The Corinthian Correspondence

I have mentioned the fragmentary nature of Paul's correspondence with the assembly at Corinth. His first letter, mentioned in 1 Cor. 5.9-13, is lost, but 2 Cor. 6.14–7.1 may be a part of it. Paul's second letter to Corinth would, then, actually be our 1 Corintians. Many scholars believe that the third letter, perhaps referred to in 2 Cor. 2.3-4, 9 and 7.6-9, is also lost. Written ‘out of much affliction and anxiety’ (2 Cor. 2.4; see also 7.8-12), a fragment may be preserved in 2 Corinthians 10–13. It is known as ‘the painful letter’, because it appears to fit the description of such a letter in 2 Cor. 2.4 and 7.8-12 (see also 1.23; 2.1-2; 3.1).

The passages just mentioned seem to indicate that 2 Corinthians 1–9 was written after 2 Corintians 10–13. 2 Corinthians 1–9, then, would be a part of Paul's fourth letter to Corinth, also lost, except for chs. 1–9, but 2 Cor. 6.14–7.1 would not have been a part of it.

2 Corinthians 8–9, or ch. 9 alone, may also be a separate letter fragment dealing with the collection for the holy ones in Jerusalem. In 9.1 Paul writes: ‘It is superfluous for me to write to you about the (monetary) service for the holy ones’. He says this, however, after he had already written about the subject in ch. 8, where he even mentions the abundance of the Corinthians’ gift (8.14).