Second Corinthians

Both Tertullian and Epiphanius comment on Second Corithians (2 Cor). Tertullian does not note any differences between 2 Cor and the version in Marcion's Apostolicon (Mc2 Cor), although he appears to have seen 'Western' text in both. Epiphanius states that Mc2 Cor: "stands third in Marcion but in an altered way, since in his canon Galatians is placed first." He comments on three verses, noting just one difference (in the discussions below Epiphanius comments only where specifically noted). Lardner identifes just one Marcionite difference:

In the 13th verse of this same chapter [4] Marcion erased the words, "according as it is written, I believe, and therefore have I spoken."

Evans notes:

At 1:3 Marcion read Blessed be the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. Tertullian's next reference is to 1:20, and then to 2:14-17: he does not note every detail. The following seem to be tendentious alterations. At 3:14 Marcion read the thoughts of the world, for their thoughts: and at 3:18 he read the Lord of spirits. At 4:10 he read bearing about the dying of the Lord and that the life also of Christ. He misread 5:17 as If there be any new creation in Christ. At 7:1 he read every defilement of flesh and blood, connecting this with 11:2, present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

Second Corinthians 1:3

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; [1:3]

Tertullian referred to this verse, writing:

If, owing to the fault of human error, the word God has become a common name (since in the world there are said and believed to be "gods many") [1 Cor 8:5], yet "the blessed God," (who is "the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ"), will be understood to be no other God than the Creator … Now, if the title of Father may be claimed for (Marcion's) sterile god, how much more for the Creator? To none other than Him is it suitable, who is also "the Father of mercies," and (in the prophets) has been described as "full of compassion, and gracious, and plenteous in mercy." [Ps 103:8] … Now, if Marcion's god has exhibited or proclaimed any such thing as this, I will allow him to be "the Father of mercies."

There is no indication here of any difference between 2 Cor and Mc2 Cor

Second Corinthians 1:20

For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. [1:20]

Tertullian has nothing to say regarding this verse, but Epiphanius writes:

“For all the promises of God have their Yea in him; therefore through him we utter the Amen to God.” (Scholion 1 and 25)

Epiphanius omits some of the final part of this verse, and appears to see some differences in wording elsewhere. However, most of the differences are just translation issues, as (for example) the NET has:

For every one of God’s promises are “Yes” in him; therefore also through him the “Amen” is spoken, to the glory we give to God.

In Elenchus 1 Epiphanius explains the meaning of this verse to Marcion, in which he again quotes v. 1:20a. He also refers to just “God” again, so it is possible that Epiphanius saw “God” rather than “the glory of God.”

Second Corinthians 3:6-7,13

Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. [3:6] But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: [3:7] And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: [3:13]

Tertullian refers to all three verses:

Therefore "the New Testament" will appertain to none other than Him who promised it — if not "its letter, yet its spirit;" and herein will lie its newness… Even if "the letter kills, yet the Spirit gives life;" … He alludes to Moses' veil, covered with which "his face could not be steadfastly seen by the children of Israel." Since he did this to maintain the superiority of the glory of the New Testament, which is permanent in its glory, over that of the Old, "which was to be done away."

Although Tertullian is paraphrasing, nothing he writes leads us to suspect that he here saw anything in Mc2 Cor that differed from 2 Cor itself.

Second Corinthians 3:14-18

But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. [3:14] But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. [3:15] Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. [3:16] Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. [3:17] But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. [3:18]

Tertullian refers to 2 Cor 3:14-16, 18, but not 17:

But then he says, "But their minds were blinded" — of the world; certainly not the Creator's mind, but the minds of the people which are in the world. Of Israel he says, Even unto this day the same veil is upon their heart; showing that the veil which was on the face of Moses was a figure of the veil which is on the heart of the nation still;...Then, again, the words which follow, But when it shall turn to the Lord, the evil shall be taken away, properly refer to the Jew, over whose gaze Moses' veil is spread … So he says that "we now with open face" … "beholding Christ, are changed into the same image, from that glory" … "to another glory." … and by superinducing thereupon the revelation and the glory of the Spirit in the person of Christ — "even as," to use his words, "by the Spirit of the Lord" — he testifies that the whole Mosaic system was a figure of Christ…

Tertullian refers only to the first part of v. 3:14. He possibly did not see “when Moses is read,” although his reference to Israel may imply it. Evans suggests that: "At 3:14 Marcion read the thoughts of the world, for their thoughts: and at 3:18 he read the Lord of spirits." There is no indication of any changes by Marcion.

