{"id":28968,"date":"2022-09-24T13:03:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T18:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-2-corinthians-1133\/"},"modified":"2022-09-24T13:03:00","modified_gmt":"2022-09-24T18:03:00","slug":"exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-2-corinthians-1133","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-2-corinthians-1133\/","title":{"rendered":"Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Corinthians 11:33"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 align='center'><b><i> And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands. <\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n<p> 33. <em> in a basket<\/em> ] The word literally means a <strong> plaited cord<\/strong>. Hence a basket made of cords. The word in <span class='bible'>Act 9:25<\/span> is not the same.<\/p>\n<p><em> was I let down by the wall<\/em> ] Theodoret well remarks, &ldquo;He shews the greatness of the danger by the mode of his flight.&rdquo; The peroration of Chrysostom&rsquo;s homily here is an eloquent picture of the magnanimity of the great Apostle.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><P STYLE=\"text-indent: 0.75em\"><B>And through a window &#8211; <\/B>That is, through a little door or aperture in the wall; perhaps something like an embrasure, that might have been large enough to allow a man to pass through it. Luke says <span class='bible'>Act 9:25<\/span> that they let him down by the wall. But there is no inconsistency. They doubtless first passed him through the embrasure or loop-hole in the wall, and then let him down gently by the side of it. Luke does not say it was over the top of the wall, but merely that he descended by the wall. It is not probable that an embrasure or opening would be near the bottom, and consequently there would be a considerable distance for him to descend by the side of the wall after he had passed through the window. Bloomfield, however, supposes that the phrase employed by Luke and rendered by the wall, means properly through the wall. But I prefer the former interpretation.<\/P> <P STYLE=\"text-indent: 0.75em\"><B>In a basket &#8211; <\/B>The word used here (<span class='_800000'><SPAN LANG=\"el-GR\"><\/SPAN><\/span> sargane) means anything braided or twisted; hence, a rope-basket, a net-work of cords, or a wicker hamper. It might have been such an one as was used for catching fish, or it might have been made for the occasion. The word used by Luke <span class='bible'>Act 9:25<\/span> is <span class='_800000'><SPAN LANG=\"el-GR\"><\/SPAN><\/span> spuris &#8211; a word usually meaning a basket for storing grain, provisions, etc. Where Paul went immediately after he had escaped them, he does not here say. From <span class='bible'>Gal 1:17<\/span>, it appears that he went into Arabia, where he spent some time, and then returned to Damascus, and after three years he went up to Jerusalem. It would not have been safe to have gone to Jerusalem at once, and he therefore waited for the passions of the Jews to have time to cool, before he ventured himself again in their hands.<\/P> <P ALIGN=\"CENTER\">Remarks<\/P> <P STYLE=\"text-indent: 0.75em\">1. There may be circumstances, but they are rare, in which it may be proper to speak of our own attainments, and of our own doings; <span class='bible'>2Co 11:1<\/span>. Boasting is in general nothing but folly &#8211; the fruit of pride &#8211; but there may be situations when to state what we have done may be necessary to the vindication of our own character, and may tend to honor God. Then we should do it; not to trumpet forth our own fame, but to glorify God and to advance his cause. Occasions occur however but rarely in which it is proper to speak in this manner of ourselves.<\/P> <P STYLE=\"text-indent: 0.75em\">2. The church should be pure. It is the bride of the Redeemer; the Lambs wife; <span class='bible'>2Co 11:2<\/span>. It is soon to be presented to Christ, soon to be admitted to his presence. How holy should be that church which sustains such a relation! How anxious to be worthy to appear before the Son of God!<\/P> <P STYLE=\"text-indent: 0.75em\">3. All the individual members of that church should be holy; <span class='bible'>2Co 11:2<\/span>. They as individuals are soon to be presented in heaven as the fruit of the labors of the Son of God, and as entitled to his eternal love. How pure should be the lips that are soon to speak his praise in heaven; how pure the eyes that are soon to behold his glory; how holy the feet that are soon to tread his courts in the heavenly world!