2 Cor 10–13 may be seen to hang together closely, both internally and with the rest of the canonical letter, once one notices the very careful manner in which Paul distinguishes between and handles three groups: (i) the Corinthians as such, a group that includes his ‘own people’ and sometimes also (ii) his internal critics; and (iii) the rival missionaries. The four chapters are built over a set of four motifs: 2nd or 3rd person? absence or presence? meekness or boldness? building up or tearing down? In light of this, one finds the following structure: A (10.1–11) on the i- and ii-groups; B (10.12–11.21), C (11.22–12.10), and D (12.11–13) on the iii- and i-groups; and E (12.14-13.13) on the i- and ii-groups. The four chapters – and indeed, the letter as a whole – have an inner dynamic that reaches its writerly goal in the comparison of Paul to the iii-group (C). The final, rhetorical aim, however, consists in establishing the proper relationship between Paul himself and the i-group as he is about to reach Corinth once more in the flesh.
