Imagery of Triumph and Rebellion in 2 Corinthians 2:14-17 and Elsewhere in the Epistle

In contrast to common opinion, Roger David Aus explores the positive aspects of the Apostle Paul’s use of the image of ‘triumphing’ in Second Corinthians 2:14. Through detailed analysis of both Greco-Roman and Judaic texts, this exciting new work completely revises recent interpretations of this decisive passage. Aus illuminates it with expert precision and identifies the roots of imagery such as the ‘triumphal procession in Christ,’ ‘fragrance of the knowledge of him,’ and the ‘aroma of Christ.’ The origin of these and other images in verses 14-17 is found in both the Roman custom of a victorious general’s leading a triumphal procession through the city of Rome, and in Judaic interpretation of the famous rebellion of Numbers 17:6-15 (English 16:41-50). With great skill, Aus demonstrates here how the Hellenistic Jewish Christian Paul masterfully combines imagery from both Greco-Roman and Judaic sources.