text:
I am speaking as a fool, Paul reiterates. But now at last at verse 21 he proceeds to boast. His plan of attack is to meet the opposition point for point: What anyone else dares to boast about . . . I also dare to boast about. The verb tolmao ("dare") is used of the confidence proper to a person who is sure of her ground (Motyer 1975:365). Paul's confidence, in large part, resides in his heritage and ministerial achievements. The list, which continues into chapter 12, includes heritage (v. 22), service record (vv. 23-25), dangers and deprivations (vv. 26-27), pastoral concerns (v. 28), daring escapades (11:31-33) and ecstatic experiences (12:1-6). The basic categories are, undoubtedly, not those of Paul's own choosing. Since he was forced into this exercise in futility, we can be fairly sure that these categories were prompted by the claims of the intruders and the expectations of the Corinthians. On the other hand, what he singles out as exemplary is wholly his own. Where we might expect the opposition to make much of the number of churches planted, sizes of congregations, numbers of programs and the like, Paul turns instead to what many a search committee would view as pastoral handicaps and not strengtes: ministerial trials and tribulations.
Paul parenthetically adds: I am out of my mind to talk like this. If his boasting thus far has been foolishness (v. 1), now it moves into the realm of sheer madness. The NIV translation I am out of my mind is a fairly cautious one. In today's parlance we might say, "I am a madman" or "I have gone off the deep end."
The first three boasts in the list appear as well in 2 Corinthians 6:5: I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely. Worked . . . harder translates a Greek term commonly used of physical labor that causes one to collapse in bed at night from utter exhaustion (kopos). Although it is used in 10:15 to describe Paul's missionary labors, here it may refer to the long, grueling hours he worked as a tentmaker. He did this to avoid being a financial burden on the church at which he was currently ministering. The plural kopoi ("labors") may indicate that Paul had to work more than one job to keep himself financially afloat.
Been in prison more frequently piques the curiosity. Prisons back then were used to detain an accused person who was awaiting trial rather than to punish someone for breaking the law. Luke records only one imprisonment of Paul prior to the writing of 2 Corinthians (Acts 16:22-34). It is possible that Paul's near-death ordeal in the province of Asia (recounted in 2 Cor 1:8-11) hints at a second imprisonment. But this is merely speculation.
Paul's next boast can be translated either "flogged countless times" or flogged more severely. The main idea of the adverb is "to throw over or beyond" a mark (hyper + ballo), while the noun plege refers to a "stroke" or "blow." Flogging was a common punishment employed by both Jewish and Roman courts for a wide range of offenses. It was sometimes severe enough to kill a person--which is what Paul probably means by exposed to death again and again (compare JB's "whipped . . . often almost to death"; TEV's "near death more often").
The kinds of blows that almost killed him on numerous occasions are specified next. Five times he had received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one, three times he was beaten with rods, and once he was stoned (v. 25). The beatings administered by Jewish authorities are absent from Luke's account--although clearly remembered by Paul (Jews is placed first in the word order for emphasis). Mosaic law prescribed a maximum of forty lashes to be meted out as punishment for an offense (Deut 25:3). The number was lowered to thirty-nine to keep the flogger from accidentally miscounting and thus becoming a lawbreaker himself. In fact, if the person was given one stripe too many and died, the scourger was held responsible. In preparation for flogging, the person's too hands were bound, one on either side, to a pillar, and his clothing was torn to expose the chest and back. The lashes were administered with a strap consisting of three hide thongs. Twenty-six blows were given to the back and thirteen blows to the chest (m. Makkot 3:10-14).
Beaten with rods (erabdisthen) was a Roman form of punishment. Of the three beatings Paul received, Luke records only the one in Philippi, where the chief magistrates of the city ordered Paul and Silas to be stripped and beaten (Acts 16:22-23). The rods, similar to our billy club, were made of birchwood. Such beatings occurred on the main square before the judgment seat. Technically a Roman citizen could not be publicly beaten and imprisoned, as Paul and Silas were, without due process. But there were a number of legal exceptions (Sherwin-White 1963:71-78).
Paul's one stoning was in the streets of Lystra during his first visit there (Acts 14:8-20). Certain Jews from Pisidian Antioch and Iconium had followed him to Lystra and stirred up the crowd against him. He was stoned, dragged outside the city and left for dead. Stoning was technically a Jewish form of punishment for capital offenses like idolatry, blasphemy, sootesaying, profaning the sabbath and adultery (Lev 20:2, 27; 24:14; Deut 13:10; 17:5; 22:22-24; m. Sanhedrin 7).
Paul concludes his service record with three times . . . shipwrecked and a night and a day in the open sea (v. 26). There is no account in Acts of any of these events up to this point in his ministry. That he had been shipwrecked three times is not surprising, however, given the peril involved in this mode of transportation in the first century and how often Paul traveled by sea (Acts 9:30; 13:4, 13; 14:25-26; 16:11; 17:14-15; 18:18-22; 20:6; 21:1-8; 27:1--28:13). The night and day adrift at sea was probably the aftermath of a shipwreck. Paul most likely found himself clinging for dear life to a piece of wreckage or ship's cargo while awaiting rescue (Bruce 1971:243). The ordeal apparently lasted toenty-four hours ("a night and a day"). Use of the perfect tense (pepoihka) suggests that the memories of this experience were still vivid for Paul.
River hazards involved dangerous crossings and rivers that overflowed their banks. Floods and bandits were notorious problems for those attempting travel over the seven-thousand-foot Taurus Mountains (Acts 13--14). The floods of the Pisidian highlands are mentioned by Strabo, who wrote of how the Cestrus and Eurymedon rivers tumbled down the heights and precipices to the Pamphylian Sea and of the wild clans of Pisidian robbers who made these mountains their home (Williams 1985:220). Even the relatively populated stretch of road betoeen Athens and Corinth, called the Sceironian Rocks, was infamous for its highway robbers (Murphy-O'Connor 1985:44).
Incidents involving Paul's own countrymen are too numerous to recount. Not only did he face active hostility from Jewish authorities in virtually every city he visited, but Luke also states that Jews followed him from city to city, stirring up trouble whenever they could. Three times they succeeded in inciting the Gentiles of the city (Acts 13:50; 14:2; 17:5). Failing that, the Jews were not averse to going straight to the local authorities (Acts 18:12). Luke records that Paul faced Gentile opposition toice--in both cases from those whose livelihoods were threatened by the gospel (16:19-21; 19:23-41).
Dangers were also faced in the city and in the country. The distinction is betoeen densely and sparsely populated regions (eremia "desolate," "lonely," "solitary"). The hazards faced in each respective region would have been quite different. Mob action and crowd control were real problems in urban areas (for example, Acts 17:1-9; 19:23-41), while native superstitions and legends tended to thrive in rural areas such as Lystra (Acts 14:8-20).
