Intertextuality Pair

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 → Proverbs 22:8

Allusion

Later text

2 Corinthians 9:6-7BSB

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.

Earlier text

Proverbs 22:8BSB

He who sows injustice will reap disaster, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.
+ 1 more earlier text

Earlier text

Proverbs 22:9BSB

A generous man will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.
Walk the Square · a single-voice walk of this pair around the Clowney square13:57

Significance

Paul's statement "God loves a cheerful giver" (hilaron gar dotēn agapa ho theos) in 2 Corinthians 9:7 alludes to the LXX of Proverbs 22:8a, which adds a line not found in the Hebrew MT: "God blesses a cheerful and giving man" (andra hilaron kai dotēn eulogei ho theos). Paul's dependence on the LXX text form is evident from the shared key term hilaron ("cheerful"), which appears nowhere else in this context in the Hebrew Bible. The broader sowing/reaping principle of 2 Corinthians 9:6 also resonates with Proverbs 22:8 MT ("he who sows injustice will reap calamity") and the wider Wisdom tradition of Proverbs 11:24-25 ("the generous soul will be made rich"). Paul applies this Wisdom principle to the Jerusalem collection: generosity is not loss but investment, and God who "loves a cheerful giver" will abundantly supply the giver's needs (v. 8). The LXX expansion reflects a Second Temple tradition that Paul adopts as authoritative.

Found via
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type
Allusion
Connection Method(s)
Analogy

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