richmahn_en_tn/2co/08/intro.md

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2 Corinthians 08 General Notes

Structure and formatting

Chapters 8 and 9 begin a new section dealing with the gift from the churches in Greece to the poor believers in Jerusalem.

Some translations prefer to set apart quotations of the Old Testament. The ULB and many other English translations indent the lines of 8:15, which is a quotation from the Old Testament.

Special concepts in this chapter

Gift to the church in Jerusalem

The church in Corinth started preparing a gift of money for the poor believers in Jerusalem. The churches in Macedonia also have given generously. Now, Paul is sending Titus and two other believers to Corinth to encourage the Corinthians to give generously. Paul and the others will carry the money to Jerusalem because they want people to know that it is being done honestly.

Other possible translation difficulties in this chapter

We

It is likely that Paul's usage of the pronoun "we" represents at least Timothy and himself. It is possible that it may also include other people.

The use of paradox

This is a statement that seems absurd and appears to contradict itself. A paradox occurs in this chapter: having joy in affliction. This is a counter-intuitive reaction to difficulties. Paul also uses riches and poverty in other apparent paradoxes.

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