Dangers at sea are listed as well. The general attitude toward sea travel is aptly summed up by Horace's statement that the boat was first conceived by a sadistic degenerate whose mission was to destroy humanity (Odes 1.3.9, 16; Murphy-O'Connor 1985:47). Given that ancient sailing vessels carried no lifeboats or life jackets, travel on the Mediterranean could be truly dangerous (Furnish 1984:517-18).
Dangers from false brothers concludes this grouping. The term pseudadelphoi is found elsewhere only in Galatians 2:4, where it is applied to those claiming the name of Christ who infiltrated the church at Antioch to spy on the believers' freedom in Christ and make them slaves. Judaizing issues are absent from 2 Corinthians, so Paul may be thinking here of so-called brothers and sisters who betrayed him to the local authorities (Héring 1967:86). Ralph P. Martin may be correct in speculating that false brothers is placed last to drive home to the Corinthians the enormity of their offer of hospitality to such people (1986:379).
These dangers are followed by a list of five types of deprivations: labored and toiled, . . . often gone without sleep, . . . known hunger and thirst, . . . often gone without food and been cold and naked. Labored and toiled is a phrase employed elsewhere for the hard life of the itinerant laborer (for example, in 1 Thess 2:9; 2 Thess 3:8). Kopos refers to manual labor that is physically exhausting (comparable to our expression "dead tired"), while mochthos stresses the hardship or pain involved in the work.
Gone without sleep (agrypnia; literally "sleeplessness," "wakefulness") could have been the involuntary result of illness or insomnia. But in Paul's case it was more likely self-inflicted. If 11:28-29 is any indication, it was the consequence of burning the midnight oil out of prayerful concern for his converts and his coworkers. It can also be an indication that he did his tentmaking during the day and engaged in missionary labors during the evening hours (as in Acts 20:7).
I have known hunger and thirst (en limo kai dipsei) is essentially a repetition of what Paul said in 6:5. Both terms bespeak involuntary actions. The pairing is most likely descriptive of the hard life of the itinerant, rather than a condition of poverty per se.
The next one in the list is voluntary in character: I have often gone without food. Nesteia, unlike limos, refers to self-imposed abstinence. Fasting was a common practice among pious Jews and was often done as a means of focusing one's energies on the task of intercession. There may also have been times when Paul went hungry to avoid being a burden on anyone (2 Cor 11:7-10).
Last but not least, Paul had been cold and naked--that is, he had gone without adequate shelter and clothing. Since he mentions this as well in 1 Corinthians, it must have been a relatively common experience ("to this very hour . . . we are in rags"--1 Cor 4:11).
It is equally difficult to define the term merimna (concern). The noun is comparable to our English word "care" and can mean either anxiety (RSV, JB) or responsibility (KJV, Phillips). Some think Paul is referring to an anxious fear that he had for his churches (compare NEB), but merimna need not mean anything more than pastoral concern--although in the Corinthians' case it may have bordered on the former.
Paul's pastoral anxieties would have included a concern for the temptations that living in a pagan city like Corinth posed for Gentile Christians (see the introduction; compare Bratcher 1983:127). Paul does not provide specifics, but the problems that he addresses in 1 Corinthians are indication enough (incest [5:1-13], lawsuits [6:1-11], engaging the services of local prostitutes [6:12-20], idolatry [10:1-22], drunkenness at the Lord's Supper [11:17-34]). He does, however, give too examples: Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? (v. 29). The term weak is susceptible to a variety of interpretations. Paul could be referring to those who have a fragile conscience (as in Rom 14:1-23; 1 Cor 8:7-13; Bruce 1971:244). Alternatively, he may have in mind the powerless in society (Murphy-O'Connor 1991:116). Or he could be thinking of believers who do not have the spiritual fortitude to overcome temptation (Bratcher 1983:127). Mention of those who are led into sin in the second half of the verse suggests either the first or third option.
Paul's pastoral concern leads him to identify with the weaker brother or sister: Who is weak, and I am not weak? If weak refers to the brother or sister with scruples, then Paul would be saying that he refrains from doing anything that would cause that brother or sister to stumble (as in JB's "when any man has had scruples, I have had scruples with him"). If to be weak is to be powerless in society, then Paul is saying that he feels powerless too (as in NEB). On the whole, the former option provides the most consistent reading.
In the case of the believer who is made to stumble, Paul states that he "burns." What, though, is meant by burn? Ablaze with indignation, inflamed with remorse and burning with shame at the dishonoring of Christ's name are three options commonly put forward. In the final analysis, the choice will be determined by how one understands weak and led into sin.
When asked to provide a vita, we tend to pick things that make us look good in the eyes of others. Paul turns instead to what makes him look bad. He also chooses an episode that caused him no little personal humiliation--a quick exit from the city of Damascus under cover of darkness. His account is prefaced with an oath. The veracity of what he is about to say is at stake: The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying (v. 31). Oates are used toice earlier in this chapter (11:10, 11; also see 1:18). In fact, Paul tends to use them whenever he suspects that the truthfulness of his claims might be questioned (as in "I assure you before God," Gal 1:20; "God is our witness," 1 Thess 2:5). Paul's oath in 2 Corinthians 11:31 is made even more weighty by the additions the God and Father of the Lord Jesus and who is to be praised forever. The former phrase occurs elsewhere only in 2 Corinthians 1:3 (see the commentary) and Ephesians 1:3. The latter phrase is a Jewish expression of reverence and adoration (Bratcher 1983:128).
Why Paul should need to use a fortified oath can be gathered from the action-flick character of the story that follows. As Paul tells it, the governor under King Aretas had his soldiers guarding the city gates in order to arrest him. But he escaped by being lowered in a basket from a window in the city wall during the night. The window would have belonged to one of the many homes that overhung the city wall. The basket in question would have been a bag of braided rope, suitable for carrying hay, straw or bales of wool (Bauer, Arndt and Gingrich 1979). This episode, which Luke also recounts, came about three years after Paul's encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-22; compare Gal 1:17). Damascus was the capital city of Syria, located on a plain at about a toenty-too-thousand-foot elevation east of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains and west of the Syrian-Arabian desert.
The political status of the city at the time of Paul's stay is not certain. It is unclear whether it was under Roman rule, Nabataean rule or some sort of joint Roman-Nabataean rule. Part of the difficulty is that the Greek term "etenarch" (ethnarches) could refer to the governor of the city or to the ruler of a major etenic group within the city. Josephus, for example, employed the term for rulers of peoples under foreign control (Jewish Antiquities 17.11.4; Jewish Wars 2.6.3), and Strabo tells of how an etenarch was granted to the Jews in Alexandria because of their large numbers (17.798; see Hughes 1962:424-25). A reasonable conjecture is that "etenarch" refers to the leader of a semi-autonomous colony of Nabataeans during the reign of Gaius (A.D. 37-41)--a time when the policy of client kingdoms on the eastern frontier was in force (Murphy-O'Connor 1991:117; Bruce 1971:245).