<\/P> <P STYLE=\"text-indent: 0.75em\">4. There is great danger of being corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ; <span class='bible'>2Co 11:3<\/span>. Satan desires to destroy us; and his great object is readily accomplished if he can seduce Christians from simple devotedness to the Redeemer; if he can secure corruption in doctrine or in the manner of worship, and can produce conformity in dress and in the style of living to this world. Formerly, he excited persecution. But in that he was foiled. The more the church was persecuted the more it grew. Then he changed his ground. What he could not do by persecution he sought to do by corrupting the church; and in this he has been by far more successful. This can be done slowly but certainly; effectually but without exciting suspicion. And it matters not to Satan whether the church is crippled by persecution or its zeal destroyed by false doctrine and by conformity to the world. His aim is secured; and the power of the church destroyed. The form in which he now assails the church is by attempting to seduce it from simple and hearty attachment to the Saviour. And, O! in how many instances is he successful.<\/P> <P STYLE=\"text-indent: 0.75em\">5. Our religion has cost much suffering. We have in this chapter a detail of extraordinary trials and sorrows in establishing it; and we have reason to be thankful, in some degree, that the enemies of Paul made it necessary for him to boast in this manner. We have thus some most interesting details of facts of which otherwise we should have been ignorant; and we see that the life of Paul was a life of continual self-denial and toil. By sea and land; at home and abroad; among his own countrymen and strangers, he was subjected to continued privations and persecution. So it has been always in regard to the establishment of the gospel. It began its career in the sufferings of its great Author, and the foundation of the church was laid in his blood. It progressed amidst sufferings, for all the apostles, except John, it is supposed were martyrs. It continued to advance amidst sufferings &#8211; for 10 fiery persecutions raged throughout the Roman Empire, and thousands died in consequence of their professed attachment to the Saviour. It has been always propagated in pagan lands by self-denials and sacrifices, for the life of a missionary is that of sacrifice and toil. How many such people as David Brainerd and Henry Martyn have sacrificed their lives in order to extend the true religion around the world!<\/P> <P STYLE=\"text-indent: 0.75em\">6. All that we enjoy is the fruit of the sufferings, toils, and sacrifices of others. We have not one Christian privilege or hope which has not cost the life of many a martyr. How thankful should we be to God that he was pleased to raise up people who would be willing thus to suffer, and that he sustained and kept them until their work was accomplished!<\/P> <P STYLE=\"text-indent: 0.75em\">7. We may infer the sincerity of the people engaged in propagating the Christian religion. What had Paul to gain in the sorrows which he endured? Why did he not remain in his own land and reap the honors which were then fully within his grasp? The answer is an easy one. It was because he believed that Christianity was true; and believing that, he believed that it was of importance to make it known to the world. Paul did not endure these sorrows, and encounter these perils for the sake of pleasure, honor, or gain. No man who reads this chapter can doubt that he was sincere, and that he was an honest man.<\/P> <P STYLE=\"text-indent: 0.75em\">8. The Christian religion is, therefore, true. Not because the first preachers were sincere for the advocates of error are often sincere, and are willing to suffer much or even to die as martyrs; but because this was a case when their sincerity proved the facts in regard to the truth of Christianity. It was not sincerity in regard to opinions merely, it was in regard to facts. They not only believed that the Messiah had come and died and risen again, but they saw him &#8211; saw him when he lived; saw him die; saw him after he was risen; and it was in relation to these facts that they were sincere. But how could they be deceived here? People may be deceived in their opinions; but how could John, e. g., be deceived in affirming that he was intimately acquainted &#8211; the bosom friend &#8211; with Jesus of Nazareth; that he saw him die; and that he conversed with him after he had died? In this he could not be mistaken; and sooner than deny this, John would have spent his whole life in a cave in Patmos, or have died on the cross or at the stake. But if John saw all this, then the Christian religion is true.