers of Christ.
Achaia
, Roman senatorial province of which
Corinth
was the capital.

2
:
Grace to you and peace
…, a standard Pauline greeting (except 1 Thess 1.1) and familiar from Jewish sources (e.g., 1 Chr 12.18; 1 Sam 25.6).
Father
, as a term of reference for God is commonplace in Jewish sources (e.g., 1QH 15, 20–24; 4Q372; 3 Macc 6.2–3; Philo,
Leg. all
. 114–15, 292–93;
m. Yoma
8.9;
b. Ta’an
. 25b). See 1.3–7n. on “Father of mercies.”

1.3
–7: Paul blesses God for rescuing him and consoling his afflictions.
Paul stresses his relationship with the recipients (e.g., Phil 1.3–11; 1 Thess 1.2–10) by a blessing emphasizing God’s mercy and compassion (Rom 12.1; Phil 2.1). These divine traits appear especially in Psalms (e.g., 86.15), and prominently in Jewish liturgy, which refers to God as “Father of mercies” (Heb “av ha-ra
ḥ
amim”) in the prayer for the rebuilding of Jerusalem based on Ps 51.18, recited on Sabbath and festival mornings immediately before the “Shema Yisrael.”

3
–4
:
God of all consolation
, the phrase does not appear in early Jewish sources, but God as a consoling figure does (e.g.,
b. Ber
. 48b).

5
:
Sufferings of Christ, b. Sukk
. 52a refers to a Messiah ben Joseph, who will die prior to the Davidic messiah’s arrival. R. Dosa says that this event is reflected in Zech 12.10–12’s prophecy of Jerusalem grieving as for a firstborn son.

6
:
Afficted
, see 12.10. The nature of this affliction is unclear.

1.8
–11: God delivers Paul. 8
:
Asia
, Roman senatorial province (modern western Turkey) that included Ephesus.
Unbearably crushed … sentence of death
, the specific ordeal is unclear. See Phil 1.19–24 and 1 Cor 15.32.

9
: While Paul’s expectation for resurrection is shaped by his experience of Jesus’ resurrection, his language follows Jewish liturgical formulas.
We would rely not on ourselves
resembles the early Aramaic prayer, found in
Zohar
, “VeYakhel,” accompanying the removal of the Torah scroll from the ark on the Sabbath (“Not on mortals do I rely … but on the God of the universe”).
God who raises the dead
, a Jewish commonplace, e.g., the second bene diction of the “Amidah,” known from the Mishnah (
m. Sot
. 9.15;
m. Sanh
. 10.1).

10
:
Deadly peril
, see 1.8n.
On him we have set our hope
, the same wording appears in the Aramaic prayer just cited.

11
:
Your prayers
, praying for the welfare of others, especially those in peril, is well established in the Jewish liturgy (e.g., the Morning Blessings).

1.12
–2.13: Paul stresses his bond with the Corinthians.
Paul recounts his past dealings with the Corinthians and his plans to visit.

1.12
–14: Paul’s conduct is a basis of solidarity. 12
:
Boast
, or confidence, a Pauline theme (e.g., 1 Thess 2.19) especially in 1 and 2 Corinthians.
Conscience
, the term has no Hebrew equivalent but the Talmudic expression “his heart knocks him,” e.g.,
b. B. Bat
. 8a, suggests the same idea.
Earthly wisdom
, considerations of expediency and personal gain, contrasted with the truth that emerges when one is
frank
and
sincere
. Paul insists that such truth is gained through God’s
grace
, an idea roughly equivalent to the Hebrew concepts “
ḥ
en” or “
ḥ
esed” which, in the Tanakh (e.g., Ps 31.16,21 [Heb vv. 17,22]) and later Jewish literatures (see, e.g.,
Gen. Rab
. 33.3; 78.13;
Ex. Rab
. 12.2), refer to God’s compassionate kindness even toward those who do not merit it.

13
:
Until the end
can mean “completely,” in contrast to “in part” in 1.14.

14
:
Day of the Lord
, Jesus’ second coming (1 Cor 5.5; Phil 1.6,10). The phrase in Amos (e.g., 5.18–20) evokes fear of judgment, not the welcome of vindication.

1.15
–2.4: Paul responds to misunderstandings caused by his canceled visit. 16
:
Macedonia
, a Roman province in northern Greece that included Philippi and Thessalonica.
Send me on
(Gk “propempein”), a technical term for provisioning (Rom 15.24; 1 Cor 16.6,11; cf. Acts 15.3; 20.38; 21.5; Titus 3.13; 3 Jn 6), including finance, escorts, letters of recommendation.
Judea
, not just southern Palestine but especially Jerusalem. The visit relates to delivering the collection for the poor (2 Cor 8.1–9.15n.; Rom 15.25–26). The Talmud notes rabbis who traveled from Israel to the Babylonian academies to present legal rulings (e.g.,
b. Ber
. 22a).

17
:
Vacillating
, lit., “trifling.” Paul defends against charges that he and his co-workers changed their minds frivolously and claims that his actions cannot be evaluated according to human standards.

18
:
God is faithful
, God’s faithfulness (Heb
ḥ
esed), especially to covenantal promises, features prominently in Jewish sources. For example, the second benediction of the “Amidah” asserts God’s faithfulness: “You revive the dead.”
Yes and No
, indicating equivocation; see Mt 5.37; Jas 5.12.

19
:
Son of God
, denoting Jesus’ divine nature. In Jewish texts, the phrase used by God to refer to the people of Israel (Ex 4.22; Jer 31.20; Hos 11.1), to David (2 Sam 7.14; Ps 2.7; 89.26–27), and eventually to any Israelite ruler, including, especially in the Dead Sea Scrolls (see, e.g., 4Q246;
Aram. Apoc
. 50.9–51.1), the Davidic messiah. In postbiblical Judaism, the term commonly applies to the just (Sir 4.10; Wis 2.17–18;
Jub
. 1.24–25).
Silvanus
, or Silas, Paul’s companion (Acts 15.40–18.5; 1 Thess 1.1; 2 Thess 1.1); see 1.1n.

20
:
Amen
, Hebrew, “certainly” or “let it be so;” an affirmation or response to a prayer; see Deut 27.14–26; 1 Chr 16.36; Neh 5.13; 8.6. The rabbis (
b. Shabb
. 119b;
b. Sanh
. 111a) understand the consonants in amen to be an acronym for the declaration, “God, faithful king,” a declaration an individual makes before reciting the Shema when praying apart from a prayer quorum (“minyan”).
Glory of God
, a common idiom referring to God’s manifestation in the world (e.g., Isa 6.3).

21
:
Anointed
, in the Tanakh, a commission, especially kingship (e.g., 1 Sam 24.6). In postbiblical Judaism “anointing” develops eschatological significance (
2 Bar
. 29, 30, 72;
4 Ezra
12). In Talmudic literature (see, e.g.,
b. Hor
. 7a), the high priest is anointed; here the term lacks messianic connotations.

22
: Receiving the
Spirit
as
first installment
(the same Gk word is translated “guarantee” in 5.5) proves that God’s promises will be fulfilled (v. 20).

23
:
I call on God as witness
, see Gen 31.50; Mic 1.2.
I did not come again
refers to the canceled double visit (1.15–16).