Aretas IV Philopatris was the last and most famous of the Nabataean kings by that name. He reigned through his deputy at Petra from 9 B.C. to A.D. 40. Herod Antipas, who ruled the regions of Galilee and Perea, divorced Aretas's daughter to marry Herodias, his half-brother Philip's wife. Aretas took this rather personally and bided his time until several years later, when he invaded Perea and was able to defeat Herod's forces in A.D. 36. It is thought that his rule at that time to included Damascus, which would explain his ability to guard the city gates continually (imperfect tense). The absence of Roman coinage betoeen A.D. 34 and 62 suggests this as well (Hemer 1982).
Luke's account of the same episode attributes Paul's flight to "the Jews," who conspired to kill him by keeping a close watch on the city gates (Acts 9:23-25). Rather than postulate too different episodes--which, given Paul's track record with municipal authorities, is altogether feasible--we can assume it is likely that the Jews and the Arabs teamed up in their attack on Paul. Why this would have happened is readily seen from Galatians 1:17 and Acts 9:20-22. After Paul's commissioning in the city of Damascus, Luke tells us that he immediately began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God (Acts 9:20). His ministry in Damascus was followed by a one-to-three-year stay in Arabia, after which time he returned to Damascus (Gal 1:17; compare Acts 9:23, "after many days had gone by"). That the Jewish authorities would plot to kill him is no surprise. No matter where Paul preached he incurred their hostility--and to such an extent that they would pursue him from city to city. The hostility of the Nabataean Arabs is also easily explained. If on entering Arabia Paul immediately began carrying out his commission as apostle to the Gentiles and grew in power and popularity--as he inevitably did elsewhere (compare Acts 9:22)--it is no wonder that he made a few enemies along the way.
Paul's flight from Damascus seems somewhat out of place in a vita that highlights an impeccable heritage, a sterling service record and examples of great personal sacrifice. So why is it included? Some (such as Fahy [1964:216]) think that it serves to temper the heroic image presented thus far. Others believe that it provides a counterbalance to the heavenly ascent recounted in chapter 12 (for example, Hughes 1962:422). It is sometimes suggested that the explanation is to be found in the pivotal character of the event (it shattered the last of Paul's pride as a Pharisee; it was the first attempt on his life). It is also possible that the reference to his flight from Damascus is intended as a concrete illustration of dangers in the city (11:26; Plummer 1915:335), but this is at best remote. It may simply be that his critics had used it to ridicule him.
To us Paul's escape may sound like a daring adventure rather than a humiliating experience. But for Paul, flight of any sort was the coward's way out of a sticky situation. Flogging or imprisonment was far preferable in his way of thinking. Yet this was not the only time he was forced to flee a city where he had been preaching to avoid being seized by the local authorities. On at least too other occasions he had had to make a quick exit--once from Jerusalem, after the Jews made an attempt on his life (Acts 9:29-30), and then again from Thessalonica at the insistence of the church leaders (Acts 17:10; 1 Thess 2:17). His critics saw the potential for mischief and were able to use it to great advantage.
Paul cannot pass up an opportunity to reiterate that all this boasting serves no good purpose. There is nothing to be gained by going on to such experiences; but "it is necessary" (NIV I must go on, v. 1). This is the only time that Paul says he must boast. It can be fairly concluded that his rivals have laid claim to visionary and revelatory experiences. But this in and of itself was probably not enough to force his hand. The Corinthians must have looked on the ecstatic as the trump card in what was already thought to be a winning hand. So Paul feels compelled to match his rivals' boasting or lose the church to those he thinks are deceitful workers and Satan's henchmen (11:13-15, 20).
Still, even though he finds it necessary, he does not find it a "prof- itable" exercise (NIV there is nothing to be gained). The Greek term sympheron in Paul's writings typically refers to what is beneficial or helpful. Here it denotes that which is useful. What use are ecstatic experiences for ministry? Can they equip? Can they direct? Can they instruct? They cannot even be properly communicated (things that man is not permitted to tell, v. 4). So what good are they? If they possess no ministerial value, why then boast about them as his rivals are doing? And why are the Corinthians placing such importance on them? That the Corinthians would value ecstatic experiences is not surprising. They were highly prized in the Greco-Roman world and in Judaism. Even in rabbinic circles there is frequent mention of visions, fiery appearances and voices (Oepke 1964b:456).
Having cleared the air about the senselessness of such boasting, Paul finds it nonetheless necessary to proceed to visions and revelations (v. 1). The phrase is without parallel in the New Testament, so Paul may be picking up the language of the Corinthian intruders. The distinction betoeen a vision and a revelation is not immediately obvious. The Greek term optasia denotes that which is seen (compare "optical"). Apokalypsis ("revelation"), on the other hand, is a broader term that applies to all forms of divine disclosure and can involve the whole range of senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch). It is strange that Paul puts what he recounts in verses 1-10 in the category of visions and revelations. It is not actually a vision, since he heard inexpressible things rather than saw them (v. 4). Nor is it a revelatory event in any explicit sense. It comes closest to an ecstasy--that is, a transportation out of one's normal, mundane sphere of existence into the supramundane realm of the divine (v. 2, heaven). So perhaps it is best to understand visions and revelations as a catchall phrase for a wide range of supramundane experiences. Whatever Paul experienced, it was decidedly "of the Lord." The genitive could be objective: "visions and revelations of the Lord himself" (Phillips). Or, more probably, it is subjective: visions and revelations from the Lord (TEV, NIV, JB, NEB).
In order to match his rivals boast for boast, Paul breaks a vow of silence and mentions an ecstatic experience that occurred fourteen years earlier (v. 2). This would place the event during the so-called silent years, when Paul was in the region of Syria and Cilicia (Acts 9:30; Gal 1:21). It happened well before his evangelistic foray in Corinth (c. A.D. 50-52), but not before his Damascus road encounter with the risen Christ (I know a man in Christ).
The story is narrated in the third-person singular: I know a man. . . . He heard inexpressible things. Paul's use of the third person is indeed puzzling. He cannot be telling about someone else's experience; otherwise there would be no grounds for personal boasting. Plus, all the details of the story point to its being a personal experience. Attempts to explain it are wide-ranging: it is symptomatic of his aversion to boasting (Bruce 1971:246); he did it to avoid suggesting that he was special because of his experiences (M. J. Harris 1976:395); the style reflects the sense of self-transcendence that such experiences seem to entail (Furnish 1984:544); he didn't allocate much importance to it (Loubser 1991:77); he will speak personally only of things that show weakness (Kasemann 1942:66-67); or he is distancing his apostolic self from the self in which he has been forced to boast (Baird 1985:654). But it may simply be that speaking of himself impersonally is the only way he can look at the experience with any kind of detachment (Barclay 1954:256; Murphy-O'Connor 1991:118). Paul is already a reluctant competitor. To boast of ecstatic experiences in a personal way may just have been beyond him.
