Miscellaneous [2].

Comparison, Self-Praise and Irony: Paul's Boasting and the Conventions of Hellenistic Rhetoric

“…Epictetus also sees self-comparison as a valuable tool in the development of self-knowledge. 27 He suggests, however, that to compare other people is not fitting for a philosopher, who ought to be silent when he has nothing important to say. The simple practice of comparing great men is also evidenced, 28 as is the denial of the propriety of comparison.…”

“…70 Later Paul constructed the first two chapters of 1 Corinthians around the dialectic of weakness and power, folly and wisdom, which he saw in Christ (1. [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25], in the Corinthian congregation generally (vs. [26][27][28][29][30][31], and in his own apostolic situation among them (2. 1-5).…”

“…Whether v. 31 is to be understood with v. 30 or v. 32, Paul now enters upon the second stage of his 'boasting', 'like a fool', of his 'weakness'. Instead of merely alluding to situations of humiliation (vs. [23][24][25][26][27][28], without giving circumstantial detail, he moves on to specific descriptions of cases of that humiliation.…”