<\/P> <P STYLE=\"text-indent: 0.75em\">9. We should be willing to suffer now. If Paul and the other apostles were willing to endure so much, why should not we be? If they were willing to deny themselves so much in order that the gospel should be spread among the nations, why should not we be? It is now just as important that it should be spread as it was then; and the church should be just as willing to sacrifice its comforts to make the gospel known as it was in the days of Paul. We may add, also, that if there was the same devotedness to Christ evinced by all Christians now which is described in this chapter; if there was the same zeal and self-denial, the time would not be far distant when the gospel would be spread all around the world. May the time soon come when all Christians shall have the same self-denial as Paul; and especially when all who enter the ministry shall be willing to forsake country and home, and to encounter peril in the city and the wilderness; on the sea and the land; to meet cold, and nakedness, hunger, thirst, persecution, and death in any way in order that they may make known the name of the Saviour to a lost world.<\/P> <\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Albert Barnes&#8217; Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><P>  Verse <span class='bible'>33<\/span>. <I><B>Through a window in a basket<\/B><\/I>] Probably the house was situated on the wall of the city.  See the notes on this history, <span class='bible'>Ac 9:23-25<\/span>.<\/P> <P> <\/P> <P>  IN ver. 2 of this chapter <span class='bible'>2Co 11:2<\/span> the apostle most evidently alludes to the history of the <I>temptation<\/I>, and <I>fall<\/I> of Adam and Eve, as related in <span class='bible'>Ge 3:1<\/span>, c. and which fall is there attributed to the agency of a being called  <I>nachash<\/I>, here, and in other places, translated , <I>serpent<\/I>. In my notes on Genesis I have given many, and, as I judge, solid reasons, why the word cannot be understood <I>literally<\/I> of a <I>serpent<\/I> of any kind; and that most probably a creature of the <I>simia<\/I> or <I>ape<\/I> genus was employed by the devil on this occasion.  The arguments on this subject appeared to me to be corroborated by innumerable probabilities; but I left the <I>conjecture<\/I> afloat, (for I did not give it a more decisive name,) and placed it in the hands of my readers to adopt, reject, or amend, as their judgments might direct them.  To several this sentiment appeared a monstrous <I>heresy<\/I>! and speedily the <I>old serpent<\/I> had a host of <I>defenders<\/I>. The very modest opinion, or <I>conjecture<\/I>, was controverted by some who were both <I>gentlemen<\/I> and <I>scholars<\/I>, and by several who were <I>neither<\/I>; by some who could not affect <I>candour<\/I> because they had not even the <I>appearance<\/I> of it, but would affect <I>learning<\/I> because they wished to be reputed <I>wise<\/I>. What <I>reason<\/I> and <I>argument<\/I> failed to produce they would supply with <I>ridicule<\/I>; and as <I>monkey<\/I> was a convenient term for this purpose, they attributed it to him who had never used it.  What is the result?  They no doubt believe that they have established their system; and their arguments are to <I>them<\/I> conclusive.  They have my full consent; but I think it right to state that I have neither seen nor heard of any thing that has the <I>least tendency to weaken<\/I> <I>my conjecture<\/I>, or produce the <I>slightest<\/I> wavering in my opinion. Indeed their arguments, and mode of managing them, have produced a very different effect on my mind to what they designed.  I am now more firmly persuaded of the probability of my <I>hypothesis<\/I> than ever.  I shall, however, leave the subject as it is: I never proposed it as an <I>article of faith<\/I>; I press it on no man.  I could fortify it with many additional arguments if I judged it proper; for its <I>probability<\/I> appears to me as strong as the utter <I>improbability<\/I> of the common opinion, to defend which its abettors have descended to insupportable conjectures, of which infidels have availed themselves, to the discredit of the sacred writings. To those who choose to be <I>wise<\/I> and <I>witty<\/I>, and wish to provoke a controversy, this is my answer: <I>I am doing a great work, so that I<\/I> <I>cannot come down<\/I>. <I>Why should the work cease, while I leave it<\/I> and <I>come<\/I> DOWN <I>to<\/I> YOU?  <span class='bible'>Ne 6:3<\/span>.