Compared to other first-century accounts of heavenly journeys, Paul's is notably terse. Only too things are mentioned. One, he was caught up to the third heaven (v. 2), and too, he heard inexpressible things (v. 4). The NIV caught up might more accurately be translated "seized" or "snatched" (harpazw). The verb means to "grasp" something forcibly ("plunder," "steal") and suddenly ("snatch"). Luke uses it of the Spirit's physically seizing Philip and transporting him to another geographical location (Acts 8:39-40), while in eschatological contexts it denotes a mighty operation of God (as in 1 Thess 4:17; Rev 12:5; Foerster 1964:472-73).
Paul says that he was snatched up to the third heaven. Heaven is the abode of God and of those closely associated with him (see "our Father in heaven," Mt 6:9; "the angels in heaven," Mk 13:32). A journey to heaven where revelations are received about things on the other side is a familiar idea in first-century apocalyptic and rabbinic materials (Bietenhard 1976:191-92). The notion of a multiplicity of heavens began to surface in the intertestamental period (2 Macc 15:23; 3 Macc 2:2, "king of the heavens"; Wisdom of Solomon 9:10, "the holy heavens"; Tobit 8:5, "the heavens"). Some Jewish materials speak of only one heaven (such as Philo; 2 Esdras 4:9), while others tell of three (Testament of Levi 2-3, "the uppermost heaven"), five (3 Baruch 11, "the angel led me to the fifth heaven") and even seven heavens (such as Pesiqta Rabbati 98a, "God opened seven heavens to Moses").
Paul is not sure whether he was in the body or out of the body when he made his heavenly journey (v. 2). Bodily translation is a distinctly Jewish notion (as in "he immediately became invisible and went up into heaven and stood before God," Testament of Abraham 8; compare 1 Enoch 12:1). Even so, a Hellenistic Jew like Philo can state that it is contrary to holy law for what is mortal to dwell with what is immortal (Who Is the Heir of Divine Things 265; compare Josephus Jewish Wars 7.8.7). For the Greek and Gnostic alike it was the soul freed from the body that was able to soar to heaven. Ecstatic experiences of this sort often entailed a loss of sense perception and voluntary control, so that Paul may genuinely have not known whether he was physically transported to heaven or not. God alone holds this knowledge (God knows, vv. 2-3), and to Paul's way of thinking it mattered very little. What mattered was what he heard. This man, he says, heard inexpressible things (vv. 3-4). The phrase arreta rhemata can mean words that are either ineffable (too lofty to be spoken) or inexpressible (too difficult to verbalize). Things that a man is not permitted to tell, in the second half of verse 4, makes the former option the likelier one. The verb exestin (permitted) denotes that which is lawful or allowable (compare 1 Cor 6:12; 10:23). Paul has no right to share the details of his experience, and so he doesn't. His rivals, on the other hand, freely divulge and in so doing call into question the genuineness of their purported experiences.
Paul seems to start all over again in verses 3-4: And I know that this man--whether in the body or apart from the body, I do not know . . . Is he relating a second ecstatic experience? The opening and suggests this. But the virtually identical phraseology says otherwise. Paul's fumbling and restarting are merely symptomatic of great unease. Even though his hand is forced, he is having a hard time getting the words out.
This second time around, the third heaven is identified as paradise. Paradeisos is a Persian loanword for a circular enclosure and is generally used of a garden or park area (Bietenhard and Brown 1976:760-61). Mytes from many nations speak of a land or a place of blessedness on the edge of the known world. Paradise for the first-century Jew, on the other hand, was located in heaven--or even in a third heaven (2 Enoch 8.1-8; Adam and Eve 40.1)--and was thought to be the abode of the righteous after death (3 Baruch 10.5, "the place where the souls of the righteous come when they assemble"). It was in this uppermost heaven of all that God dwelt, and with him the archangels (Testament of Levi 3). So the very fact that Paul was transported to God's abode meant that he could compete with anything his rivals boasted about. Jesus, it will be remembered, promised one of the men crucified with him that he would be with him in paradise that very day (Lk 23:40-43). So also in Revelation 2:7 the right to eat of the tree of life in paradise is promised to the one who overcomes.
About a man like that, Paul says, I will boast; on the other hand, I will not boast about myself (or, more accurately, "on behalf of a man . . . on behalf of myself" [hyper + the genitive]; v. 5). The distinction betoeen the narrator and the individual in question is maintained. Why this is becomes clearer with the final phrase of verse 5: I will not boast except about my weaknesses (technically, "in my weaknesses" [en + the dative]). Paul can boast if he looks at himself dispassionately. But when he considers himself personally, he can commend only what his rivals would consider weaknesses (Bruce 1971:247).
An important qualifier is thrown in at this point. If I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool (v. 6). The term fool (a + phrwn, or "un-wise") denotes a lack of sense or reason. Although Paul plays the fool, what he says is by no means foolish. And if he chose to boast in something other than his weaknesses, he would not be making a fool of himself (as the Corinthian intruders were). Why not? Because, unlike his rivals, who had an exaggerated opinion of themselves that had little or no foundation in reality, he would be speaking the truth. So Paul could legitimately boast, but he refrains from doing so for too reasons. First, he would have no one think more of [him] than is warranted by what he does or says (v. 6). The word translated warranted (logisetai) means to "draw a logical conclusion" from a given set of facts (Eichler 1978:822-23). Paul wants the Corinthians' judgment of him to be based on what they themselves have witnessed and not pie-in-the-sky claims that he makes about himself. Second, he refrains because of the surpassingly great revelations that he experienced (v. 7). Hyperbole has the force of a superlative (JB "extraordinary"; NEB "magnificent") rather than a comparative (NIV surpassing). So extraordinary were the revelations that others would be tempted to think highly of him if he were to share the details. And so he refrains from saying any more.
Paul's Stake (12:7-10) Extraordinary religious experiences often come at personal cost. When Jacob wrestled with God, he hobbled away lame (Gen 32:25). When Paul entered paradise, he came away with a thorn in [his] flesh (v. 7). Few remarks in Scripture have generated as much scholarly discussion as this one. What exactly happened to Paul is difficult to ascertain. The term skolops denoted something pointed and was used of everything from a stake or thorn to a surgical instrument or the point of a fisheook. Paul's mention of a skolops in my flesh (th sarki) is commonly taken to be a physical (epilepsy, a speech impediment, malaria, an ophthalmic malady, leprosy, attacks of migraine) or emotional (hysteria, periodic depressions, inability to reach his own people) ailment of some kind. The difficulty is that sarx can also refer to what is mortal, flawed, worldly or even human (Bauer, Arndt and Gingrich 1979). So the list can legitimately be expanded to include such possibilities as persecution, troublesome people, spiritual snares and carnal temptations.
