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Primary sourceLetterc. AD 56

Second Epistle to the Corinthians

Paul the Apostle · c. AD 56

A deeply personal letter from Paul to the church in Corinth, describing his sufferings, hardships, and spiritual experiences.

Paul's most personal surviving letter, recording his own hardships and experiences in his own words.

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Scanned page of a 19th-century Prekmurian Slovene Bible printed in two columns of text in a Latin-based orthography. The running header reads K Korinthusánczom II. The page contains verses 13 to 24 of chapter 1, followed by the chapter heading for the Second Epistle to the Corinthians and the start of chapter 1.
Drügi Liszt k Korinthusánczom (Second Epistle to the Corinthians), Prekmurje Slovene New Testament, 1848.

About this source

What it is

This letter is attributed to Paul the Apostle, with Timothy named as co-sender, and addressed to the Christian community in Corinth and the wider region of Achaea. Many scholars think it combines material from more than one original letter, written around AD 56, likely from Macedonia. The earliest copies known today, like later translated Bibles, were made long after Paul's time.

Why it matters

The letter is unusually personal, with Paul defending his authority as an apostle, describing his sufferings, and discussing a 'thorn in the flesh' and a spiritual vision. It shows the tensions Paul faced with the Corinthian church and reveals his efforts to maintain authority and connection with the communities he founded.

Look closer

  • Why might Paul feel the need to defend himself so strongly in this letter?
  • What does Paul choose to reveal about his own weaknesses and suffering, and why?
  • How might the Corinthian church have reacted to receiving this letter?

This letter is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Saint Paul on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Scan of a manuscript page with about twenty lines of handwritten Latin in a medieval-style hand, with a small decorative heading at the top. Some lines have large initial letters and flourishes.Letter

Primary source

Epistle to the Romans

Paul the Apostle · c. AD 57

Engraving of an elderly bearded man with a halo, wearing a draped robe and holding an open book, standing beside a wall with a sword at his feet. Dated 1514 with the AD monogram. Black and white.Painting

Secondary source

Saint Paul

Albrecht Dürer · 1514

Page 300 of the 1848 Prekmurian New Testament, headed 'Szvétoga Pavla Apostola I. K Korinthusánczom Piszani Liszt' with two columns of Prekmurian Slovene text, chapter 1 verses 1 to 13.Letter

Secondary source

First Epistle to the Corinthians

Paul the Apostle · c. 54 AD

Scan of a fragmentary papyrus leaf with faded brown Greek uncial-style text in columns, with torn and missing sections. It is a manuscript of 1 Corinthians 7:33-8:4, not chapter 13.Book

Primary source

1 Corinthians 13

Paul the Apostle · c. AD 53-57

Colored 1879 map titled 'Map Illustrating the Travels of St. Paul' by H.H. Hardesty, showing the Mediterranean, Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, Egypt and the Holy Land with routes marked in lines and numbered journeys.Document

Secondary source

Map Illustrating the Travels of St. Paul

H.H. Hardesty · 1879

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