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Was Paul Out of His Mind? Re-Reading 2 Corinthians 5.13

Talbot School of Theology, La Mirada, CA

Paul's use of the words µ and o in 2 Cor. 5.13 has proven ex tremely difficult for interpreters. Some believe Paul is making reference to a charge of eccentric behavior, while others think he is alluding to his own ecstatic expe rience. This article argues that the complaint of 2 Cor. 5.13 should be read in light of the central complaint leveled against Paul in Corinth: his poor rhetorical skills (10.10; 11.6; 12.19; 13.3). After demonstrating the prominence of this issue in 2 Cor. 10-12, 1 Cor. 1-4 and 2 Cor. 2-5, this article allows Paul's detractors to explain their terminology. Understood as a complaint against Paul from those whose rhetorical tastes were more refined, the language of 2 Cor. 5.13 is consid erably illuminated. Both µ and o were used in rhetorical hand books in relation to proper oratorical style. This reading anchors this text firmly within the literary context, while also reflecting issues prominent in the Greco- Roman world of first-century Corinth.

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