2 Corinthians 1:8-11

HIS RECENT PERIL. 2 Corinthians 1:8. οὐ γὰρ θέλομεν κ. τ. λ.: for we would not have you ignorant, brethren, about (for ὑπέρ with gen. in this sense, cf. chap. 2Co 8:23, 2 Corinthians 12:8; 2 Thessalonians 2:1) our affliction which happened in Asia, that we were weighed down exceedingly, beyond our power, insomuch that we despaired even of life. Having spoken in general terms of the Divine comfort in times of trouble, he goes on to mention his own particular case, the “affliction which befel him in Asia”. What was this? Asia almost certainly means Ephesus, where he had lately been exposed to many adversaries (1 Corinthians 15:32; 1 Corinthians 16:9). We naturally think of the tumult recorded in Acts 19:23 ff.; but the language here used is so strong that he must have been exposed to something worse than a temporary riot. He was “weighed down beyond his power” (ὑπὲρ δύναμιν, a phrase which he never uses elsewhere, and which is specially remarkable from the pen of one who always gloried in the Divine δύναμις granted to him, of which he said πάντα ἰσχύω ἐν τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦντί με, Philippians 4:13); he “despaired of life,” and yet he describes in this very Epistle (2 Corinthians 4:8) his general attitude in tribulation as “perplexed, yet not despairing”. Nor have we knowledge of any persecution at Ephesus so violent as to justify such language, though no doubt the allusion may be to something of the kind. Whatever the “affliction” was, the Corinthians were acquainted with it, for St. Paul does not enter into details, but mentions it only to inform them of its gravity, and to assure them of his trust in his ultimate deliverance. On the whole, it seems most likely that the reference is to grievous bodily sickness, which brought the Apostle down to the gates of death (see 2 Corinthians 1:9, and cf. chap. 2 Corinthians 4:10 and 2 Corinthians 12:7 ff.). Such an affliction would be truly ὑπὲρ δύναμιν; and it would be necessary to contemplate its recurrence (2 Corinthians 1:10). St. Paul in this Epistle, with unusual frequency, uses the plural ἡμεῖς when speaking of himself; sometimes this can be explained by the fact that Timothy was associated with him in the writing of the letter (2 Corinthians 1:1), but in other passages (e.g., 2 Corinthians 1:10; 2 Corinthians 5:13; 2Co 5:16, 2 Corinthians 10:7; 2 Corinthians 10:11; 2 Corinthians 10:15; 2 Corinthians 11:21) such an explanation will not suit the context, which demands the individual application of the pronoun.