For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 ESV
What does the author mean by 'death to death' and 'life to life'? The order seems a bit backwards compared to the previous verse, is 'death' intended to be paired with those being saved or those perishing?
About the ABBA structure
As in several other places in 2 Corinthians, Paul utilizes a chiastic structure. We see the simplest form (ABBA) in 2 Cor 2:15-16:
From the Sacra Pagina: Second Corinthians commentary by Jan Lambrecht, SJ (emphasis mine):
In view of "death" the neutral "fragrance" reappears, We might note the chiastic progression that unites vv. 15 and 16: salvation-perdition; death-life. No literal meaning is to be given to "from death" or "from life." The expressions "from death to death" and "from life to life" are rhetorical, employed more for reasons of style, the sole purpose being to emphasize death or life by means of an intensification (cf. Rom 1:17: "from faith to faith"). Although vv. 14-16 constitute one lengthy sentence it would seem that from the end of v. 15 Paul is no longer paying attention to his thanksgiving in v. 14a.
Thus in his own translation Jan Lambrecht translates the two instances of the Greek οἷς (hois) in v. 16, as follows (emphasis mine):
- For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16. to the latter a fragrance from death to death, to the former a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?
We can see the ABBA pattern even better in the more dynamic NLT, which translates vv 15-16 similarly (emphasis mine):
15 Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. 16 To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?
About the meaning
Once we discern the ABBA structure it's easier to find the meaning of "from death to death" and "from life to life".
First, some background from another commentary Augsburg Commentary on the NT - II Corinthians by Frederick William Danker on vv 14-17:
... Like a Roman general who leads a long train of captives and exhibits the booty from vanquished places, God leads Paul and his associates in a victory procession (thriambeuō, as in Col. 2:15) throughout the world, with the Messiah as the dominating figure. ...
Although the precise source of Paul’s figure concerning the reference to fragrance is disputed, it is probable that Paul was thinking either of incense used along a triumphal route or of the aroma emanating from various spices that would be brought from conquered areas in the East. If the first of these is correct, Paul is imagining clouds of incense ascending in the course of a triumphal procession. If the second is to be preferred, Paul conceives of himself and his associates in ministry as the embodiment of such choice booty. ...
... the average auditor at Corinth would be left with the basic pattern suggested by the figure of a triumph, so characteristic of Greek acquaintance with Roman history. As captives in the divine procession, the apostles emit the aroma of Christ. Some like the aroma and others do not. To those who prefer death it is a fume that spells death. To those who prefer life, it is a perfume that spells life.
Thus one possible meaning in addition to a simple rhetorical emphasis suggested by Jan Lambrecht (Sacra Pagina) is:
This is quintessential Hebrew poetic language, but in a very terse, somewhat abbreviated form. We see this in other places as well:
According to the Expositor's Greek NT:
2 Corinthians 2:16. ... emphasis is gained, according to the Hebrew idiom, by repeating the important word. The Rabbinical parallels given by Wetstein and others show that the metaphor of this verse was common among Jewish writers they called the Law an aroma vitae to the good, but an aroma mortis to the evil.
In the case of 2 Cor 2:16, we should understand the abbreviation in its unabbreviated form. The people of God are likened to an aroma (smell) whose effect varies depending on the recipient of the message/aroma - it is either
Barnes observes:
We are the savour of death unto death - We are the occasion of deepening their condemnation, and of sinking them lower into ruin. The expression used here means literally, "to the one class we bear a death-conveying odor leading to their death" - a savor, a smell which, under the circumstances, is destructive to life, and which leads to death. Mr. Locke renders this: "To the one my preaching is of ill savor, unacceptable and offensive, by their rejecting whereof they draw death on themselves."
... And to the other - To those who embrace it, and are saved. The savor of life - An odor, or fragrance producing life, or tending to life. It is a living, or life-giving savor. it is in itself grateful and pleasant. Unto life - Tending to life; or adapted to produce life. The word "life" here, as often elsewhere, is used to denote salvation.
Similarly, Matthew Poole observes:
As sweet smells, which are to some pleasant and comfortable, are to others pernicious and deadly; so it is with the sweet savour of the gospel. The report which we in all places make of Christ, to some, through their unbelief and hardness of heart, and fondness of their lusts, proveth but
the savour of death unto death, hardening their hearts to their eternal ruin and destruction; but to such who, being ordained to eternal life, believe our reports, and embrace the gospel, and live up to the precepts and rule of it, our preaching proves a cause of spiritual and of eternal life, to which that leadeth.