Second Corinthians 4:4

In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. [4:4]

Tertullian quotes the beginning of this verse so that he can suggest how Marcion interpreted it, and then suggests a different interpretation of his own.

We are quite aware that some passages are open to ambiguity, from the way in which they are read, or else from their punctuation, when there is room for these two causes of ambiguity. The latter method has been adopted by Marcion, by reading the passage which follows, "in whom the God of this world," as if it described the Creator as the God of this world, in order that he may, by these words, imply that there is another God for the other world. We, however, say that the passage ought to be punctuated with a comma after God, to this effect: "In whom God, has blinded the eyes of the unbelievers of this world." "In whom" means the Jewish unbelievers, from some of whom the gospel is still hidden under Moses' veil…

There is no indication that Tertullian saw anything different in the Apostolicon.

Second Corinthians 4:5-6

For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. [4:5] For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. [4:6]

Tertullian quotes v. 4:6 as we see it, but only to comment that it is meaningless to Marcion as he rejected the Old Testament, in particular "Let there be light?" [Gen 1:3] and "I have set You as a light to the Gentiles" [Isa 49:6]. Epiphanius quotes v. 4:5 almost exactly as we see it, and v. 4:6a in a slightly different form.

“For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your servants through Jesus. For it is God who said, Out of darkness shall light shine.” (Scholion 2 and 26)

In Elenchus 2 he ‘schools’ Marcion in the meaning of this verse regarding the light, but does not suggest that Marcion had changed the wording. There is evidence here that Epiphanius sides with the wording of P⁴⁶.

Second Corinthians 4:7-11

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. [4:7] We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; [4:8] Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; [4:9] Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. [4:10] For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. [4:11]

Tertullian refers to the content of these verses in order to complain about Marcion’s god being unjust, but actually quotes very little. He mentions “great sufferings,’ but provides no details. In v. 4:10 he refers to Christ rather than Jesus, as seen in some Western mss, and does not mention v. 4:11.

But how does it happen, that "the treasure which we have in these earthen vessels of ours" should not be regarded as belonging to the God who owns the vessels? … he tells us we have to endure so great sufferings, in which we bear about with us the very dying of God, (Marcion's) god is really ungrateful and unjust, if he does not mean to restore this same substance of ours at the resurrection, … For he gives prominence to the statement, "That the life also of Christ may be manifested in our body," as a contrast to the preceding, that His death is borne about in our body.

There is no evidence that Mc2 Cor read any differently.

Second Corinthians 4:12-18

So then death worketh in us, but life in you. [4:12] We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; [4:13] Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. [4:14] For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. [4:15] For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. [4:16] For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; [4:17] While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. [4:18]

Epiphanius states that Marcion removed some of v. 4:13:

“We, having the same Spirit of faith, also believe and therefore speak.” But he excised “according as it is written.” (Scholion 3 and 27)

As Epiphanius does not refer to the quote from Ps 116:10, it would seem that he is here just quoting the first part of a longer omission: “according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken.” However, in Elenchus 3 he quotes Paul’s version of v. 4:13 as having the text in a different order:

After, “I believed, and therefore have I spoken,” the apostle immediately added the exact equivalent and said, “We, having the same Spirit of faith, likewise believe and therefore speak.”

