Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 2 Corinthians 11:19-22

"For ye bear with the foolish gladly, being wise [yourselves]. For ye bear with a man, if he bringeth you into bondage, if he devoureth you, if he taketh you [captive], if he exalteth himself, if he smiteth you on the face. I speak by way of disparagement, as though we had been weak. Yet whereinsoever any is bold (I speak in foolishness), I am bold also. Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I." — 2 Corinthians 11:19-22 (ASV)

(19–21a) Probably no verses in the letter are more scathingly ironical than these. Not only do the Corinthians humor fools; they do so “gladly,” because the folly of the fool serves to highlight the wisdom of the “wise.” Their tolerance seems to have no limits. They put up not only with the speech of fools but also with the despotism of tyrants. The intruding aliens had reduced them to slavery by robbing the Corinthians of their liberty in Christ and by seeking to reimpose the Mosaic law (cf. Galatians 2:4; 5:1). They had exploited them by greedily devouring any and all maintenance offered them (cf. Mark 12:40). They had entrapped them with tantalizing bait (cf. Lk 5:5); they had put on airs of superiority and had gravely insulted and humiliated them.

None of Paul’s readers would have failed to catch his message with its indictment of their inconsistency. Claiming to be followers of a meek, gentle Christ (10:1; cf. Matthew 11:29), they were impressed by the aggressiveness and authoritarianism of false apostles (v.13); yet they were unimpressed by Paul’s “weak” considerateness as a genuine “apostle of Christ Jesus” (1:1; 10:1, 10). Paul has to confess with shame (though really with biting irony) that his character had been too weak and his disposition too mild to use the tactics of the opposition (v.21a)!

(21b–22) Paul has already made several efforts to begin sustained boasting (11:1, 16). Now he finally brings himself to this distasteful task. No bold claim made by his rivals will go unmatched (v.21b). So to the first three claims mentioned, he responds with the simple, disarming word, “so am I.” By “Hebrews” is meant Jews of Palestinian descent, especially those whose native tongue was Aramaic or Hebrew and whose intellectual and cultural heritage was within Palestinian rather than Diaspora Judaism. Whether he himself was brought up in Tarsus or in Jerusalem, Paul was a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage . As an “Israelite” he was a member of God’s people Israel. As a descendant of Abraham who had been “circumcised on the eighth day” , Paul was an heir to the covenants based on God’s promise (Ephesians 2:12). All in all, with regard to descent, citizenship, and heritage, he was the equal of his rivals.