<\/P><\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Adam Clarke&#8217;s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><strong>And through a window in a basket was I let down<\/strong>,&#8230;. The house in which he was, like Rahab&#8217;s, was built upon the wall of the city, and as she let down the spies by a cord through the window, and as David was by Michal; so the apostle was let down by the brethren with cords, as Jeremiah was, <span class='bible'>Jer 38:6<\/span> where the Septuagint use the same word as here, through a window; &#8220;which&#8221;, as the Arabic version reads it, &#8220;was in the wall&#8221;; or he was let down by the wall side, &#8220;in a basket or net&#8221;; so , and , the word which the Syriac version here uses, signify and design a basket made of withs, wrought together in the form of network; frequent mention is made in the Jewish writings e of  , &#8220;the networks and lattices of windows&#8221;; whether these were not taken off the window and put into a form like a basket, and in it the apostle let down by the brethren with the help of cords, may be inquired into: however, he<\/p>\n<p><strong>escaped his hands<\/strong>; the governor&#8217;s, and the Jews too who lay in wait for him. This deliverance he mentions with thankfulness to God, and as an instance of divine Providence in the preservation of him, for much usefulness to the church of Christ; the Vulgate Latin version reads, and &#8220;thus he escaped his hands&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>e Misn. Oholot, c. 8. sect. 4. &amp; Negaim, c. 13. sect. 3. T. Bab. Cholin, fol. 125. 2.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: John Gill&#8217;s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><P> <B>Through a window <\/B> (<span class='_800000'><SPAN LANG=\"el-GR\"> <\/SPAN><\/span>). For this late word see on <span class='bible'>Ac 20:9<\/span>, the only N.T. example.<\/P> <P><B>Was I let down <\/B> (<span class='_800000'><SPAN LANG=\"el-GR\"><\/SPAN><\/span>). First aorist passive of <span class='_800000'><SPAN LANG=\"el-GR\"><\/SPAN><\/span>, the very word used by Luke in <span class='bible'>Ac 9:25<\/span>.<\/P> <P><B>In a basket <\/B> (<span class='_800000'><SPAN LANG=\"el-GR\"> <\/SPAN><\/span>). Old word for rope basket whereas Luke (<span class='bible'>Ac 9:25<\/span>) has <span class='_800000'><SPAN LANG=\"el-GR\"> <\/SPAN><\/span> (the word for the feeding of the 4,000 while <span class='_800000'><SPAN LANG=\"el-GR\"><\/SPAN><\/span> is the one for the 5,000). This was a humiliating experience for Paul in this oldest city of the world whither he had started as a conqueror over the despised Christians. <\/P> <\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Robertson&#8217;s Word Pictures in the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><P>Through a window [<span class='_800000'><SPAN LANG=\"el-GR\"> ] <\/SPAN><\/span>. Only here and <span class='bible'>Act 20:9<\/span>. <\/P> <P>Diminutive of qura a door. The same expression is used in Sept., <span class='bible'>Jos 2:15<\/span>, of the escape of the spies from Jericho, and <span class='bible'>1Sa 19:12<\/span>, of David &#8216;s escape from Saul by the aid of Michal. <\/P> <P>Basket [<span class='_800000'><SPAN LANG=\"el-GR\">] <\/SPAN><\/span>. Lit., braided work; a rope &#8211; basket or hamper. Luke, in his narrative of the incident, uses spuriv, for which see on <span class='bible'>Mt 14:20<\/span>. <\/P> <\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Vincent&#8217;s Word Studies in the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>1) <strong>&#8220;And through a window in a basket,&#8221;<\/strong> (kai dia thuridos en sargane) &#8220;Through a window in a basket,&#8221; a rope-basket, or disposal pail, as a garbage can disposal, much as Rahab let down the spies, (<span class='bible'>Jos 2:15<\/span>) &#8220;outfoxing&#8221; the Devil, and as Michal let down David, <span class='bible'>1Sa 19:12<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>2) <strong>&#8220;Was I let down by the wall,&#8221;<\/strong> (echalasthen dia tou teichous) &#8220;I was lowered through the wall;&#8221; a method of divine protection from death, because his ministry was not fulfilled and his labors finished, <span class='bible'>1Co 10:13<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Heb 13:5<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>3) <strong>&#8220;And escaped his hands,&#8221;<\/strong> (kai eksephugon tas cheiras autou) &#8220;and escaped his hands;&#8221; The incident occurred when Paul returned to Damascus from Arabia where he had spent some three years, <span class='bible'>Gal 1:17<\/span>; <span class='bible'>Act 9:23-25<\/span>. In spite of the Jewish and Arabic collusion to entrap and kill Paul, God intervened to protect him for many years of labor as he did David and the spies protected by Rahab the harlot, <span class='bible'>Jos 2:15<\/span>; <span class='bible'>1Sa 19:12<\/span>.