Consistency Isn’t Everything: Self-Commendation in 2 Corinthians

Abstract

This article addresses the debate over Paul’s use of self-commendation in 2 Corinthians. The diversity of instances in which Paul promotes himself within this text – whereby he in some cases commends himself explicitly (2 Cor. 1.12; 4.2; 6.4), denies that he is doing so in others (3.1; 5.12; 12.19) and elsewhere claims that he is compelled to boast (11.1–12.13) – raises the question of whether Paul’s practice regarding self-commendation is guided by a coherent set of principles, or is simply self-contradictory. Beginning with an analysis of a representative sample of each ‘species’ of self-commendation, this study argues that, although Paul does have certain principles regarding self-commendation that he attempts to apply with a measure of consistency, he is more than willing to bend or suspend his own ‘rules’ in order to suit his more pressing rhetorical concerns.