The Fear of God in 2 Corinthians 7:1

Its Meaning, Function, and Eschatological Context

Euichang Kim

• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9780567684967
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

Euichang Kim focuses upon the phrase "the fear of God", drawn from 2 Corinthians' exhortation to reconcile with God. As opposed to these words appearing from no particular source, Kim points to the wider contexts of Old Testament passages quoted by Paul, and demonstrates that God's eschatological promises – in particular his coming judgment, his promise to redeem his people, and the prospect of a new covenant – are intertwined with this motif of "fear". Beginning with an analysis of the meaning of fear in both the Old Testament and the New, Kim proceeds to the context of fear within 2 Corinthians, Scripture, the writings of Second Temple Judaism and the very eschatology of Paul, suggesting that it stems from an awareness of God's judgment to come and serves to motivate righteous behavior. Kim finally argues that, in the context of 2 Corinthians, the "fear of God" functions as the proper response to God's saving acts in Christ, and provides motivation for believers to pursue a holy life in anticipation of the eschatological judgment to come.

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study is to set forth a hypothesis regarding the meaning and function of “the fear of God” in Paul’s theology by examining its role in 2 Cor 7:1 within its literary context and salvation-history.¹ Although “the fear of God” is a significant theme in the OT, from which Paul derived the main lines of his thought, his use of the motif has seldom been studied. This is striking given the fact that Paul mentions “fear” repeatedly in his letters, employing a range of terminology.² Moreover, 2 Cor 7:1, as the climax of the argument of 6:14–7:1, is arguably the most significant place to begin in understanding Paul’s use of the fear of God because it is the only place, where, in one setting, Paul: (1) uses fear with explicit reference to God (φόβος θεοῦ), (2) requires it of believers,³ and (3) relates it to an OT source.⁴

Because of its uncommon vocabulary,⁵ its unique catena of OT citations,⁶ and its exclusive instructions concerning unbelievers,⁷ 2 Cor 6:14–7:1 has of course formed the center of much scholarly discussion. These debates have focused largely on the identification of the Scriptural citations in 6:16c–18, the connection to other contemporary Jewish documents, and its authenticity and/or integrity in 2 Corinthians. At the same time, however, scholarly treatments of 6:14–7:1 have paid comparatively little attention to 7:1, where Paul summarizes his previous arguments with a concluding exhortation:

Therefore (οὖν), beloved ones, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement regarding flesh and spirit, thus completing holiness, which is brought about by the fear of God.⁸

Moreover, it has seldom been noticed that, even though this verse picks up all of the other central aspects in the catena of OT citations in 6:16c–18 (cf. its reference to “these promises,” “cleansing from defilement,” and “completing holiness”), the motif of “the fear of God” seems to appear without introduction or preceding reference. Both arguing for and against Pauline authorship of 6:14–7:1, scholars have not pointed out this surprising feature of 7:1, nor have they provided a satisfactory answer regarding why the fear of God is referenced in 7:1, what it means, and hence how it functions in the argument.

This present study, therefore, takes as its starting point the following questions: “What motivates the reference to the fear of God in 2 Cor 7:1?” “What, in view of the answer to this question, does this motif actually mean in 2 Cor 7:1?” and finally, “What role does this motif play in 2 Cor 7:1 and, furthermore, in 2 Cor 6:14–7:1?” This present study seeks to answer these questions by first exploring this motif in the various OT passages explicitly cited in 6:16c–18, which lead up to the climactic assertion about the fear of God in 7:1, and then by comparing the understanding of this OT motif with the use of the same motif in representative Second Temple Jewish documents. The premise of the study is that these traditional Jewish understandings of the fear of God, especially those found in an eschatological context, will shed light on Paul’s understanding and use of the fear of God in 2 Cor 7:1.

I. Status Quaestionis

Compared with the vast swathe of studies on 2 Cor 6:14–7:1, scholarly discussions about the fear of God in 7:1 are scarce in number and divergent in their interpretations. On the one hand, scholars who do not accept the Pauline authorship of 2 Cor 6:14–7:1 argue that the fear of God in 7:1 is a Christian “stylistic modification” of an interpolated fragment (probably from Essene material)⁹ or “a non-Pauline phrase, pointing, as in Judaism, to the eschatological judgment.”¹⁰ On the other hand, scholars who accept Pauline authorship of the passage mostly acknowledge the connection between “the fear of God” in 7:1 and “the fear of the Lord” in 5:11, and interpret the fear of God as a response to God’s final judgment.¹¹ However, these scholars differ in their understanding not only of the nature of “the fear of God,”¹² but also of its origin in this context.¹³ The reason for this variance is twofold: first, as I will discuss below, the traditional “dual understanding” of the fear of God that distinguishes two kinds of fear (negative/positive) fails to explain the fear of God in 7:1. Here, both negative and positive features of fear seem to join—the fear of God alludes to the final judgment as in 5:10–11 (negative fear), and at the same time promotes the holiness of believers (positive fear).¹⁴ Thus, in order to understand the fear of God in 7:1, a different explanation is required that can include both features.¹⁵ Second, as with the other referents of 7:1, one should seek to understand the fear of God in 7:1 against the OT background of 6:16c–18. Although scholars have often referred to the OT context in general as the background for the motif of the fear of God in 7:1, such as the common appeal to the role of the fear of the Lord in wisdom literature, few have attempted to explain the motif against the backdrop of the specific OT citations of 6:16c–18.¹⁶

