Mystic or Sarcastic? 2 Corinthians 12,2–4 as Feigned Praise of a Super-Apostle

Abstract This study puts forward the thesis that the heavenly ascent in 2Cor 12,2–4 is a sarcastic parody of Paul’s Corinthian opponents. This view modifies and combines the minority views of Hans Dieter Betz (1972), that the account is a self-parody, and of Michael D. Goulder (2003), that it is written of someone other than Paul. Drawing on Matthew Pawlak’s recent work on Paul’s use of sarcasm (2023) and through critical comparison of both Jewish apocalyptic texts and Graeco-Roman use of illeism, the article argues that a sarcastic interpretation of the heavenly ascent not only makes greater rhetorical sense in its immediate context but also resolves problems that the standard interpretation of this ascent creates for Pauline theology.