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>(33) <strong>Through a window in a basket . . .<\/strong>On the mode of escape, see Notes on <span class='bible'>Act. 9:24-25<\/span>. So the spies escaped from the house of Rahab (<span class='bible'>Jos. 2:15<\/span>), and David from the pursuit of Saul (<span class='bible'>1Sa. 19:12<\/span>). The word which St. Paul uses for basket (<em>sargan<\/em>) implies, perhaps, a more vivid personal recollection, as meaning specifically a rope-work hamper. St. Luke employs the more general term, <em>spuris.<\/em> (See Note on <span class='bible'>Mat. 15:32<\/span>.)<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Ellicott&#8217;s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p> <strong> 33<\/strong>. <strong> <\/strong> <strong> Window<\/strong> Or, <em> kiosk, <\/em> based upon and projecting over the wall. From a similar window Eutychus fell to the ground, as stated <span class='bible'>Act 20:9<\/span>. <\/p>\n<p><strong> Basket<\/strong> Bloomfield describes it as a very strong netting made of cords, for the purpose of a net for taking fish, or, rather, a hamper for carrying fish, &ldquo;a fish-hamper.&rdquo; Stanley says: &ldquo;There is a spot still pointed out on the eastern wall, itself modern, as the scene of Paul&rsquo;s escape. Close by is a cavity in the ancient burial ground, where he is said, in the local legends, to have concealed himself; and formerly a tomb was shown of a St. George, who was martyred in furthering the escape. It is curious that in the present traditions of Damascus the incidents of this escape have almost entirely eclipsed the story of his conversion.&rdquo; And, we may add, that the popular interest in such an incident very probably gave it that notoriety in his own day which rendered it an effective reminder against his opponents that any sufferings he had to narrate were credible. &ldquo;An apostle in a basket&rdquo; is an object quite likely to attract attention, and suggestive of some reflections and lessons. Let no man be ashamed of any predicament, however humble, in which he may be found in a career of good-doing. Alford, we think, mistakes the point when he supposes Paul tells this story of the <strong> basket <\/strong> as a self-humbling fact, likely to be quoted ever after to his disgrace. The <em> infirmity <\/em> of the narrative in which St. Paul <em> glories <\/em> is simply the fact that he was the object of united Gentile and Jewish hostility for Christ, and a refugee from their hands; not especially because he <strong> escaped in a basket<\/strong>. The man who could work at tent making for the <strong> glory <\/strong> of a gratuitous gospel, would see slight disgrace in a rope-hamper; far less the man who could <strong> boast <\/strong> of being five times striped with Jewish thongs, and thrice with the Roman rods.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Whedon&#8217;s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p> REFLECTIONS<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p> READER! who can behold the warmth and zeal of the Apostle in his godly jealousy over the Corinthian Church, in their espousals to Christ, without feeling an anxiety and jealousy over our own hearts, in relation to our own? Shall not you and I be very earnest to know ourselves betrothed as chaste virgins to Christ? Hath Jesus indeed, notwithstanding all our poverty, loathsomeness by sin, and all the reproached state of the fall, married our persons, taken an interest in all our concerns, nourished us, cherished us, and with all the tenderness and love of the bridegroom, provides for all our wants, and forever doing the part of the most affectionate husband; and shall we not feel our attachment to One who hath so loved us, as to give himself for us? Shall Satan beguile our hearts as he did Eve? Shall any temptation lead away from the beautiful simplicity that is in Christ?. Oh! thou glorious and all-sufficient Savior! In thee is a fulness and an all-sufficiency of the most complete salvation! In thee God is well pleased t. So Lord may be all thy people.