2 Corinthians 11:22

“Are they Hebrews? so am I, etc..] The nation of the Jews were called Hebrews, not from Abraham, as some have f93 thought, through ignorance of the Hebrew language, which will by no means admit of such a derivation and etymology of the name; wherefore the Jewish writers never make mention of this opinion as among any of them; had they took their name from Abram or Abraham, they would rather have been called Abramires or Abrahamites, and not Hebrews; besides, Abraham himself is called an Hebrew, (<011413>Genesis 14:13) and to be so called from himself, and not denominated from some other person or thing, can never be imagined, it would be most absurd and ridiculous; to which may be added, that…”

“Hebrews . . . Israelites . . . the seed of Abraham--A climax. "Hebrews," referring to the language and nationality; "Israelites," to the theocracy and descent from Israel, the "prince who prevailed with God" (Rom 9:4); "the seed of Abraham," to the claim to a share in the Messiah (Rom 11:1; Rom 9:7). Compare Phi 3:5, "An Hebrew of the Hebrews," not an Hellenist or Greek-speaking Jew, but a Hebrew in tongue, and sprung from Hebrews.”

“Are they Hebrews? - This proves that the persons who had made the difficulty in Corinth were those who were of Hebrew extraction though it may be that they had been born in Greece and had been educated in the Grecian philosophy and art of rhetoric. It is also clear that they prided themselves on being Jews - on having a connection with the people and land from whence the religion which the Corinthian church now professed had emanated. Indications are apparent everywhere in the New Testament of the superiority which the Jewish converts to Christianity claimed over those converted from among the pagan. Their boast would probably be that they were the descendants of the patriarchs; that the…”

“Are they Hebrews, Israelites, the seed of Abraham - These were the heads on which they boasted. 2 Corinthians 11:23”

“11:22 Are they Hebrews? So am I: A Jewish heritage was seen by Paul’s opponents as a qualification for ministry (see Phil 3:5). • Are they Israelites? So am I: An Israelite was a member of the covenant community by circumcision (cp. John 1:47; Rom 9:4). Paul had this badge also and was in fact a Pharisee, a most devoted follower of Torah (Acts 26:4-5; Rom 11:1; Phil 3:5-6). • Are they descendants of Abraham? This is yet another of Paul’s opponents’ claims to God’s favor based on ethnic identity. Elsewhere, Paul clarifies who can truly be called Israelites and descendants of Abraham (see Rom 2:28-29; Gal 3:16, 26-29). Here, he ironically adopts the erroneous perspective of his opponents to…”

“Hebrews: Exo 3:18, Exo 5:3, Exo 7:16, Exo 9:1, Exo 9:13, Exo 10:3; Act 22:3; Rom 11:1; Phi 3:5 the seed: Gen 17:8, Gen 17:9; Ch2 20:7; Mat 3:9; Joh 8:33-39; Rom 4:13-18 2 Corinthians 11:23”