Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching Second Corinthians

Although Corinth was an ancient Greek city, it had been totally destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC, and the site lay unused for about a hundred years. It was then rebuilt by Julius Caesar as a Roman city and became the seat of government of the Roman province of Achaia. Like most major cities of the ancient world it contained a considerable number of Jews. It was among these that Paul, in accordance with his normal practice, began his mission (Acts 18:4). Corinth is often described as an exceptionally licentious city, but most of the evidence for this relates to the earlier Greek city and not to the Roman. In Paul's day it was probably no worse or no better than any large cosmopolitan area. While some passages in First Corinthians refer to its sexual immorality, this is not an important factor in Second Corinthians. What Paul writes in this letter has little to do with immediate local and external circumstances but much with the internal life of the Christian community in Corinth.