This suggests that Epiphanius saw v. 4:13 as:

According as it is written, “I believed, and therefore have I spoken.” We, having the same spirit of faith, likewise believe, and therefore speak;

It appears as though the quote from Ps 116:10 has moved, and this order is confirmed by Epiphanius as he continues:

But it is plain to everyone that the line beginning, “I believed <and therefore have I spoken>” is written in the Hundred Fifteenth Psalm, one which has the Alleluia superscription and is part of David’s roll and a prophecy of his own. So the apostle took the text and likewise, speaking as one of the apostles, said, “Therefore we also believe and speak.” (He said, not “Therefore I believed and spoke,” but, “We believe, therefore we speak,” to link himself with the other apostles.)

In ‘The First New Testament,’ Jason D. BeDuhn notes the following:

Epiphanius reads “And since we share the same spirit of trust, and (kai) we trust, therefore also we speak,” a text which skips over, as he duly notes, v. 13b: “according to (kata) what has been written, ‘I trusted, therefore I spoke.’” This shortened reading might be explained by a scribal error (homeoarcton), slipping from kata to kai (harder to explain is the omission of just the words of the quotation by Gk mss 618 and 1738).

Tertullian has no comment on vv. 4:12-13, 17 but does refer to vv. 4:10 (again) and 14, 16, 18 when he writes:

Then how is it, that in the words which follow he exhorts us not to the things which are seen and are temporal, but to those which are not seen and are eternal — in other words, not to the present, but to the future? But if it be of the future life of Christ that he speaks, intimating that it is to be made manifest in our body, then he has clearly predicted the resurrection of the flesh. He says, too, that "our outward man perishes," … by labours and sufferings, in reference to which he previously said, "For which cause we will not faint." Now, when he adds of "the inward man" also, that it "is renewed day by day," he demonstrates both issues here…

BeDuhn does not note that in his Elenchus Epiphanius points out the different order he sees in Paul’s version of v. 4:13. This crucial point, combined with the evidence of mss 618 and 1738 noted by BeDuhn, suggests that the original text (as seen in the Apostolicon, and also presumably in Paul by Tertullian) did not include the quote from Ps 116:10, and that it was later added to v. 4:13 in two different places, with Epiphanius seeing the earlier position.

Second Corinthians 5:1-10

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. [5:1] For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: [5:2] If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. [5:3] For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. [5:4] Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. [5:5] Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: [5:6] (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) [5:7] We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. [5:8] Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. [5:9] For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. [5:10]

Tertullian refers to or quotes from most of these verses in order to discuss the meaning, omitting only vv. 5:7, 9:

As to the "house of this our earthly dwelling-place," when he says that "we have an eternal home in heaven, not made with hands," he by no means would imply that, because it was built by the Creator's hand, it must perish in a perpetual dissolution after death. He treats of this subject in order to offer consolation against the fear of death and the dread of this very dissolution, as is even more manifest from what follows, when he adds, that "in this tabernacle of our earthly body we do groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with the vesture which is from heaven, if so be, that having been unclothed, we shall not be found naked;" in other words, shall regain that of which we have been divested, even our body. And again he says: "We that are in this tabernacle do groan, not as if we were oppressed with an unwillingness to be unclothed, but (we wish) to be clothed upon."

In v. 5:3 he quotes: “that having been unclothed, we shall not be found naked” (in common with the Western text), whereas the KJV reads “that being clothed we shall not be found naked.” The NET notes:

Some mss read “taken off” (ἐκδυσάμενοι, ekdusamenoi) instead of “put on” (ἐνδυσάμενοι, endusamenoi). This alternative reading would change the emphasis of the verse from putting on “our heavenly house” to taking off “our earthly house” ... The difference between the two readings is one letter (ν or κ), either of which may be mistaken for the other especially when written in uncial script. ἐνδυσάμενοι enjoys strong support from the Alexandrian text (Ì46 א B C 33 1739 1881), Byzantine witnesses, versions (lat sy co), and Clement of Alexandria. The Western text is the only texttype to differ: D*,c reads ἐκδυσάμενοι, as does ar fc Mcion Tert Spec; F and G read εκλ for εκδ which indirectly aligns them with D (and was surely due to confusion of letters in uncial script). Thus “put on” has the oldest and best external attestation by far. Internal evidence also favors this reading.

