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Αρραβων as Pledge in Second Corinthians

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 September 2008

YON-GYONG KWON
Affiliation:
Anyang University, Anyang 5-dong, Anyang-shi, Kyonggi-do, 430–714, Korea

Abstract

This article argues that αρραβων in 2 Corinthians (1.22 and 5.5) does not mean ‘down payment’ or ‘first installment’ but ‘pledge’ without any sense of pars pro toto. After showing that the meaning of the word depends on its context, the study goes on to examine the two occurrences of the word, concluding that Paul either appeals to the Spirit as God's pledge for his apostolicity (1.22) or as a pledge for the surety of bodily resurrection (5.5). The common view that αρραβων depicts the Spirit as the present realization of salvation is thus exegetically unfounded.

Type
Articles
Copyright
2008 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

This study was originally presented at the Paul Seminar of 2006 British New Testament Conference. I thank the seminar members for helping me to clarify and sharpen my points with perceptive questions, especially Professor Morna Hooker. I also thank Professor Robert Jewett for his insightful clarifications and encouraging suggestions which I have taken up heartily.