This coming week, 7-13 December 2025 (17023 Kislev 5786), the Bible reading plan covers Vayeshev (And He Settled).
https://thebarkingfox.com/2025..../12/05/weekly-bible-
This coming week, 7-13 December 2025 (17023 Kislev 5786), the Bible reading plan covers Vayeshev (And He Settled).
https://thebarkingfox.com/2025..../12/05/weekly-bible-
BIBLE STUDY --- NEW TESTAMENT LETTERS
2 CORINTHIANS --- PART 1
AUTHOR
The apostle Paul is the acknowledged author of 2 Corinthians. While some scholars argue that 2 Corinthians 2:14–7:4 and 10–13 are separate letters, only in the case of 6:14–7:1 is Paul’s authorship disputed. This section is admittedly a strange digression, but stranger still would be the thought that an editor could have inserted it in such an unusual place. Also, the repetition of thought in 7:2 from 6:13 indicates that Paul is aware that he has digressed from his topic and is repeating a phrase to bring his readers back to the subject.
DATE AND ORIGIN
After writing both the “previous letter” {1 Corinthians 5:9} and 1 Corinthians from Ephesus in AD 55, Paul continued to work there. Sometime during the next year, a crisis arose in Corinth. Paul made a quick trip across the Aegean Sea, but he could not resolve the crisis, and due to the personal opposition of a leader in the church {likely an interloper bearing letters of recommendation from Jerusalem}, he had to withdraw {2 Corinthians 2:1, 5}. Returning to Ephesus from this “painful visit,” Paul dispatched Titus with a blistering “letter of tears,” his third letter to that church {2 Corinthians 2:4; 7:8, 12}, which led to the excommunication of the leader and the repentance of the church. This letter has been lost. Meanwhile a situation erupted in Ephesus during which death {probably execution} seemed so certain that Paul despaired of life {see Acts 19:23-41; cf. Romans 16:4; 2 Corinthians 1:8-9}. Paul was not killed, but his escape seemed miraculous. Leaving Ephesus in early AD 56, Paul travelled north to Troas seeking Titus and news of Corinth. Unable to endure without news, he abandoned a promising mission in Troas and sailed to Philippi. There he met Titus, who explained the change of heart in Corinth. Second Corinthians 1–9 responds to this situation, with chapters 8–9 preparing the Corinthians for an upcoming visit. Later Paul received further news from Corinth that renewed opposition to him was present. In response he penned the self-defence found in 2 Corinthians 10–13. Paul followed up the letter with a visit later in the year {Acts 20:2-3}. We do not know the response to 2 Corinthians or the outcome of his final visit, but later the troubled history of the Corinthian church continued, with another Christian leader needing to write a letter at the end of the century {Epistle of Clement}.
BACKGROUND
The Corinthian house churches always had great diversity. While those who liked Apollos undoubtedly despised Paul’s crude style, others who preferred Peter likely appealed beyond Paul to the more genuine “original” apostles in Jerusalem with their Jewish customs {1 Corinthians 1}. Traveling teachers with letters of commendation from these apostles easily drew a following when they came to Corinth and undermined Paul’s authority and even his character. Furthermore, because of this outside influence, the collection for the poor in Jerusalem that Paul had initiated {16:1-4} was left in abeyance, both because it was connected to Paul and because the teachers themselves were taking money from the church. Paul writes to reaffirm his love and to repair the damage caused by the interloper.
PURPOSE AND TEACHING
In the first section of the letter, Paul has two main purposes. The first is to cement his restored relationship with Corinth, explaining situations, forgiving those who opposed him, and reflecting on the nature of ministry. For Paul, ministry meant both intense suffering and comfort. Physical and emotional suffering came from the situations and people he worked with, but his knowledge of future reward and his experience of the power of YHVH working in him brought profound joy and comfort. Due to his own recent brush with death, Paul also reflects on what happens at death. His expectation is to receive a resurrection body and be in the presence of Yeshua at death. The second purpose of this section is to get the collection for Jerusalem on track again. In this context he gives major teaching on giving and the Christian economics: The believers are to follow the Moshiach in giving freely; economic equality is the principle governing who gives to whom. The second section of the letter is an impassioned self-defence, refuting the interloper’s claims to superiority. Neither oratory nor pedigree counts in the Christian ministry, but only the call of YHVH. In both sections one observes Paul’s deep desire for the unity of the church, both unity within the local community and unity with leaders appointed by YHVH, such as Paul.
CONTENT
GREETING, 1:1-7
A standard greeting {2 Corinthians 1:1-2} comes before Paul’s usual thanksgiving {verses 3-7}. The topic of the thanksgiving -- comfort in the midst of suffering -- is the topic of chapters 1–7. Paul knows what it is to suffer, but it is in suffering that he has experienced YHVH’s comfort, which he passes on to the Corinthians.