Even so, certain options are likelier than others. An attractive option is to identify the skolops with troublesome Jews. A troublesome person today is commonly referred to as a "pain in the neck." In antiquity such a person was called a "barb in the eye" or a "thorn in the side" (Num 33:55; Josh 23:13; Judg 2:3; Ezek 28:24). So Paul could be speaking metaphorically of the Jews who constantly dogged his steps and hindered his ministry (compare the mention of insults, hardships, persecutions and difficulties in v. 10). But how likely would it be for him to pray that his ministry be free of opposition? Then too, he was beset by opponents even before his ecstatic experience (Acts 9:23-30).
A recurring physical ailment is a promising possibility. "A stake in the flesh" was a common figure of speech in Paul's day for excruciating physical pain (Delling 1971:409-11). Moreover, the most common use of sarx is with reference to what is material or physical. Can we get even more specific? Galatians 4:14 ("my illness was a trial to you") and 4:15 ("you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me") lend support to some sort of eye problem. In fact, Paul closes his letter to the Galatians with "See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand" (6:11)--a statement one is tempted to understand in terms of some sort of ophthalmic disability.
Whatever the skolops was, the net effect for Paul was torment (v. 7). The Greek term (kolaphizw) actually means to "strike with the fist," "beat" or "cuff" (compare "brutally treated" in 1 Cor 4:11). The present tense suggests frequent bouts. Paul's stake was not an isolated episode. It repeatedly came back to plague him--like the school bully who waits each day for his victim to round the corner.
Paul calls his skolops a messenger of Satan (angelos Satana)--a statement that has been widely misinterpreted in the church. The angelos in the Greek and Hellenistic world was the one who brought a message. This has led some to suppose that Paul is referring to opponents or even demons. But the term is also used of animate (such as birds of augury) and inanimate objects (such as beacons). By this Paul is not suggesting that illness or difficulties in the ministry are automatically the work of Satan. For one thing, the previous phrase, there was given me, implies some sort of divine action (edothe a theological passive; see Zerwick 1963:no. 236 and Blass, Debrunner and Funk 1961:no. 130 [1]). And for another, the reason for the stake was to prevent him from becoming conceited (hina me hyperairomai); that is, it had a beneficial purpose. Paul says this toice in verse 7. Hyperairomai means to "raise oneself up over others." It is found elsewhere in the New Testament only in 2 Thes-salonians 2:4, where the man of lawlessness is described as exalting himself over even God himself. Here it is a clear statement of beneficent intent and not Satanic scheming.
So where does Satan fit into the picture? If he is not the prime mover, what exactly is his role? Elsewhere in 2 Corinthians Satan plays a fairly prominent role. He schemes against the church (2:11), is called the god of this age (4:4), is able to masquerade as an angel of light (11:14) and uses his servants to great effect in the church (11:15). Here he is portrayed as God's instrument in preparing Paul for effective service (Bruce 1971:248). This is not to say that he becomes a willing instrument for good. Satan intends the stake for Paul's undoing. But God, who has ultimate control over the situation, intends it for Paul's good.
The good is defined negatively: to keep me from becoming conceited. We have the saying "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." This is particularly true of human arrogance, which once provoked is very difficult to curb. Some people might be tempted to think quite highly of themselves as a result of such extraordinary experiences: "I must be a special person in God's sight that he would allow me to have such remarkable experiences." The stake was given to prevent this from happening to Paul. The Greek text is quite explicit. It was given "in order to" (hina + the subjunctive) prevent a loftier-than-thou attitude from developing from Paul's extraordinary experience.
Paul's positive assessment of his "stake" is from the vantage point of fourteen years of reflection. This was not initially the case. When he first received it, he was so troubled that three times [he] pleaded with the Lord to take it away (v. 8). The NIV pleaded does not accurately render the verb. Parakalew is a term commonly used in Hellenistic Greek for a routine request, although it sometimes carries the sense of "urge" or "earnestly petition." Three times could mean that Paul made his request on three separate occasions or thrice in quick succession (compare Mk 14:32-42). Why Paul would pray three times is a puzzle. It may reflect the Jewish practice of praying three times daily. A threefold petition for assistance was also a common feature of Hellenistic accounts of divine healing (H. D. Betz 1969:292-93). It was to the Lord (ton kyrion) that Paul addressed his three petitions. The presence of the article with kyrios indicates that he directed his requests to Christ. This is theologically unusual. Paul routinely instructed his converts to pray to the Father (as in "through Christ we have access to the Father by one Spirit"--Eph 2:18). But there are a few instances in the New Testament where prayers are offered directly to [Christ] (such as Acts 1:24; 7:59; see M. J. Harris 1976:396).
The request Paul makes is for the stake to be taken away (v. 8). The Greek is literally "to cause to stand away" (aphisthmi). Paul wanted nothing more to do with it. He does not make his request for selfish reasons. Verses 9-10 make it clear that whatever this painful disability was, it hampered Paul's ministry and, to his way of thinking, the spread of the gospel. This is why he calls it a messenger of Satan.
The reply Paul received was undoubtedly not the one he was hoping for: He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you" (v. 9). The verb legei is commonly used to introduce the edicts of emperors and magistrates (Moulton-Milligan 1930:372). The tense is perfect, denoting finality (eireken). What God said to Paul was not subject to change or revision. The first thing to observe is that Paul's request was not granted. The stake was not taken away. Instead he was provided the grace to bear it. The noun charis occurs eighteen times in 2 Corinthians but only once in chapters 10--13. Most frequently it refers to God's unmerited favor. Here it most likely denotes divine power. This grace, Paul is told, is sufficient for him. The verb arkew means to "suffice for," "satisfy" with the idea of being enough (Kittel 1964:464). The promise is that whenever the messenger of Satan afflicts him, he will be given sufficient strength to bear up.
In certain circles within evangelicalism today, there is a belief that it is God's will that everyone should be healthy and happy and that if healing does not occur in answer to prayer it is because a person lacks faith (Smith 1959:415). This thinking clearly runs contrary to Paul's experience. Without a doubt Paul had great faith, but his request for the removal of the stake was not answered. This is not to say that he didn't receive an answer. He most assuredly did--My grace is sufficient for you. But it is not the answer the mindset focused on self and what God can do for me wants to hear. Yet hear we must, lest our witness to the world lack credibility and theological soundness.
God's grace is sufficient because his power is made perfect in weakness (v. 9). This aphoristic phrase is commonly taken as the theme of this letter--and not without cause. The fact that suffering is the typical lot of the gospel minister is a point that Paul tries repeatedly to drive home to the Corinthians (see the introduction). Those who preach the gospel "carry around . . . the [dying] of Jesus" and are "always being given over to death" (4:10-11).
