2 Corinthians 11:23-33
Summary for 2Cor 11:23-27: 11:23-27 a I have served him far more! Paul’s service to Christ had entailed Christlike sufferings and toils. Some of the difficulties in this litany are recorded in Acts.Summary for 2Cor 11:23-24: 11:23-24 b in prison more often: E.g., see Acts 16:22-23 c. Clement of Rome says that Paul was imprisoned a total of seven times.
• thirty-nine lashes: This punishment was prescribed in Deut 25:1-3 d. The Jewish leaders punished Paul as a renegade Jew, and he faced death again and again.
11:25 e Three times I was beaten with rods: Paul suffered this Roman punishment at Philippi, though as a Roman citizen he should have been exempted (Acts 16:22-24 f, 37 g).
• Once I was stoned: At Lystra (Acts 14:19 h).
• Three times I was shipwrecked: These events are otherwise unknown; Paul’s shipwreck on the voyage to Rome would come later (Acts 27:1-44 i).
Summary for 2Cor 11:26-27: 11:26-27 j Paul’s many long journeys are recorded in Acts 13–28 k. These trips involved facing danger and enduring hardship.
11:28 l In addition to physical difficulties, Paul felt the burden of concern (or anxiety) for all the churches. No church gave Paul more cause for concern than Corinth.
11:30 m the things that show how weak I am: Paul develops this theme in 12:1-10 n.
Summary for 2Cor 11:32-33: 11:32-33 o As a final “boast” of his weakness, Paul tells the story of his escape from Damascus a few years after his conversion (see Acts 9:23-25 p; Gal 1:15-18 q).
• King Aretas IV of Nabataea controlled Damascus only after AD 37, following the death of the emperor Tiberius (see Josephus, Antiquities 18.5.1-3); the mention of Aretas dates Paul’s escape from Damascus between AD 37 and the end of Aretas’s reign in AD 39 or 40.
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