At this point Tertullian refers back to 1 Cor 15:52-53, and then continues:

It was accordingly not without good reason that he described them as "not wishing indeed to be unclothed," but (rather as wanting) "to be clothed upon;" in other words, as wishing not to undergo death, but to be surprised into life, "that this moral (body) might be swallowed up of life," by being rescued from death in the supervesture of its changed state. This is why he shows us how much better it is for us not to be sorry, if we should be surprised by death, and tells us that we even hold of God "the earnest of His Spirit" (pledged as it were thereby to have "the clothing upon," which is the object of our hope), and that "so long as we are in the flesh, we are absent from the Lord;" moreover, that we ought on this account to prefer "rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord," and so to be ready to meet even death with joy. In this view it is that he informs us how "we must all appear before the judgement-seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according as he has done either good or bad."

There is some evidence here that Tertullian saw a Western version of these verses, but there is no suggestion that anything in vv. 5:1-10 differed from what he saw in the Apostolicon.

Second Corinthians 5:11-17

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. [5:17]

Tertullian does not mention vv. 5:11-16 (and there is no evidence that he even knew these verses), but instead directly quotes v. 5:17:

If therefore any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new;" and so is accomplished the prophecy of Isaiah.

Second Corinthians 5:18-7:1

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. [7:1]

Neither Tertullian nor Epiphanius comment on 2 Cor 5:18-21 or any of 2 Cor 6, although Tertullian does refer to v. 7:1b:

When also he enjoins us "to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and blood" (since this substance enters not the kingdom of God);

From Tertullian's writings it appears that he knew at least 2 Cor 6:14-15, but he may not have known the rest of vv. 5:18-6:18. BeDuhn writes:

2 Cor 5.18-7.1a is unattested. Tertullian might be expected to comment on "all things are from God" in 5.18 or the several quotations from Jewish scripture in this section. Otherwise, it contains little that would be relevant to Marcion’s critics. Adam 2.20 cites 6.14c, but it is doubtful that it is taken from the Apostolikon. Note how 7.1b follows quite logically on 5.16-17.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Online also comments on the unusual nature of this section of 2 Cor:

The passage 2Co 6:14 to 2Co 7:1 deals with the inconsistency and peril of intimate relations with the heathen, and is felt to be incongruous with the context. No doubt it comes strangely after an appeal to the Corinthians to show the apostle the same frankness and kindness that he is showing them; whereas 2Co 7:2 follows naturally and links itself closely to such an appeal. When we remember that the particular theme of the lost letter referred to in 1Co 5:9 was the relation of the converts to the immoral, it is by no means unlikely that we have here preserved a stray fragment of that epistle.

Second Corinthians 7:2-11:1

Neither Tertullian nor Epiphanius comment on 2 Cor 7:2-11:1, nor do they suggest that Marcion had omitted these verses. BeDuhn writes:

Tertullian says nothing about a large gap occurring here in Marcion’s version of the letter, in comparison to the catholic version. But it should be noted that in his works Tertullian has an unusual absence of quotations from this very part of the letter. For most of Paul’s letters, he quotes several passages from each chapter, but he shows a conspicuous void here, with no quotations or allusions to anything between 7.10 (Paen. 2.3) and 10.2 (Res. 49.11). It is a striking anomaly that stands out in any index of his scriptural references. Could it be that Marcion and Tertullian shared a text of this letter that lacked a sizable section found here in what is now the canonical form of the letter? Several scholars have proposed that chapters 8 and 9 constitutes originally separate letters (see Furnish, II Corinthians, 30-41, and the literature cited there). Although their content is largely ephemeral, and therefore not very usable to later Christian commentators, it would be highly relevant to Marcion’s critics as testimony to Paul’s close ties to the Jerusalem church and the apostles there, on which Tertullian comments frequently, as well as for the scriptural quote and comment on God as supplier of natural goods in 9.9-10. Adam 2.12 quotes 10.18, but it is doubtful that the Apostolikon is involved in this section.

