2 Corinthians 11:21-31

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Corinthians 11:28

Besides those things that are without ,.... Or are omitted, which he had passed by, and had not mentioned in the account and enumeration of things he had given; for otherwise the things he had taken notice of and instanced in, were things external; but besides them and many other things which would be too tedious to relate, that which cometh upon me daily , is not to be forgotten; meaning the prodigious deal of business which was every day upon his hands, through the continual coming of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Corinthians 11:29

Who is weak, and I am not weak .... What church is so? or what particular believer is so? for he had not only the care of all the churches, but of all believers upon him; whoever was weak in the faith he was concerned for them, to instruct, establish, and strengthen them; and suited his discourses, reasonings, and language, to their capacity, that they might understand him, and take in right notions of things: or whoever was of a weak and scrupulous conscience about things indifferent, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Corinthians 11:30

If I must needs glory .... The apostle signifies that glorying was not agreeable to him; he was not fond of it, it was a subject he did not delight to dwell upon; what he had done was by force, and through necessity; he was compelled to it by the boasts of the false apostles: and since he must needs glory in order to stop their mouths; will glory says he, of things which concern mine infirmities; meaning not his sins, for these cause shame; but his afflictions and sufferings for Christ,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Corinthians 11:31

he God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ .... These words are in the form of an oath, and are a solemn appeal to God, that knows all things, for the truth of the whole that he had declared in the foregoing verses, and of the remarkable deliverance related in the following. "God", says he, who is the searcher of hearts, and an omniscient being, to whom all things are open and manifest, knoweth that I lie not ; in anyone single instance he had mentioned, nor in what he was about to... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 11:21

I speak as concerning reproach - Dr. Whitby thus paraphrases this verse: "That which I said of smiting you upon the face, I speak as concerning the reproach they cast upon you as profane and uncircumcised, whereas they all profess to be a holy nation; as though we had been weak - inferior to them in these things, not able to ascribe to ourselves those advantages as well as they. Howbeit, whereinsoever any is bold, and can justly value himself on these advantages, I am bold also, and can... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 11:22

Are they Hebrews - Speaking the sacred language, and reading in the congregation from the Hebrew Scriptures? the same is my own language. Are they Israelites - Regularly descended from Jacob, and not from Esau? I am also one. Are they the seed of Abraham - Circumcised, and in the bond of the covenant? So am I. I am no proselyte, but I am a Hebrew of the Hebrews both by father and mother; and can trace my genealogy, through the tribe of Benjamin, up to the father of the faithful. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 11:23

Are they ministers of Christ - So we find that these were professors of Christianity; and that they were genuine Jews, and such as endeavored to incorporate both systems, and, no doubt, to oblige those who had believed to be circumcised; and this appears to have been the bondage into which they had brought many of the believing Corinthians. I am more - More of a minister of Christ than they are, and have given fuller proofs of it. I have suffered persecution for the cross of Christ, and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 11:24

Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one - That is, he was five times scourged by the Jews, whose law ( Deuteronomy 25:3 ;) allowed forty stripes; but they, pretending to be lenient, and to act within the letter of the law, inflicted but thirty-nine. To except one stripe from the forty was a very ancient canon among the Jews, as we learn from Josephus, Antiq. lib. iv. ch. viii. sec. 21, who mentions the same thing: πληγας μιας λειπουσης τεσσαπακοντα· forty stripes,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 11:25

Thrice was I beaten with rods - This was under the Roman government, as their lictors beat criminals in this way. We hear of the apostle's being treated thus once, namely at Philippi, Acts 16:22 . See Section 9 of the Introduction. Once was I stoned - Namely, at Lystra, Acts 14:19 , etc. A night and a day I have been in the deep - To what this refers we cannot tell; it is generally supposed that in some shipwreck not on record the apostle had saved himself on a plank, and was a... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 11:26

In journeyings often - He means the particular journeys which he took to different places, for the purpose of propagating the Gospel. In perils of waters - Exposed to great dangers in crossing rivers; for of rivers the original, ποταμων , must be understood. Of robbers - Judea itself, and perhaps every other country, was grievously infested by banditti of this kind; and no doubt the apostle in his frequent peregrinations was often attacked, but, being poor and having nothing to... read more

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