{"id":30559,"date":"2021-01-14T19:47:16","date_gmt":"2021-01-15T01:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?page_id=30559"},"modified":"2025-04-12T12:14:49","modified_gmt":"2025-04-12T17:14:49","slug":"background-to-ii-corinthians","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-corinthian-letters\/background-to-ii-corinthians\/","title":{"rendered":"Background to II Corinthians"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Background to II Corinthians<\/h1>\n

Looking at the Content<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Read through the entire book of II Corinthians, preferably in one sitting. Read it like you would a letter written to you by a friend. This will give you an overall feel for what the book is about.<\/li>\n
  2. Read through the entire book of II Corinthians a second time, and this time jot down answers to the following questions:\n
      \n
    1. Make a list of frequently repeated words, phrases, or ideas.<\/li>\n
    2. Who are the people mentioned in II Corinthians?<\/li>\n
    3. What events are mentioned that might help us date the book?<\/li>\n
    4. What locations are mentioned?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
    5. What kind of book is II Corinthians? (Historical, Biographical, Poetic, Proverbial, Prophetic, Instructional, or a combination?)<\/li>\n
    6. Mark the locations and events, using different colors for each place or event.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\t

      Background to II Corinthians<\/h2>\n

      Class Discussion<\/h2>\n
        \n
      1. Who did you find mentioned in the book?\n
          \n
        1. Does a different name refer to anyone already mentioned?<\/li>\n
        2. What are the various names for God and the members of the Godhead?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
        3. What locations did you find mentioned in the book?\n
            \n
          1. Locate the places on the map.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n
          2. What events are mentioned that can help date the book? The key is to look for words such as “then,” “after this,” “until,” “before,” “when,” etc.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Dating the II Corinthians Letter<\/h2>\n

            Paul has left Ephesus, gone to Troas (II Corinthians 2:12-13), and is now in Macedonia (II Corinthians 7:5-6; 9:2-4). Paul may have been in Macedonia for at least a year (II Corinthians 9:2).<\/p>\n

            Background to the Letter<\/h2>\n

            Paul mentions the difficulty that he had in Asia, which is where Ephesus is located (II Corinthians 1:8-9). Paul is probably referring to the riot in Ephesus, which happened just before his departure (Acts 19:21-20:1). Paul spent a short period in Troas but pressed on when he didn’t find Titus as he had hoped. From this, we can assume that Titus probably carried the I Corinthians letter to Corinth, and Paul wanted to find out how the letter was received.<\/p>\n

            Several times in II Corinthians, Paul mentions that he has been in Corinth twice and this next visit will be his third one (II Corinthians 2:1; 12:14; 13:1-2). In II Corinthians 2:1, Paul hints that the last visit was unpleasant. From this, some speculate that Paul might have made a brief visit between the times of I Corinthians and II Corinthians that wasn’t recorded in Acts. However, II Corinthians 1:15-17 explains why Paul couldn’t stop twice in Corinth as he said he had planned before writing I Corinthians. From that, it would seem that the better explanation is that Paul had been in Corinth twice before writing I Corinthians.<\/p>\n

            Timothy was expected to visit Corinth when Paul wrote I Corinthians (I Corinthians 16:10-11). We don’t know if that visit actually took place.<\/p>\n

            Since the first letter, the man who had been allowed to be a member at Corinth (I Corinthians 5:1-5) had been withdrawn from (II Corinthians 2:6).<\/p>\n

            Titus has visited the church and has since reported to Paul (II Corinthians 7:13-16). From this, we also learn that improvements have been made in the church. Paul sent Titus, along with two other brothers, back to Corinth after Titus had volunteered to go (II Corinthians 8:16-24). Titus likely carried the II Corinthians letter to Corinth.<\/p>\n

            When Paul does come to Corinth (Acts 20:3-6), he evidently stayed with Gaius and wrote the letter to the Romans (Romans 16:23). There is mention in Romans 16:23 of an Erastus who is the treasurer of the city. A first-century inscription has been found in Corinth, which states: “Erastus, the commissioner of public works, laid this pavement at his own expense.” In the Roman letter, Paul mentions he is about to head to Jerusalem with the collection mentioned in II Corinthians 8 and 9 (Romans 15:25-27). It is Phoebe, a member of the church in Cenchrea, near Corinth, who delivers the letter to the Romans (Romans 16:1-2).<\/p>\n

            Class Discussion:<\/h2>\n
              \n
            1. During the class, mark the travels of the people mentioned on the map. Use different colors for each person.<\/li>\n
            2. Begin developing unique markings for each set of keywords.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

               <\/p>\n\"\"\n\t

              Marking Keywords in II Corinthians<\/h2>\n
                \n
              1. Read through the entire book of II Corinthians a third time and this time mark the keywords as you run across them.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPrior Lesson\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Corinthian Letters\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNext Letter\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                Background to II Corinthians Looking at the Content Read through the entire book of II Corinthians, preferably in one sitting. Read it like you would a letter written to you by a friend. This will give you an overall feel for what the book is about. Read through the entire book of II Corinthians a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":19928,"menu_order":44,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-30559","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":49025,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/remember-a-study-of-ii-peter\/background-of-ii-peter\/","url_meta":{"origin":30559,"position":0},"title":"Background of II Peter","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 30, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Background of II Peter Text: II Peter 1:1 Getting Acquainted: What section of the Bible does II Peter fit? Read the book of II Peter in one sitting, as if you just received this letter from your grandpa. 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It is not that long of a book so you can do it. \u00a0 \u27ad\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Read through the entire book of Galatians a second time\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":30385,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/the-corinthian-letters\/background-to-i-corinthians\/","url_meta":{"origin":30559,"position":4},"title":"Background to I Corinthians","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Background to I Corinthians Class Discussion Who did you find mentioned in the book? Are any the same person but mentioned with a different name? What are the various names for God and the members of the Godhead? What locations did you find mentioned in the book? 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