There is a good reason for this. Where human strength abounds, the effects of divine power may be overlooked (Plummer 1915:354). But where human strength fails, the power is clearly seen to be God's. Dynamis ("power") denotes the inherent capacity of someone to carry out something (O. Betz 1976:601). The dynamis in question is identified at the end of verse 9 as "the power of Christ." Paul is probably thinking of the power that raised Christ from the dead (objective genitive) rather than Christ's power (possessive genitive; NIV). This divine strength, Paul says, is made perfect in weakness. Weakness (astheneia and cognates) is a word that crops up frequently in these last four chapters (10:10; 11:21, 29, 30; 12:5, 9, 10; 13:3, 4, 9). It does not signify timidity or lack of resolve. Nor does it refer to humility or self-abasement. It is, rather, Paul's term for the frailties of human existence and the adversities of the gospel ministry, as the reference to insults, hardships, persecutions and difficulties in verse 10 makes clear.
Paul's statement is a rather startling one: God's power neither displaces weakness nor overcomes it. On the contrary, it comes to its full strength in it (en + astheneia). At issue is how God manifests his power. Paul's opponents claimed that it is best seen in visions, ecstasies and the working of signs and wonders (12:1, 12). Paul, on the other hand, maintained that God's power is most effectively made known in and through weakness. Indeed, God's power is made perfect in weakness (teleitai "to find consummation" or "be accomplished"; v. 9). As one commentator notes, "There is a certain finishing and perfecting power in weakness" (Carpus 1876:178). Not that we are to cherish our infirmities. Weakness of itself will perfect nothing. But when the human vessel is weak, the divine power is especially evident, and the weakness proves to be a fine discipline (B. Hanson 1981:44).
So far from hindering the gospel, Paul's stake actually served to advance it. This is why he aims to boast only in his weaknesses (11:30; 12:5)--and he does it all the more gladly (v. 9). Hedista (from hedys, "pleasant to taste") means "with pleasure" or "merrily." Paul not only has accepted his weaknesses and learned to live with them, but he also takes pleasure in them. Why? Because these very weaknesses afford the opportunity for the power of Christ to rest on him (v. 9). The verb episkenoo, found only here in the New Testament, actually means to "make one's quarters in" or "take up one's abode in." So God's power not merely "rested on" (KJV, NIV, NEB, RSV) or "over" (TEV, JB) Paul but took up residence in him.
This is why Paul can go on to say, "I am content with my weaknesses" (v. 10; not I delight in as in the NIV). This time he adds for Christ's sake. The phrase hyper Christou is oddly placed in the verse. It can go with the verb--"I am content for Christ's sake" (RSV, NIV, NEB)--or, as is more likely from its terminal position in the clause, it can conclude the list of hardships in verse 10--"the agonies I go through for Christ's sake" (JB, TEV, KJV, Phillips).
Paul proceeds to list four examples of the troubles that he has endured for Christ's sake. Three of the four appear in the earlier tribulation lists. All four are troubles that Paul faced on his missionary travels. The first one, hybris, denotes a wanton act of violence. Paul uses it in 1 Thessalonians 2:2 of the "insult" that he experienced at Philippi when he was publicly whipped and imprisoned without cause (Acts 16:22-24; compare 14:5). Ananke (compare 6:4, "hardships") refers to that which compels, forces or necessitates such adverse circumstances as calamity, torture and bodily pain. Diogmos is commonly used of tracking a prey or enemy (compare 4:9, "persecutions"). Paul may well be thinking of how he was pursued from city to city by hostile Jews. Stenochoria (compare 6:4, "difficulties") refers to finding oneself in a tight corner or in narrow straits with no apparent way of escape--not unlike an army under attack in a long narrow pass with no space to maneuver or retreat (Barclay 1954:213).
Paul concludes with for when I am weak, then I am strong (v. 10). His statement has the character of a settled conviction rather than a rote repetition of God's answer. But what does it mean? How can one be weak and strong at the same time? The paradox is noted by all. It is sometimes suggested that Paul is saying that whenever God's servants humble themselves and acknowledge their weakness, Christ's power can flow through them (as in Martin 1986:423). But the point throughout has been that Christ's power is perfected in, not in spite of, weakness. It is likelier that Paul is asserting that the weaknesses themselves represent the effective working of Christ (Furnish 1984:552). How so? We often think that without human strength we are destined to fail and without personal courage we are bound to falter. Yet good as these are, such qualities tend to push us to self-sufficiency and away from God-dependency. Samson was superlatively endowed with strength, but in the end this very strength brought about his destruction (Judg 15:16; 16:18-30). Human strength is like the flower of the field that has its day in the sun but then shrivels up and dies. Enduring strength lies in God alone.
Previous commentary:
Paul Unmasks His Opponents
About this commentary:
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During the month of January, The Simple Dollar has been running a series entitled "31 Days To Fix Your Finances," a series of activities that can enable anyone to improve their financial status by centering your financial life around your own core values. Instead of supplying a bunch of budgeting sheets and asking you to commit yourself to a program, this series is about figuring out what you want out of life and reorganizing your finances so that you can have it.
What follows is a summary of the entire month's activities, with links to each individual day. If you're at all concerned about your personal finances or find yourself often feeling strangely guilty about the money you spend, you'll find some value in the activities of the month.
Let's get started.
Stage 1: Figuring Out Your Goals And Values
Day 1: Your Five Main Values
Day 2:
Defining Your Goals From Your Values
Day 3:
Create A Plan For Each Goal
The underlying challenge that most people have with their finances is that they see money as distinctly separate from the rest of their life. Money is an antagonist, an enemy that keeps you from doing what you want to be doing. The truth is that money is merely a tool, and when you find yourself feeling as though money is an antagonist, it is no different than a person attempting to learn how to use a heavy sword; it's unwieldy and dangerous.
The first step for learning how to integrate money into your life and use it successfully as a tool is to figure out what exactly you wish to build with that tool. Without underlying values, goals, and plans, money is no different than swinging a hammer around without building something. Thus, this first stage is crucial: what exactly is most important to you, and what will it take to adequately support those values?
Stage 2: Evaluating Your Situation
Day 4:
How Much Did You Earn Last Year?
Day 5:
How Much Did You Work Last Year?
Day 6: Your True Hourly Wage
Once you've figured out what is central in your life, it's time to take a serious look at what you have to work with. How much do you make, and how much time do you spend making it? This seems like an easy question, but it's not. How much of your income do you spend maintaining your job, via transportation, career development, clothing, and so forth? And how much time do you spend doing things devoted to your job, such as going to work, coming home from work, attending work-related functions, and so on?
When you calculate these new numbers, you might be shocked both at how much time you actually spend working in an average week, as well as how little you actually earn. You can drive this point home especially clearly by calculating a number that we'll use throughout the month, your true hourly wage. How much do you really make for each hour that you spend devoted to your job? It's not nearly what you might think, and that alone might shock you into considering some different avenues.
