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2 Corinthians

Second Corinthians is a deeply personal appeal after a painful period, defending Paul’s ministry, pursuing reconciliation, organizing the Jerusalem collection, and confronting rival claims to authority.

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Why did Paul write 2 Corinthians, and what is debated about its setting or authorship?

The letter gives strong internal evidence for a strained relationship, but the full sequence of visits and lost letters is not preserved.

1 Cor 1:11-12; 3:6; 16:8-12 · 2 Cor 2:1-4; 7:8-12 · Acts 19:21-41; 20:1 · Acts 20:1-2; 2 Cor 2:12-13; 7:5-7; 11:5, 13; 12:7-11 · Acts 20:1-2; Rom 15:19; 2 Cor 8-9 · Acts 20:2-3; Rom 15:22-29; 16:1-2

2 Corinthians: chronology diagram showing the sequence of events, dates, and distinctions between established, inferred, and uncertain details.
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What remains uncertain

The Pauline Letters chronology places the letter in Macedonia around AD 55–56, after Paul left Ephesus and before his later stay in Greece.

Macedonia is a region, not a securely named city of composition; another major chronology places the same Macedonian setting in AD 57.

2 Corinthians is widely regarded as Pauline, though many interpreters think its present form may preserve more than one stage of correspondence. It is commonly placed in Macedonia around AD 55–56.

One letter or several stages: Some scholars read the canonical form as a unified composition; others think it preserves more than one stage of Paul’s correspondence with Corinth. The main Macedonian setting can remain plausible, but the order and tone of individual sections are read differently.

Sources: An Introduction to the New Testament · The Pauline letters · The Acts of the Apostles · Pauline Letters chronology · Paul: A Critical Life

Sources

1 Cor 1:11-12; 3:6; 16:8-12 · 2 Cor 2:1-4; 7:8-12 · Acts 19:21-41; 20:1 · Acts 20:1-2; 2 Cor 2:12-13; 7:5-7; 11:5, 13; 12:7-11 · Acts 20:1-2; Rom 15:19; 2 Cor 8-9 · Acts 20:2-3; Rom 15:22-29; 16:1-2

  1. An Introduction to the New Testament

    Raymond E. Brown, An Introduction to the New Testament (Doubleday, 1997). Chapter 23, “Second Letter to the Corinthians,” “General Analysis of the Message”; Chapter 23, “Second Letter to the Corinthians,” “Summary of Basic Information”: “DATE” and “AUTHENTICITY”; Chapter 23, “Second Letter to the Corinthians,” “One Letter or a Compilation of Several Letters?”

  2. The Pauline letters

    Romans through Philemon, World English Bible (public domain).

  3. The Acts of the Apostles

    Acts 7–28, World English Bible (public domain).

  4. Pauline Letters chronology

    The project’s 67-row chronology, cross-referencing Acts and the letters and labeling debated dates.

  5. Paul: A Critical Life

    Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, Paul: A Critical Life (Oxford University Press, 1996). Chapter 1, “The Chronological Framework,” “The Evidence from the Pauline Letters” and “The Evidence from the Acts of the Apostles”

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