October 31st, 2024

112. "Shelter" in 2 Corinthians 12:9

I would enjoy seeing an article on the EHV’s use of “shelter” in 2 Corinthians 12:9. I rather like the image that this captures. It is different enough from other translations that I think an explanation on the translation here would make for an excellent article.

2 Corinthians 12:9

And he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, because my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will be glad to boast all the more in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may shelter me.

Greek: ἐπισκηνώσῃ ἐπʼ ἐμὲ ἡ δύναμις τοῦ Χριστοῦ

There is a strong division of opinion among translators and commentators about whether the power of Christ dwells in the believer or whether it, in some sense, covers the believer by placing a shelter over him.” The idea of “dwell in us” seems to be most common among translators.

Some commentators claim that the translation “dwells in me” is wrong because the Greek preposition ἐπί means on or over, not in. Though “dwells in” is not our preferred translation, we are hesitant to declare that it is wrong for the following reasons.

New Testament Greek is not very consistent in drawing clear lines of division between prepositions. To cite just one example of this principle: we can believe into Christ, in Christ, or upon Christ (εἰς, ἐν, ἐπί) without a clear difference of meaning. Though it might be possible to see a reason for preferring one preposition or another in a given case, it is hard to be dogmatic about any firm grammatical laws in this regard. Many translations render all three of these Greek prepositions with in at times. To some degree we do the same in English when we tell a rambunctious child “Go in the house” when we do not mean “run around in the house” but “go into the house.

Matthew 18:6

If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in (εἰς) me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

1 Peter 2:6

In Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in (ἐπί) him will never be put to shame.”

Ephesians 1:15

I heard about your faith in (ἐν) the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints.

The objection to the translation “dwells in us” could of course be deflected simply by translating “dwells upon us.”

The second reason for being cautious about flatly rejecting the concept of God “dwelling in us” as part of the meaning of the verse is that there is relatively little difference between the interpretations that “by dwelling in us God shelters us” and “we are sheltered by God covering us.” As is the case in many exegetical questions, both options reveal correct ideas.

Third, is the fact that the interpretation that “God’s power dwells in us” is adopted by so many reputable translations. It is always possible that such agreement on a large scale is a case of lemmings following each other over a cliff, because once an opinion is stated in a reputable translation or commentary, it is usually repeated in many others. We do not agree that the main idea here is God dwelling in us, but when so many disagree with us, we should at least take note of it and ask why.

Our translation is an example of the second main approach: God’s power covers us. This approach is adopted by a large number of translations with a large number of variations such as cover me, rest on me, etc. These all reflect the right idea, but they lose some of the color of the verb. The verb ἐπισκηνόω occurs only here in the New Testament. It is made up of the preposition ἐπί and the root σκην- which refers to a tent.

It is always risky to be too dogmatic about the range of meaning for a word for which you have only one example. Among the suggested meanings of ἐπισκηνόω are “raise a tent over,” “be quartered in,” or “take up residence in a tent or dwelling.” Whatever the meaning, it is appropriate to take note of the tent imagery in the verb.

Somewhat similar (but not identical) tent imagery is found in John 1:14: “The Word became flesh and dwelled among us.” In this passage the word translated dwelled is literally tented. This alludes to the fact that Jesus’ presence among us was the fulfillment and climax of God’s presence in the Dwelling built by Moses and in the Temple. A reminder of the Dwelling built by Moses is also present in 2 Corinthians 12:9, but we should remember that imagery is not wooden. In John 1:14 the tent is Christ’s flesh, his human nature. In a similar way our body can be called a tent (2 Corinthians 5:1, 2 Peter 1:13-14). In applying imagery (and parables) it is important to ask how many details of the imagery apply here. In the case of the tent that is our body, the connotation that a tent is a temporary dwelling is appropriate. In the case of Christ’s tent, it is not. Some early test translations of the NIV had: “The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us.” (NIV1978) This was removed, presumably because it was recognized that the point of reference in this verse is not Christ’s short life on earth. The indwelling is the incarnation. Jesus did not leave his human nature behind when he returned to heaven. The incarnation is as eternal as the shelter which we will have in heaven. Living in heaven may be referred to as living in a building from God and an eternal home. That shelter can never be destroyed. The shelter we have now foreshadows that shelter and makes us long for it.

So why, after considerable discussion, did we settle on “so that the power of Christ may shelter me”?

Of the definitions of the verb ἐπισκηνόω (“raise a tent over” and “take up residence in a tent or dwelling)” we accepted the first “raise a tent over.” The second (“take up residence in a tent or dwelling”) might be thought to support the translation “dwell in,” but it does not, because if we translate “God’s power takes up residence in a tent,” what is the tent? The allusion to the tent is not to our body, but to the sheltering power of God which is over us now and forever.

I am not a big fan of the Amplified Bible as a translation. It at times veers into the territory of a commentary. But in one of its editions it has a nice straddle rendering that summarizes the issue here: “Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!” 

While we were aware of the tug of war between the concepts “dwell in” and “cover” and that our choice might be in the minority, we decided “that the power of Christ may shelter me” best brings out the imagery of the verb. Some might think that “the power of Christ may be a shelter for me” reads a little better, but it loses the grammatical point that the shelter image here is a verb. Someone suggested that the tent imagery should be put into the translation, “that the power of Christ may shelter me like a tent,” but some might feel that over-translates on the basis of etymology.

One of the strengths of the translation “shelter” is that it is a striking translation that catches the reader’s attention. One of the weaknesses of the translation as it stands is that it will be hard for the reader to see the basis for the translation without information about the tent imagery in the Greek verb. We could remedy this by putting information about the verb ἐπισκηνόω into the notes of a future update of the EHV Study Bible.