Second Corinthians 11:2

For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. [11:2]

Tertullian refers to v. 11:2:

… he "espouses the church as a chaste virgin to Christ," a spouse to a spouse in very deed …

BeDuhn writes that:

Harnack (Marcion, 101*) notes that Tertullian seems to have a continuous quote that runs from 7:1 directly to 11:2, and indeed there is good continuity of sense running from 5.16-17 to 7.1b to 11.2. Does this reflect the text of the Apostolikon, or perhaps the selective citation of an argument Marcion presented in his Protoevangelion?

Second Corinthians 11:13-14

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. [11:13] And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. [11:14]

Tertullian makes no reference to vv. 11:3-12, and then quotes much of vv. 11:13-14:

So when he designates "false apostles, deceitful workers transforming themselves" into likenesses of himself, of course by their hypocrisy, he charges them with the guilt of disorderly conversation, rather than of false doctrine. The contrariety, therefore, was one of conduct, not of gods. If "Satan himself, too, is transformed into an angel of light," such an assertion must not be used to the prejudice of the Creator. The Creator is not an angel, but God. Into a god of light, and not an angel of light, must Satan then have been said to be transformed, if he did not mean to call him "the angel," which both we and Marcion know him to be.

Second Corinthians 12:2-4

I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. [12:2] And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) [12:3] How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. [12:4]

Tertullian appears to be referring to these verses in general terms when he writes:

On Paradise is the title of a treatise of ours, in which is discussed all that the subject admits of. I shall here simply wonder, in connection with this matter, whether a god who has no dispensation of any kind on earth could possibly have a paradise to call his own — without perchance availing himself of the paradise of the Creator, to use it as he does His world — much in the character of a mendicant. And yet of the removal of a man from earth to heaven we have an instance afforded us by the Creator in Elijah.

Second Corinthians 12:7-9

And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. [12:7] For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. [12:8] And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [12:9]

Tertullian refers to all three of these verses in Mc2 Cor in order to point out that Marcion’s god is the same as his. As is often the case, Tertullian turns some of the statements into questions, but otherwise appears to see no differences.

But what will excite my surprise still more is the case (next supposed by Marcion), that a God so good and gracious, and so averse to blows and cruelty, should have suborned the angel Satan— not his own either, but the Creator's— "to buffet" the apostle, and then to have refused his request, when thrice entreated to liberate him! ... Is he then the same God as He who gave Satan power over the person of Job that his "strength might be made perfect in weakness?"

Second Corinthians 13:1-10

This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. [13:1] I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare: [13:2] Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction. [13:10]

Paul gives over most of 2 Cor 13 to an address to the recipients, which Tertullian largely ignores, although it is likely that he saw it. He uses the rest to attack Marcion:

How is it that the censurer of the Galatians still retains the very formula of the law: "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established?" How again is it that he threatens sinners "that he will not spare" them — he, the preacher of a most gentle god? Yea, he even declares that "the Lord has given to him the power of using sharpness in their presence!" Deny now, O heretic, (at your cost,) that your god is an object to be feared, when his apostle was for making himself so formidable!

Summary

As BeDuhn notes, Tertullian did not appear to see a large portion of the text of this epistle, either in 2 Cor or in the Apostolicon:

"... He appears to be just as detailed as before up to 2 Cor 5.17, but at that point he leaps to 7.1b followed immediately by 11.2 (indeed, reading the latter in direct continuity with the former). At that point, his fairly detailed scrutiny resumes to the end of the letter. Our other sources do little to fill this gap: Adamantius offers two references in parts of his treatise where the Apostolikon may not be used, while Epiphanius provides nothing."

Despite the uncertain nature of 2 Cor, with many people suggesting that it is a 'composite' of at least two different letters, neither Tertullian nor Epiphanius comment on this aspect, and neither suggest that the Pauline and Marcionite versions differ in this respect, although Epiphanius notes a difference in 2 Cor 4:13.

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