Perhaps with Bruce Winter's Philo and Paul among the Sophists in view, Jeffrey W. Aernie has written a perceptive monograph in which he asks, Is Paul Also among the Prophets? Chapter 1 introduces the work's general contours. Aernie's main objective is to analyze the autobiographical sections of 2 Cor 2:14-7:4 and chs. 10-13 in order to determine the ways in which the prophetic tradition of the OT influenced the “dimension(s) of Paul's apostolic self-presentation and rhetoric” (p. 1). Although Aernie examines 1 Cor 9:15-18 and 14:20-25 for contextual and methodological purposes, he focuses primarily on 2 Corinthians by building on the seminal works in this field written by Karl O. Sandnes, Florian Wilk, and Tobias Nicklas, which paid little or no attention to the letter.

Chapter 2 involves an analysis of the prophetic tradition within the OT, Second Temple Judaism, the Hellenistic world, and the Gospel traditions, specifically paying attention to the way it developed. In the OT, the prophetic material of Israel carried an internal progression, as seen in the influence of prophetic figures such as Moses, Samuel, and Elijah and the relationship between the prophetic material within the different literary corpora. As an organic entity, the prophetic tradition continued to develop in the literature of Second Temple Judaism and the Gospel traditions. Although these sources exhibit a wide array of emphases, Aernie argues that there was “continuity in the development of the material throughout Israel's history” (p. 71). In fact, a crucial argument is that the prophetic material in the OT determined the shape and function of prophetic literature from Moses' day to the time of Jesus and his contemporaries. This, for Aernie, seems to make the prophetic tradition the most plausible background for Paul's self-presentation and rhetoric.

After outlining a general (though not monolithic) prophetic tradition, Aernie, in chapter 3, applies this framework to 1 Cor 9:15-18 and 14:20-25. This chapter functions as a “methodological precursor” to his analysis of 2 Corinthians (p. 72), and its purpose is to explain Paul's relationship to the prophetic material and the use of it in his rhetoric. In 1 Cor 9:15-18, the terms ἀνάγκη and οὐαί, the former as a divine compulsion and the latter as an eschatological woe, places Paul within the prophetic tradition that centers on God's relationship to his prophets. The apostle therefore viewed his οἰκονομία as a prophetic commission. The exegetical consideration of Paul's use of the Isaianic movement from exile to restoration in 1 Cor 14:20-25 only further substantiates his argument. It demonstrates that Paul's apostolic self-presentation and the form of his rhetoric were shaped by OT prophetic material.

Chapter 4 deals with Paul's prophetic self-presentation in 2 Corinthians. In particular, Aernie compares Paul's description of his ministry with that of three OT prophets: Moses, the Isaianic Servant, and Jeremiah. After identifying the four elements of a prophetic call in Paul's self-presentation (i.e., an initial theophany, a divine commission, recognition of the prophet's own insufficiency, and a divine work of grace that overcomes the prophet's deficiency; p. 117), he parallels Paul's call, nature of his ministry, and characteristics of that ministry with Moses's, concluding that they both function as insufficient, suffering prophets. He then compares Paul's authority and mission to that of the Isaianic Servant, demonstrating that Paul mediates the new eschatological work of God as an ambassador of Christ. Lastly, Aernie notes the overlap between Paul's and Jeremiah's ministries and considers Paul a minister of the new covenant, primarily because of the nature of his call, the description of his apostolic authority (i.e., building and tearing down), and his discussion about the proper criteria for evaluating one's boast. Nevertheless, for Aernie, Paul is not the second Moses, nor the typological embodiment of the Servant, nor a type of second Jeremiah. After all, the apostle can relate to elements in the Mosaic and Isaianic tradition, proving that he is not bound by either but stands within a developing tradition. Paul therefore presents himself as a member of the prophetic tradition.

Chapter 5 investigates Paul's prophetic rhetoric in 2 Cor 2:14-16; 4:1-6; 6:14-7:1; 12:1-10. Aernie discovers a “distinctly prophetic hermeneutic” (p. 185), whereby Paul incorporates prophetic material into his rhetorical argumentation in 2 Corinthians. In 2:14-4:6, the origin, nature, and function of Paul's apostolic ministry and the gospel is rooted in the prophetic narrative of God's triumphal, messianic victory (2:14-16) and the redemptive activity of Isaiah's narrative (4:1-6). Moreover, the catena in 6:14-7:1 demonstrates that Paul situates the theological existence of the Corinthians in the prophetic hope of restoration from an exilic condition. Lastly, Paul's failed heavenly ascent and thorn narrative in 12:1-10 serve as an interesting rhetorical connection with the ascent motif of Isa 14 and Ezek 28, two texts that portray ascension to God's throne as self-exaltation that results in judgment.

Aernie's conclusion in chapter 6 reasserts his principal contention: the OT prophetic tradition influenced Paul's apostolic identity and rhetorical agenda in 2 Corinthians. It also lucidly summarizes his entire argument and ends with the implications that his study can have on other texts within 2 Corinthians (i.e., 1:3-11 and chs. 8-9).

I certainly commend Aernie for his work on Paul and the prophetic tradition, which, from his perspective, solely operates as a lens, notthe lens, through which to analyze Paul's apostolic identity and rhetoric. As such, he does not concede to the Hellenistic/Judaism divide, either situating Paul in the Greco-Roman world or his Jewish heritage (hence the “also” in his title). Students and pastors interested in Paul can certainly learn much from Aernie's exegetical treatment and theological engagement with OT prophetic material and 2 Corinthians.

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