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p> And if any come and preach another Jesus! if any speak of another Spirit, another Gospel, Oh! may the Lord silence all false teachers, all false Apostles. Lord, in compassion to the souls of men, stop the mouths of those, which run unsent of thee. And whatever specious garb they come under, though transformed as angels or light; yet, whatever tends not to honor Christ, let all thy faithful servants be kept from their delusion, and be enabled to resist their deceitful wiles. If any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha! Oh! for grace to be kept from all evil, and all the malice of the foe, as Paul, let down by the wall, and escaping their hands. And, oh! for grace in spirituals, to be kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Hawker&#8217;s Poor Man&#8217;s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p> 33 And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands. <strong> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<p> Ver. 33. <strong> And through a window, &amp;c.<\/strong> ] An honest shift, though against the Roman law of leaping over the walls. <em> Quia leges semper ad aequitatem flectendae sunt, <\/em> saith Cicero. The sense of the law is the law, and not always the letter. <em> Apices iuris non sunt ius.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong> And escaped his hands<\/strong> ] Of the lawfulness of flight in some cases. <em> See Trapp on &#8220;<\/em> Mat 10:23 <em> &#8220;<\/em> <em> See Trapp on &#8220;<\/em> Act 9:24 <em> &#8220;<\/em> <\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: John Trapp&#8217;s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>through. Greek. dia. App-104. 2Co 11:1. <\/p>\n<p>window. Greek. thuris. See Act 20:9. <\/p>\n<p>basket. Greek. sargane. Only here. In Act 9:25 the word is spuris. <\/p>\n<p>let down. Greek. chalao. See Luk 5:4, <\/p>\n<p>by. Greek. dia, as above. <\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>2Co 11:33<\/p>\n<p>2Co 11:33 <\/p>\n<p>and through a window was I let down in a basket by the wall, and escaped his hands.-[Along the wall of Damascus some of the houses were built against the wall, with upper stories of wood resting on the top of the wall. Out of a window in one of these he was let down by the side of the wall in a basket. This attempt to kill him was the effect of his preaching on unbelieving Jews. The effect was seen when many days were fulfilled (Act 9:23), an indefinite expression which might mean a few weeks, a few months, or a few years. But we learn from Pauls own statement (Gal 1:17-18) that his escape occurred three years after his conversion and within this period he had made a sojourn into Arabia. How far he had gone into Arabia, or how long he had remained there, he does not say; but he does say that after the excursion he returned to Damascus, and it is easy to see that the attempt to kill him occurred after his return. He also says that the governor under Aretas the king guarded the city of the Damascenes in order to take him, which shows that Damascus was then under the dominion of Aretas, who was king of Arabia, and that the Jews had his cooperation in the attempt to arrest Paul in the gates. Furthermore, as Damascus was at that time under the king of Arabia, the country of and adjacent to it must have been overrun by his forces, and for the time in which he held it it would be styled a part of Arabia. Sauls sojourn there, then may have been into this region for the purpose of preaching in its cities and villages; and it may have been his activity in this work which aroused the Jewish opposition to its highest pitch, and at the same time enabled them to enlist the Arabian government in their plot. For many reasons unknown to us the danger in Damascus, and the escape from it, had a peculiar interest for Paul. He gloried in what he had endured there in imminent peril and in the undignified escape alike-as in things belonging to his weakness. Another might choose to hide such things, but they are precisely what he tells. In Christs service scorn is glory, ignominy is honor; and it is the mark of loyalty when men rejoice that they are counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.]<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>I let: Jos 2:18, 1Sa 19:12 <\/p>\n<p>Reciprocal: Jos 2:15 &#8211; she let them Jdg 16:2 &#8211; compassed Psa 59:1 &#8211; when Psa 101:4 &#8211; know Jer 29:26 &#8211; that thou Act 9:25 &#8211; let Act 23:21 &#8211; for Gal 1:17 &#8211; returned<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>2Co 11:33. and through a window was I let down in a basket by the wallor over it; that is, from an overhanging house, such as is still to be seen at Damascus (and see Jos 2:15; 1Sa 9:12),and escaped his hands.