Paul’s ‘Collection for the Saints’ (2 Cor 8-9) and Financial Support of Leaders in Early Christianity and Judaism

The study focusses on a crucial topic for understanding the historical significance of Paul’s mission: the ‘Collection for the Saints’ dealt with in 2 Cor 8-9. The significance of financial and economic processes is only now beginning to be appreciated in the history of earliest Christianity. First, the article analyses the way the collection is mentioned in all the major Pauline letters and Acts. In doing so, the authors adopt the working hypothesis of 2 Corinthians as an integral letter. As in the previous article, this yields a reading in which fierce conflict with rival Jewish-Christian apostles is reflected. The authors propose to view this in an overall perspective of growing social tension in the Judaea of the 50’s CE. Then, they explore the meaning of the term ‘saints’ in early Christian and Jewish sources. This includes a ‘Holy Congregation’ of rabbis in Jerusalem which seems to polemically echo the first church in the city. Next, an analysis is given of systems of financial support for spiritual leaders in early Christianity and Judaism. The primitive kernel of Christianity consisting of Jesus and his disciples as evidenced in the Gospel tradition is one important piece of the puzzle, and it contains interestingly disparate elements. Similarly in Paul’s various arguments, different motives can be found at play. The authors then provide an in-depth survey of the various systems for remunerating sages and teachers in later rabbinic tradition. In all, Paul’s support campaign for the mother church and its leaders stands out as an example of organizational power and of commitment to the centrality of Jerusalem and its Jewish church.status: accepte