Tablets of Fleshly Hearts: Paul and Ezekiel in Concert

Abstract

The multiplicity of scriptural allusions that Paul develops in 2 Corinthians provides a window through which to consider Paul's rhetoric and apostolic self-presentation. The present essay seeks to develop the contours of the relationship that develops between Paul and Ezekiel in 2 Corinthians. The primary argument is that Paul's introduction of the prophetic material in Ezekiel, with his specific reference to Ezek 36:26 in 2 Cor 3:3, does not play merely a cursory role in the development of the letter. In contrast, Paul's use of the Ezekiel tradition shapes both the development of his argument and the presentation of his own apostolic identity.