How to read this page

An Intertextuality Pair — one connection between two passages, shown as linked verse cards: the Later text and the Earlier text it quotes, alludes to or echoes. The Significance essay explains why the link matters and where it points in Christ.

Reference Type— how explicit the link is: Quotation, Allusion, or Echo
Connection Method(s)— how it carries meaning: e.g. Typology, Promise-Fulfillment, Analogy, Longitudinal Theme
Found via— where the connection was identified, e.g. the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge or an Anchor-Text Network

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Intertextuality Pair

2 Corinthians 13:1 → Deuteronomy 19:15

Quotation

Later text

2 Corinthians 13:1BSB

This is the third time I am coming to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”

Earlier text

Deuteronomy 19:15BSB

A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing or sin against a man, regardless of what offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

+ 1 more earlier text

Earlier text

Deuteronomy 17:6BSB

On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but he shall not be executed on the testimony of a lone witness. Deuteronomy 17:6

Walk the Square · a single-voice walk of this pair around the Clowney square8:43

Significance

Paul applies Deuteronomic legal procedure to church discipline - charges require two or three witnesses, not one. This protects the accused from false accusation while ensuring truth is established. The most likely interpretation: Paul will conduct formal discipline hearings following OT legal standards when he arrives. This demonstrates the church as covenant community continuing Israel's role in maintaining justice and holiness through proper procedures. Though believers are not "under law" for justification, the law's procedural wisdom guides Christian community life. Jesus used the same text for church discipline (Matthew 18:16), likely informing Paul's application. The warning is serious - Deuteronomic context included severe penalties, which Paul applies to church discipline through excommunication rather than physical death.

Found via: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Direct Quotation
Connection Method(s): Analogy