PAUL’S EXPLANATION, 1:8–2:13
Paul informs them of the danger he had suffered in Ephesus, one so great that he did not believe he would survive. His eventual survival seemed like a virtual resurrection, reinforcing his conviction that YHVH, not human strength, is the only Christian refuge {1:8-11}. In that and in all situations, Paul’s one boast is that of a clear conscience before YHVH {verses 12-14}. Paul had told them of plans for a double visit {cf. 1 Corinthians 16:5-6}, but except for his brief “painful visit,” he had not fulfilled his plan {2 Corinthians 1:15–2:4}. He defends himself from charges of either not planning in the Spirit or hypocritical vacillation. He was indeed as good as his word {cf. James 5:12}, for his life reflected YHVH’s fulfilled promise in Yeshua, but he had changed plans so as not to repeat the “painful visit” of the previous year. It was love, not fickleness, that motivated the delayed visit. The Corinthians had responded to Paul’s “letter of tears” by excommunicating the person who had opposed Paul {not the same person as in 1 Corinthians 5}. Since the person became repentant, Paul called for his restoration to the community, freely and graciously forgiving the man who had hurt him. Excommunication is for the unrepentant; its purpose is complete once the person repents {2 Corinthians 2:5-11}. Paul then recounted his journey from Ephesus to Philippi, when he sought news of the response to the “letter of tears” {2:12-13}. After telling how he left an opportunity to minister in Troas to go to find Titus in Philippi, he breaks the narrative with a long digression.
NATURE OF APOSTOLIC MINISTRY, 2:14–7:4
The apostolic ministry in which Paul took part is like the ministry of Yeshua, one of suffering and glory. Even in suffering there is triumph in the Moshiach, for believers share the Moshiach’s triumph. Yet just like the perfumes of a Roman triumph were joy to the victors but meant death for prisoners on their way to execution, so Yeshua’ triumph is life to the believer and death to the unbeliever {2:14-17}. This triumph may have sounded like a boast, but Paul is not engaging in self-exaltation. Indeed, he has no need of the letters of commendation that the interloper in Corinth carried from Jerusalem, for the Corinthians are themselves the proof of his ministry {3:1-3}. His boast is not in himself but in the new Covenant in the Spirit, which unlike the old Covenant is not fading {here Paul follows one Jewish interpretation of Exodus 34:29-35, that Moses put the veil over his face so the people would not see the glory fade}, nor does it veil the presence of YHVH. The new Covenant is permanent; it reveals YHVH directly in the Spirit. There is no deceit or hiddenness, for the message is not about Paul but about Yeshua, who is light itself {2 Corinthians 3:4–4:6}. Paul the messenger, however, is simply the cheap, breakable pot that contains the priceless treasure, revealing by way of contrast that the only power in the gospel is YHVH’s power. This contrast of weakness and power is seen in the sufferings of the apostle, a type of living death modelled after the sufferings of Yeshua, out of which the life of Yeshua flows to others {4:7-15}. Therefore, despite intense suffering, Paul has courage, for he looks beyond this life to the rewards of the coming life. His whole motivation is one of faith, not sight, for he lives already for unseen realities {4:16-18}. When he dies, Paul expects to receive an eternal resurrection body. His hope is not of becoming a disembodied soul {“naked”} but of passing immediately into a glorified bodily life, already guaranteed by the presence of the Spirit. This hope was likely the fruit of his near brush with death in Ephesus, when he must have meditated and prayed about what would come at death {5:1-5}. Because this future includes the Moshiach’s judgment, Paul wanted to make every effort to live in the light of that judgment, which he already saw by faith {verses 6-10}. Far from trying to commend or exalt himself, Paul was simply presenting what he was -- a person filled with the love of the Moshiach and convinced that all should live not for themselves but for the Moshiach {5:11-15}. No one should be valued from a merely human point of view, not Paul, nor even the Moshiach {for Paul before his conversion had a human opinion of the Moshiach that his conversion had radically changed}; everyone should be valued from the point of view of the new creation. Paul’s job was simply to announce the reconciliation of the new creation, which YHVH has already affected on his side and which only awaits a person’s ratification on the human side {5:16-20}. Paul, then, was a co-worker with YHVH, announcing salvation, using every means consistent with YHVH’s character to proclaim the message, and suffering everything imaginable to demonstrate the extent of YHVH’s love {6:1-10}. Therefore, Paul had nothing against the Corinthians. If there was any blockage in their relationship with him, it must be on their side {6:11-13}.
