2 Corinthians 11:3
Read 2 Corinthians 11:3 Using Other Translations
What does 2 Corinthians 11:3 mean?
But I fear lest by any means
Jealousy is always attended with fear, care, and solicitude,
whether in things natural or spiritual. The apostle, as things
were in this church, could not but express his fears, lest
as the serpent beguiled Eve through his
subtlety;
that is, the old serpent the devil, who made use of a serpent,
the most subtle creature of all the beasts of the field, and
seduced Eve from her obedience to God, to transgress his command,
by eating the forbidden fruit. The apostle here speaks the
language and sense of the Jews, who say F16, that,
(Mhl dxa Mv vxnw Njv)
"Satan and the serpent have one name", i.e. are the same; and
that it was the old serpent (the devil), (hwxl ytpd) , "that beguiled Eve" F17, and
who is said to be corrupted by him;
``the serpent (they say F18) was corrupted first, after that, (hwx hlqlqtn) , "Eve was corrupted", and after that Adam was corrupted.''So the apostle was jealous and fearful, knowing that the false apostles were ministers of Satan, artful and cunning men, lest, through their craftiness and sophistry,
your minds,
says he,
should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Christ;
that is, lest their judgments should be misled, their minds be
vitiated with corrupt principles, and be carried away in any
degree with the error of the wicked, from off the pure and simple
doctrine of the Gospel, which respects the person and grace of
Christ; and chiefly lies in this one plain, easy, and important
truth, salvation alone by him. The Vulgate Latin version reads,
"your minds should be corrupted, and should fall from the
simplicity that is in Christ".
F16 Caphtor, fol. 93. 1.
F17 Raya Mehimna in Zohar in Exod. fol. 50. 1.
F18 T. Bab. Taanith, fol. 15. 2.