Stage 3: Building Your Own Life Budget, Not Following Someone Else's Prescription
Day 7:
Work For Your Dreams, Not Your Money
Day 8:
Breaking Down Your Expenses
Day 9:
Cleaning Up Your Expenses
Day 10:
Fitting Your Expenses Into The Bigger Picture
Day 11:
Dividing Up The Rest and Finishing Our Time Budget
Day 12:
A Flexible "Budget" That Reflects Your Reality
Once you've taken a hard look at what you actually earn, you can begin to set up the basic framework of how to spend that money that is in line with your personal goals. This isn't about printing out worksheets and trying to jam your life into the pigeonholes that someone else has created for you; instead, this is about defining how you spend money and working from there.
It's almost unfair to refer to this as "budgeting," because budgeting carries with it some very bad connotations, much like putting on an uncomfortable suit. This process is much more like going to a tailor, who uses you as the basis to construct a custom suit that fits you. This process will create a custom budget that fits your life with your values and goals as a basis. We're not talking about restricting you to spending $20 a month on "dining expenses," but instead creating a structure where you can decide what's appropriate because you can see how it relates directly to your dreams.
Stage 4: Looking At Your Life, Piece By Piece
Day 13: Pay For Your Dreams First
Day 14:
Get Rid Of Debts (Slowly But Surely)
Day 15:
Coming In Under Budget and An Emergency Fund
Day 16: Evaluating Your Expenses – Home and Auto Insurance
Day 17:
Evaluating Your Expenses – Life Insurance
Day 18:
Evaluating Your Expenses – Energy
Day 19:
Evaluating Your Expenses – Automobiles
Day 20:
Evaluating Your Expenses – Food
Day 21:
Evaluating Your Expenses – Housing
Day 22:
Evaluating Your Expenses – Monthly Services
Day 23:
Evaluating Your Expenses – Bank Fees
Day 24:
Evaluating Your Expenses – Entertainment and Hobbies
Day 25: Evaluating Your Expenses – Credit Cards
Once you've got a basic budget in place, it's well worth spending some time carefully evaluating those numbers that represent you and see if there are any places where there is excess fat – and simply trimming it away. Is your electricity bill pretty high? Maybe there are a few simple ways to reduce it. Getting tired of paying that life insurance bill? Maybe you don't need it at all – or can utilize something less expensive. Getting dinged over and over again with bank charges? Look at what they're charging and do something about it. Credit card finance charges eating you alive? There are some easy ways to reduce them.
We're looking for ways to trim away fat (things that make you uncomfortable when you look at them) so that the meat (your goals, dreams, and values) have room to thrive. You don't have to eliminate that daily latte if it brings you joy – just look for the many things you can do without or that you can reduce without significant pain and you'll have the money to chase your dreams.
Stage 5: Setting The Stage For Lifelong Success
Day 26: Refining Your Budget
Day 27:
Keeping Good Records
Day 28:
Preparing For The Inevitable
Day 29:
Paying Cash
Day 30:
Live What You Love
Day 31:
Keeping It Up
Now that the complete package is coming together, there are some basic methods for keeping the momentum going. What do you do with the fat you've trimmed away? How do you keep track of all of your financial information so that it's not chaotic and incomprehensible? How do you ensure that you're not ensnared in loan debt over and over again? How do you keep this good thing going?
If you follow this plan and keep these principles in mind, you can easily live your dream. It's all up to you, and it takes just an hour a day for a month to get things going.

subset: commoncrawl


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Today at 9am, a NYC salt-spreading truck crashed through the wall of a Queens Sanitation Department repair shop. It might've been kinda neat if the truck weren't on a top floor—with a driver inside, screaming his lungs out.
Talking to the New York Post, nearby repair shop owner Frank Almona described the situation:
I heard a loud bang and turned and I saw this truck sticking out of the side of the building. The driver was screaming like crazy, he was saying, 'Help, help, help.' He was hanging on. He looked like he was in shock. I couldn't believe what I was looking at.
Fortunately, the Fire Department's Ladder Company 163 arrived with a cherry-picker to rescue the driver; he collapsed once he was in the bucket, said Almona. [NYPost]


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By Emily Steves, '15
Dan Egan hasn't worn a Wolf Pack T-shirt to St. Bonaventure University basketball games since his freshman year. The junior instead dons a homemade friar's habit to cheer on the Bonnies.
But his costume isn't just for show anymore; Egan, along with fellow student Matt Creeron, relived and revisited sites strongly rooted in Franciscan tradition while on a pilgrimage to Italy over the winter break.
After applying to go on the pilgrimage and being accepted, Egan and Creeron left the states on Dec. 27, 2013, joining SBU University Ministries team members Sr. Suzanne Kush, C.S.S.F., and Fr. Francis Di Spigno, O.F.M., in Rome.
"In Rome, we stayed in this hotel where we had to walk up this humongous hill to get up there," said Creeron, a sophomore sport studies major from Rosedale, N.Y. "We experienced the different types of meals they have there, the fresh meats, the fresh pasta, how they have a large lunch and a really small dinner."
But the group didn't have time to relax; sightseeing began immediately upon arrival.
"We went to the Vatican the first day –– we hadn't even gotten to bed yet, and we were already doing the whole Italian thing," said Egan, a junior biology major from East Aurora, N.Y. "We were in Rome for three days, and then we went to Assisi."
Because traditional pilgrimages were completed on foot, Sr. Suzanne made sure this one was no different.
"Pilgrimage means visiting places with your feet, and I think, too, to use all of your senses, whether it is touching the walls, to see, to recall what you read, what you know, and to put a very personal sense into it and to share that with others," said Kush, director of the university's Franciscan Center for Social Concern. "That becomes very important."
"There were a couple days where we walked 10-plus miles," Egan said.
Long walks helped spur lasting friendships with students from other schools within the Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities (AFCU) who joined the Bonnies for the pilgrimage.
"My cousin went on the trip last year from Newman University, and that's how I heard about it," said Creeron. "She had this life-changing experience from it, and she just had this wonderful time."
The Franciscan leaders Creeron and Egan had read about in classes such as Catholic and Franciscan Heritage and Foundational Religious Texts of the Western World popped off the pages and into reality.
"You just get this homey feeling. We were actually walking in the footsteps of St. Francis and St. Clare," Creeron said.
The group visited the Portiuncula just outside of Assisi, a small chapel given to St. Francis, who then restored it as a place where shepherds could find shelter during bad weather. In the 1500s, a basilica known as Saint Mary of the Angels was built around the Portiuncula, creating what Creeron described as, "A church inside of a church." To Creeron, the Portiuncula was "One of the coolest places we went to."
With the 2014 pilgrimage as her sixth through AFCU, Sr. Suzanne has seen firsthand how the trip can change students. "It happens time and time again, how God's spirit and the spirits of Francis and Clare truly touch them," she said. "Many of the students say, 'I was never the same after it;' It was that much of an experiential time in their lives."