<\/p>\n<p>Note. The catalogue given by the apostle in this chapter of his labours and sufferings in the service of Christ represents (as Dean Stanley says admirably) a life hitherto without precedent in the history of the world. Self-devotion at particular moments, or for some special national cause, had been often seen before; but a self-devotion involving sacrifices like those here described, and extending through a period of at least fourteen years, and in behalf of no local or family interest, but for the interest of mankind at large, was up to this time a thing unknown. The only Qualification of this statement which we should be disposed to make is, that one element in the case of the apostle precludes any perfect comparison with that of other heroes, outside the pale of Revealed Religion. The love of Christ constraineth us (he says) to live no longer to ourselves, but unto Him who died for us and rose again. Even among those who are themselves so constrained, there are few who come within any measurable distance of our apostle; but the one principle animating them and him alike must never be lost sight of. While there is nothing in this account (continues the same elegant expositor) which contradicts the narrative in the Acts, yet the greater part of it goes far beyond that narrative. Of the particular facts alluded to, only two (the stoning and one of the Roman scourgings) are mentioned in the Acts; and of the general facts, although the narrative of the Acts gives a notion of critical dangers from time to time, we should hardly gather from it any notion of such continued hardships as are here indicated. In one point of view this is extremely important in relation to the authority of the Christian history, as has been well argued by Paley in his Horae Paulinae. It shews that the biography of the apostle, unlike most heroes and saints (as that of Francis Xavier), instead of overrating, underrates the difficulties and sufferings which we learn from the apostle himself; the accuracy of the apostles own account being further guaranteed by the extreme and apparently unfeigned reluctance with which it is brought forward. On the other hand, it impresses us with a sense of the very imperfect and fragmentary character of the history of the Acts, as a regular narrative, during that period to which the apostles words relate (from Act 9:1 to Act 20:2). This consideration gives a double value to this detailed aspect of the apostles life, which but for the goading provocations of his opponents would (humanly speaking) have been altogether lost to us. But yet another consideration must not be lost sight of, the infirm health under which such perils and sufferings were undergone (see 2Co 4:7-12; 2Co 12:7-10; Gal 4:13-14). In view of all this, including his anxiety for all the churches, well might Calvin exclaim, What a picture of a complete minister, to embrace in his care and consideration not one church, nor ten, nor thirty, but all at once; teaching some, others confirming; exhorting some, others counselling, and healing the disorders of others! No wonder that the writings of so vast-minded and heroic a servant of Christ have a stamp upon them so characteristic and incisive, and that the mind of Christ as reflected in them has penetrated the religious thinking and feeling of all intelligent Christendom.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p><strong> Verse 33<\/strong> <strong> <\/strong> Here was an embarrassing escape from wicked hands. With the gates closely guarded, he was forced to leave by a window from a house along the wall.<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n<p>and through a window was I let down in a basket by the wall, and escaped his hands. [In the walled cities of the Orient, houses were often built against the walls so that the windows projected over them. No doubt in Paul&#8217;s mind an apostle in a basket seemed the depth of humiliation. Aretas was king of Arabia from B. C. 7 to A. D. 40. Damascus belonged to Rome, and it has puzzled some to find it at this time under the control of the king of Arabia. But it will be remembered that Aretas engaged in war with Herod, because he dismissed the Arab&#8217;s daughter and took his niece, Herodias, for a wife. Aretas defeated Herod, and the Romans took up the quarrel, and it seems likely that in the ensuing contest the city of Damascus fell, for a time, into the hands of the Arabians.]<\/p>\n<h4 align='right'><i><b>Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands. 33. in a basket ] The word literally means a plaited cord. Hence a basket made of cords. The word in Act 9:25 is not the same. was I let down by the wall ] Theodoret well &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-2-corinthians-1133\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Corinthians 11:33&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28968"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28968\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}