DIGRESSION ON PURITY, 6:14–7:1
Perhaps suspecting that the real block in the relationship was their love of the world, or that the Corinthians might not be totally over the problems mentioned in 1 Corinthians, Paul digressed into a discussion about the purity and sanctification of believers. There are two groups, light and darkness, the Moshiach and the devil, believers and unbelievers. Therefore, as Exodus 25:8, Leviticus 26:11-12, Isaiah 52:11, Ezekiel 37:27, and Hosea 1:10 show {phrases from these passages flow into each other in a style of chain quotation familiar to Jews}, The believers should not be closely bound to unbelievers in marriage or in business, for it will affect their moral purity.
RETURN TO THE NATURE OF THE APOSTOLIC MINISTRY, 7:2-4
Picking up from 6:13, Paul points out that the Corinthians have nothing substantial against him. He is not criticizing but simply appealing to them in love; even now he is prepared to die for them.
EXPLANATION CONCLUDED, 7:5-16
Having concluded his digression, Paul now returns to his journey, which he left in 2:13. When he met Titus, he received good news about Corinth. He was relieved that his “letter of tears” had been effective, not in simply making them sorry but in bringing them to true repentance that yielded zeal, moral purity, and joy. Furthermore, their behaviour toward Titus had been so impressive that Titus’s enthusiastic report of his own impressions had further cheered Paul.
BIBLE STUDY --- NEW TESTAMENT LETTERS
2 CORINTHIANS --- PART 2
COLLECTION FOR JERUSALEM, 8:1–9:15
In the context of restored relationships Paul turns to the sensitive topic of the collection for the church in Jerusalem, which had been impoverished through famines in Judea in the 40s. This collection was both an act of charity {cf. Acts 11:27-30; Galatians 2:10} and a symbolic act of unity and fellowship between the Gentile and Jewish branches of the church. The impoverished and suffering church in Macedonia {Philippi} had given eagerly. Therefore, Titus was coming back to help the Corinthians complete what they had begun the previous year {and probably dropped during the controversy with Paul, 2 Corinthians 8:1-7}. The principles of the collection are:
1 -- the Corinthians should follow the example of Yeshua, who became poor for them;
2 -- they should give freely what they can without regretting that they cannot give more, for YHVH values the eagerness to give expressed in action, not the net amount of the gift;
3 -- there should be an economic equality among sections of the church, no one section being enriched at the expense of another {cf. Exodus 16:18}. This economic equality extends to the relationship between two churches a continent apart {2 Corinthians 8:8-15}.
Titus and two absolutely trustworthy men appointed by the churches for this work will come to supervise the final gathering -- Paul would have nothing to do with the money personally -- for it is important that not only YHVH but the world be able to see the honesty and integrity of the way the church handles money {8:16-24}. In this section Paul points out that he does not need to argue the reasons for this collection; they were aware of them when they began to gather money the year before. This letter is not an argument for the collection but an encouragement to finish the work, so that when Paul arrives with representatives of other churches carrying their contributions, the Corinthians would not be embarrassed by their relatively wealthy churches not being ready or able to give generously, despite Paul’s boasts about their previous eagerness. In saying this, Paul shows himself diplomatic and insightful in motivating human behaviour; he makes the best assumptions possible about the present situation {9:1-5}. Paul would not want the Corinthians giving out of guilt, although he, like Yeshua {Matthew 6:19-20}, pointed out that the only real value of money is in giving it to help others. Rather, he wanted them so convinced of YHVH’s generosity and ability to provide that they give freely and joyfully. YHVH wanted to enrich them so they could give more. The giving would result in thanksgiving to YHVH by the recipients, who would also pray for those who gave the gift, thereby binding the church together. A closing reminder of the extent of YHVH’s own giving finishes the section {2 Corinthians 9:6-15}.
