“By the Mouth of Two or Three Witnesses” Paul's Invocation of a Deuteronomic Statute

Author: Welborn, Laurence L.

Source: Novum Testamentum, Volume 52, Number 3, 2010 , pp. 207-220(14)

Publisher: BRILL

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Abstract:

The history of interpretation of 2 Cor 13:1 has been dominated by a metaphorical construal of the “three witnesses” as Paul's three visits to Corinth. This essay proposes a literal understanding of the text: Paul invokes the Deuteronomic rule of judicial witnesses in his own defense, in accordance with the purposes of the statute. The essay then explores the implications of this interpretation for reconstruction of what happened on the occasion of Paul's second, “painful” visit to Corinth.

Keywords: witnesses; visits; Deuteronomic statute; judicial evidence; malicious witness; adikesas

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/004810010X12471172125751

Affiliations: 1: New York and Sydney

Publication date: 2010-06-01