Paul, Idioms, and Apostolic Defense

As most commentators have pointed out, Paul seems to make an allusion in 2 Corinthians 5:12c to 1 Samuel 16:7. As I am translating this section, I bring this up only to take a look of the use of idioms.

The verse in English is:
“So that you might have an answer against those who take pride in appearances and not in what is in the heart.”

Here is the Greek:
ἵνα ἔχητε πρὸς τοὺς ἐν προσώπῳ καυχωμένους καὶ μὴ ἐν καρδίᾳ.

The bold text is, woodenly translated, “in [the] face” (in appearances), and “in [the] heart.” In this text, Paul is basically blasting his opponents in Corinth for their love of how things appear (something that might well be heeded for modern christianity today, too). They are flocking to the “false apostles” because they see them as stronger and having greater rhetoric than Paul, who seems weak, and far less extravagant in speech in comparison. Note, carefully, how this is done. While not a direct quote, Paul is definitely alluding to God’s choice of David in 1 Samuel, which seemed to defy the cultural norm at the time. David was young and quite short, the opposite of the tall, strong Saul that the Israelites had chosen for themselves against God’s command. In the same way, Paul, as one of God’s anointed Apostles, was counter-cultural to the Greek’s love of rhetorical extravagancy and apparent strength. Note the words used in 1 Samuel 16:7:

The bold term here, lᵊ`eynayim, woodenly translated, means “to the eyes.” It is a Hebraic idiom that means “what is before” or “appearance.” Basically, “what one can see.” It is idiomatically the same as Paul’s use of “the face” in 2 Corinthians 5:12c.

The allusion is much stronger, however, when one considers the LXX rendering of the text. The LXX is the Greek translation of the Old Testament, and was the primary translation used in Paul’s time. It reads:

ανθρωπος οψεται εις προσωπον ο δε θεος οψεται εις καρδιαν

Notice the bold text there? It is the same word that Paul uses in 2 Corinthians 5:13. It reads: “Man looks at the outward appearance (”at the face”), but God looks at the heart.”

Paul is essentially saying that he is called to be an apostle in the same counter-cultural (read: foolish, cf. 1 Corinthians) way that David was called to be King- by the will of God. So, while the Corinthians thought that Paul was horrible with words (among other things), Paul actually shows himself to be quite the rhetorician!