PAUL’S SELF-DEFENSE, 10:1–13:14
There is an abrupt change in tone between 9:15 and 10:1. Now, instead of the tone of conciliation found in 1:1–7:16, there is argument and defence, even threat. Paul’s apostleship has been attacked, and he will defend it with vigour. Paul was indeed a humble person who preferred not to use his authority. Yet when forced, he had something more than authority; he had spiritual power, capable of destroying opposing arguments and bending all to obedience to Yeshua. He would use that power in Corinth if he must, though up to that time he had been gentle and had shown this side of his ministry only in letters {10:1-11}. His opponents talked of their qualifications and compared themselves favourably with other ministers. Paul would not enter into this game of comparisons. YHVH had set the sphere of his labours, which was the area in which he founded churches. He was the one who pioneered the church in Corinth, so it is his sphere of ministry, not the interloper’s {and such like him}. They boasted in having reaped the benefits of his ministry; Paul could point to an original ministry given by YHVH, for it is YHVH’s commendation in the end that counts {10:13-18}. Yet the Corinthian rebellion is serious enough to force him into self-defence, ridiculous as such an exercise is. He was shocked by how readily they turned away to every novel doctrine that came along. This tendency strikes fear in Paul’s heart {11:1-6}. Paul had been criticized for refusing financial support from Corinth {even though he accepted gifts from other churches; cf. 1 Corinthians 9}. He would continue to refuse such support, for he wanted to undermine the claims of the interloper. If the interloper was really serving YHVH alone, let him work on the same basis as Paul! But since the interloper was false at heart, serving Satan and not YHVH, he sought money from the church. Paul was astonished that in the Corinthians’ vaunted wisdom they did not see through this hypocrisy, yet he hoped that even if he must play the fool in making a self-defence, they would at least accept a fool like Paul. The irony is that his very tender care and concern for the church, his gentleness, was being used against him as a supposed “weakness.” Paul, the opponent argued, knew he was false, so therefore did not dare take money from the Corinthians {11:7-21}. Interlopers claimed to come with authority from Jerusalem. They had letters from the apostles; it is unlikely, however, that the apostles would have approved of their activities. Still, they were Jews with respectable authority behind them. Paul felt compelled to state his own credentials. If they were Jews, he was just as pure a Jew. If they served the Moshiach, could their work and sufferings match his? The list of sufferings both gives historical information not found in Acts and points to tireless labour, including days of fasting {“gone without food”} and nights spent in prayer {“gone without sleep”} {11:21-29}. But this boasting was repulsive to Paul, so he isolated one particular suffering -- his escape from Damascus, when he had to hide and slip out of the city in a basket. The story at once shows his effectiveness as an evangelist {in that he was a target of persecution} and shames him, for he could not defend himself and had to slip away under cover of darkness. Yet that weakness was indeed his glory {11:30-33}. His opponents boasted in revelations from YHVH. Paul knew that this boasting was senseless; however, if he must, he would tell them of a revelation superior to theirs, a time when he actually saw the inside of heaven {he is not sure whether it was a vision or an actual bodily experience}. This probably happened about AD 42, while Paul was in Tarsus, before Barnabas came for him {Acts 9:30; 11:25}. Paul disliked telling about this, for YHVH’s power is more easily seen in his weakness. In fact, Paul’s opponents were an affliction of Satan that YHVH allowed to keep Paul humble and to demonstrate his power in Paul’s weakness. {The image of a “thorn in my flesh” is one of enemies -- Numbers 33:55; Joshua 23:13; Paul also describes what he means more clearly in 2 Corinthians 12:10}. If vulnerability shows YHVH’s power, Paul willingly accepts the weakness {12:1-10}. Paul felt ashamed that he had to boast. The opponents boasted in coming from the Jerusalem “super-apostles.” Paul pointed out that he was their equal, although both are nothing. YHVH had set his mark upon Paul’s work. With biting irony, he asks forgiveness for not having taken money from the Corinthians {12:11-13}. Yet Paul would come a third time, and he would keep to the same policy of not taking any support from them but giving himself freely to them, just as Yeshua had done on earth. Not only he, but all his envoys, kept to the same policy. No one could accuse him of deceit or inconsistency {12:14-18}. However, he feared coming to them, for he knew that the community had not just rebelled against him but was also in internal disorder. This disunity and immorality would humble and pain Paul {12:19–13:4}. Therefore, the Corinthians had better examine themselves. Were they really following Yeshua or not? If so, they should see that Paul was also following Yeshua. Yet Paul’s concern was not for his own position -- he was content to be rejected {“weak”} -- but for their following the truth. He hoped for their repentance, not to protect himself, but so that he need not be severe when he came {13:5-10}. Probably taking the pen from the scribe at this point, Paul closes with a final appeal to repent and come to unity as a church. Brief greetings from the church in Macedonia and a formal blessing closes his correspondence with the Corinthians {verses 11-13}.
No verse in the Bible specifically indicates this, but observing the difference between animals and mankind reveals something interesting. When an animal is content, their response to something is reasonably predictable. When an animal is frightened, their response is reasonably predictable and it’s the same when one is scared or sick or injured. But the response of a person in many of the same situations is rarely predicable.
New episode, Are Pets Biblical?. Listen where you get your favorite podcasts, use the player on our homepage, watch on You Tube, Rumble or The Torah Network’s Torah Tube.
120525 / 13th day of the 9th month 5786
WORD FOR TODAY “are you ready”: Mat 11:24 "Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you."
WISDOM FOR TODAY: Pro 19:9 A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who tells lies will perish.
Ask the LORD how you can serve HIM better
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