2 Corinthians 11:6

φανερώσαντες (אBFG 17) rather than φανερώσαντες ἑαυτούς (M 108, Goth.), or φανερωθέντες (א3D3KLP), or φανερωθείς (D, d f am.).

6. εἰ δὲ καὶ ἰδιώτης τῷ λόγῳ. Comp. 2 Corinthians 4:3; 1 Corinthians 4:7. But though I am rude in speech; εἰ καί implying rem ita esse, ut dicitur. For ἰδιώτης comp. 1 Corinthians 14:16; 1 Corinthians 14:24; Acts 4:13 : it means either a private person as opposed to an official, or unlearned as opposed to educated. The pupil of Gamaliel would hardly call himself ignorant or untrained τῷ λόγῳ. He means that he is no ‘orator,’ not a professional speaker; and perhaps he implies that his opponents are such. Here again he may be adopting a phrase which was used by his opponents. At any rate it had been said of him ὁ λόγος ἐξουθενημένος (2 Corinthians 10:10). The statement might be true, but it is no matter of reproach, so long as he has real knowledge of what he has to speak about. He came to them preaching οὐ καθʼ ὑπεροχὴν λόγου (1 Corinthians 2:1), but speaking θεοῦ σοφίαν ἐν μυστηρίῳ, as it had been revealed to him (ibid. 6–13): comp. Ephesians 3:4. With ἀλλʼ οὐ τῇ γνώσει comp. ἀλλʼ οὐ πολλοὺς πατέρας (1 Corinthians 4:15). For illustrations of ἰδιώτης see Trench, Syn. § lxxix., Suicer, Thesaurus s. v. and Wetstein on 1 Corinthians 14:16.

ἀλλʼ ἐν παντὶ φανερώσαντες ἐν πᾶσιν εἰς ὑμᾶς. See critical note. The participle has no construction, like ἐνδεικνύμενοι in 2 Corinthians 8:24; comp. 2 Corinthians 9:11. Nor is it quite certain what is the accusative after φανερώσαντες, an uncertainty which produced the variant φανερωθέντες: but probably τήν γνῶσιν is understood; but in everything we made it manifest among all men to you-ward. With ἐν παντί comp. 2 Corinthians 4:8; 2 Corinthians 6:4; 2 Corinthians 7:16; 2 Corinthians 8:7; 2 Corinthians 9:8; 2 Corinthians 11:9. No doubt ἐν πᾶσιν is masc. To make it neut. is to make it tautological with ἐν παντί. For the sake of the repetition we may say ‘in everything … before everybody,’ or ‘in all things … among all men.’ It has all been quite public; anyone can judge as to what our relations towards you have been.

It has been suggested that we have here a primitive error in the text, or indeed two such; and that S. Paul wrote or meant to write ἐν παντὶ πάντα φανερώσαντες ἐν πᾶσιν καὶ εἰς ὑμᾶς. The repetition of πᾶς is quite in his manner; 2 Corinthians 9:8; 2 Corinthians 9:11; 1 Corinthians 9:22; 1 Corinthians 10:33; 1 Corinthians 12:6. The πάντα and the καί might easily drop out. Conjectural emendation of the text is to be adopted with great caution. But this emendation would make very good sense. The phrase is an antithesis to ἰδιώτης. He is a herald commissioned to speak openly to all; 2 Corinthians 3:12; 2 Corinthians 4:2.