Sunday, November 2, 2025

2 Corinthians 11:26

While flipping through the Vulgate months ago, I happened upon 2 Corinthians 11:26.  The formatting (in my edition, anyway) made it very obvious that this verse exhibits anaphora:
in itineribus saepe
periculis fluminum
periculis latronum
periculis ex genere
periculis ex gentibus
periculis in civitate
periculis in solitudine
periculis in mari
periculis in falsis fratribus
This structure is also in the Greek:
ὁδοιπορίαις πολλάκις, κινδύνοις ποταμῶν, κινδύνοις ληστῶν, κινδύνοις ἐκ γένους, κινδύνοις ἐξ ἐθνῶν, κινδύνοις ἐν πόλει, κινδύνοις ἐν ἐρημίᾳ, κινδύνοις ἐν θαλάσσῃ, κινδύνοις ἐν ψευδαδέλφοις,
My German New Testament:
Ich bin oft gereist, ich bin in Gefahr gewesen durch Flüsse, in Gefahr unter Räubern, in Gefahr unter Juden, in Gefahr unter Heiden, in Gefahr in Städten, in Gefahr in Wüsten, in Gefahr auf dem Meer, in Gefahr unter falschen Brüdern
And my French New Testament:
Fréquemment en voyage, j'ai été en péril sur les fleuves, en péril de la part des brigands, en péril de la part de ceux de ma nation, en péril de la part des païens, en péril dans les villes, en péril dans les déserts, en péril sur la mer, en péril parmi les faux frères.
Here's the ESV translation:
on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers
There's a parity between the frequency indicated by πολλάκις (often) and the inherent repetition of anaphora, and the combination of these two (the temporal adverb and repetitive structure) may even create a greater sense of the constancy of this peril.