In sum, despite the acknowledgment of the eschatological weight that the fear of God carries in 7:1 (especially in light of 5:10–11), there has not been a detailed analysis of its function within the immediate argument of 6:14–7:1. However, by neglecting the backdrop of the specific OT passages cited in 6:16c–18 against which Paul understands the fear of God in 7:1, as well as the wider context in 2 Corinthians of Paul’s discussion of his “new covenant” ministry and his corresponding exhortations to the Corinthians as “the temple of the living God” (6:16), one fails to see the significant role and function that the fear of God takes up in Paul’s thought. Therefore, a study of the fear of God is needed that illumines both the narrow relationship between 6:14–18 and 7:1, and the broad relationship between 7:1 and 2 Corinthians. Moreover, despite the numerous attempts to explain the other aspects in 7:1 against a Second Temple Jewish background, none of these attempts traces the treatment of the motif of the fear of God in the literature of Second Temple Judaism in order to establish the context in which this aspect of Paul’s argument stands. Hence, a closer examination of the understanding of the fear of God in the Second Temple period will help us to see how Paul’s understanding of the fear of God corresponds to and deviates from his contemporary setting.

II. The Problem Raised by Lexicography

There have been several significant lexicographical studies of the motif of “the fear of God” in the OT and NT, all of which have argued that the latter is almost exclusively dependent upon the former.¹⁷ Thus, it is important to start our examination of the fear of God first in the OT, where this motif appears more prominently than in the NT itself.¹⁸

1. The Meaning of the Fear of God in the OT

According to TLOT, the vast majority of occurrences of “fear” (

) in the OT (about 80 percent) exhibit a theological usage, i.e., “the fear of God.”¹⁹ For example, the adjectival form, “frightful” (

), is used as an attribute of God,²⁰ of his name,²¹ of his deeds,²² and of his eschatological day of judgment,²³ while the verb, “to fear” (

), appears in relation to the experience of God’s theophanic presence,²⁴ in relation to God’s deeds as a historical activity and demonstration of power,²⁵ such as the creation,²⁶ the Exodus,²⁷ or the punishment of the evil ones,²⁸ and in relation to the sanctuary²⁹ or to an individual man/the people of God.³⁰ In sum, in the OT God is to be feared not through his dreadful works alone, but also in response to his majesty and holiness.³¹

According to this, “fear” carries also a positive and active aspect, since God’s acts as well as his power, holiness, and majesty not only elicit “fear” from those who are in rebellion against God, but also demand a positive acknowledgment of fear from his faithful people. In other words, “fear” in OT contexts results not only from the threat itself, but also in response to the author of the threat, so that “fear” also becomes a “reverence” that leads people to submissive recognition.³² In this regard, this aspect of the fear of God identifies itself with the people’s obedience to God, expressed in their observance of moral laws and cultic demands. With this development, the fear of God loses its original emotional character of fearing God’s punishment or judgment altogether.³³ Miklós Pálfy thus contends that this positive aspect of fear is related to the “pious attitude” in the OT for which God constantly exhorts his people to strive:

Da jedoch der hebräische Mensch der Unsicherheit und Relativität der “Furcht vor der Gottheit” bewußt war, verwendet er den Begriff jir’at jahwe sehr oft zur Bezeichnung des Verhältnisses von Gott und Mensch bzw. der Frömmigkeit im Alten Testament.³⁴

Scholars argue that this positive and active aspect of fear, which appears at various places throughout the OT, is to be distinguished from its negative sense of “terror,” and denotes a human attitude of submission that expresses itself in human conduct that is orientated to the will of God. For example, in Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomistic literature, the fear of God appears “in a series of formulae which demand piety oriented to the Deuteronomist Law.”³⁵ In these passages, fearing God functions positively and describes the corresponding result of obedience to God’s word and commandments.³⁶ This entails obedience to the demand to hear his voice or serve him,³⁷ so that G...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Contents
• List of Abbreviations
• Acknowledgements
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Bibliography of Works Cited
• Biblical Citations Index
• General Index
• Copyright