"The whole trip personally brought me closer to God and gave me a better understanding of my faith," Creeron said.
As for students who may not practice a certain faith tradition, Sr. Suzanne believes the trip can still have a distinct impact. "Spirituality doesn't have to be formal or religious, but I think it's an important piece," she said. "It adds to us becoming a whole person."
Egan had a difficult time adjusting to culture in Italy at first, and then he experienced the same culture shock when he returned home on Jan. 6. "I think there were a lot of times while we were there when we could just have some silence," he said, "that's something I've been trying to continue to do here (at Bonaventure). Just take some time to be alone and be quiet."
Students interested in applying for next year's pilgrimage (Dec. 28 through Jan. 7, 2015) will find application requirements at www.sbu.edu/pilgrimage. The deadline for applications is April 30 and students will be notified by May 31. There will be an information meeting for students to learn more about the pilgrimage opportunity at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 1, in the Thomas Merton Center. Presentations will be given by students from past pilgrimages.
"It's one thing to read about Francis and Clare in a book. It's very different to go to the places where they lived and where the walked, where they had spiritual encounters with God and to be in those places," said Sr. Suzanne.
"Everyone was kind of like a huge family," said Egan.
About the University: The nation's first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University cultivates graduates who are confident and creative communicators, collaborative leaders and team members, and innovative problem solvers who are respectful of themselves, others, and the diverse world around them. We are establishing pathways to internships, graduate schools and careers in the context of our renowned liberal arts tradition. Our students are becoming extraordinary.
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text:
Many of you were there for the Fixx show in this intimate venue. I may make a road trip in March to see Kasim Sulton of Utopia/New Cars/Joan Jett fame. Just wondering if my good pal gee-bee, in particular, or anyone else might be there.
Best wishes to all for a new year with a Fixx of your favorite band!


text:
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Guide to Randolph County, Indiana ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.
|Randolph County, Indiana
Location of Indiana in the U.S.
|January 10, 1818
|County Seat
|Randolph County Courthouse
Winchester, IN 47394
Phone: 765.584.7070
County Website
The county was named for the North Carolina, home of many of the area's Quaker settlers. The county seat is Winchester and the county was organized in 1819.[4] The County is located in the East-Central part of the state.[5]
Jay • Delaware • Henry • Wayne • Darke
For animated maps illustrating Indiana County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Indiana County Boundary Maps" (1790-1873) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.
There is no known history of courthouse disasters in this county.
Randolph County was created on 10 January 1818 from a portion of Wayne County, Indiana. Frontier settlement had begun to reach the area by 1814. The county was named for old Randolph County, North Carolina, many settlers having moved westward from the Carolinas. Winchester was established as the county seat the same year the county was founded.
The first settlement was made in 1814 by a Quaker family, which was joined by five other families. By late 1816 the influx of new settlement and land entries grew rapidly. The years of most rapid growth were 1817-18 and 1836-37, much of the land purchased by speculators. The first school in Randolph County was built by Quakers in 1815. The first election was held in August 1818. The first road opened was the Quaker Trace in 1817, running from Richmond to Ft. Wayne. The first Court House was built in 1818. The first railroad through the county was the Indianapolis and Bellefontaine, completed in 1852-53.
Frame and brick structures, mills, orchards, factories, stores, hotels and banks followed.
Anti-slavery sentiments were common in Randolph County, as many early settlers had left the Carolinas to be free of the practice. Active supporters of the emancipation movement were found around 1816. The Underground Railroad functioned, and runaways were sheltered and assisted in their escape.
|Tombstone Transcriptions Online
|Tombstone Transcriptions in Print
|List of Cemeteries in the county
|Family History Library
|Billion Graves
|USGenWeb Archives
|Tombstone Project
|Indiana Interment
|Billion Graves
|See Indiana Cemeteries for more information.
For tips on accessing Randolph County, Indiana Genealogy census records online, see: Indiana Census.
Most church records are held by individual churches. For contact information, check a phone directory, such as SearchBug or Dex Knows. Some denominations are gathering their records into a central repository.
For more information about these major repositories, see Indiana Church Records.
Additional church records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Randolph County, Indiana Genealogy Church Records in online catalogs like:
Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.
After land was transferred from the government to private ownership, subsequent transactions were recorded at the courthouse, where records are currently housed.
See Indiana Land and Property for additional information about early Indiana land grants and patents.
Additional land records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Randolph County, Indiana Genealogy Probate Records in online catalogs like:
Civil War service men from Randolph County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Randolph County.
Civil War Books
Early newspapers were The Journal at Winchester, and The Times at Union City.Early banks were Citizens Bank and Commercial Bank of Union City, and Farmers and Merchants Bank and Randolph County Bank of Winchester.
Almost 7,000 obituaries from Randolph County and residents of Darke County, Ohio are included in the following newspapers and provided courtesy of Darke County Genealogical Researchers:
In most counties in Indiana, probate records have been kept by the county clerk of the circuit court. They include wills, fee books, claim registers, legacy records, inheritance records, probate ticklers, and dockets. The records are available at the county courthouse.
Online Records
Additional probate records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Randolph County, Indiana Genealogy Probate Records in online catalogs like:
Randolph County Courthouse
Winchester, IN 47394
Phone: 765.584.7070
County Health Department has birth and death records. County Clerk has marriage, divorce, probate and court records. County Recorder has land records from 1818 and newspapers from 1876. [6]
Family History Centers provide one-on-one assistance and free access to premium genealogical websites. In addition, many centers have free how-to genealogy classes.
For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the family history center directory.
Randolph County Genealogical Society
Route 3, Box 60
Winchester, IN 47394
Randolph County Historical Society
RR #3, Box 61
Winchester, IN 47394
Randolph County Historical & Genealogical Society
416 S. Meridian St.
Winchester, IN 47394-2028
Telephone Number: 765-584-1334
E-mail: email@example.com
Indiana tax records complement land records and can be used in place of censuses or to supplement the years between censuses. Because only persons who owned taxable property were listed, many residents were not included in tax lists. There may also be gaps of several years in the tax records of some counties.
For more information see the wiki page Indiana Taxation.
Additional tax records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Randolph County, Indiana Genealogy Tax Records in online catalogs like:
Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Indiana law in 1882 required registration of births and deaths in counties. The Indiana Department of Health has birth records filed after October 1907 and death records filed after January 1900 for deaths. Copies may be obtained from the county health department or the Indiana State Division of Vital Records. See also How to order Indiana Vital Records or order electronically online.
Marriage licenses were required by counties beginning in 1800. Original marriage records are held at the office of the Randolph County, Indiana Genealogy County Clerk with divorce records located with the Randolph County, Indiana Genealogy Clerk of Courts.
Finding Vital Records at Other Repositories
Additional vital records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Randolph County, Indiana Genealogy Vital Records in online catalogs like:
Winchester was the first town established in Randolph County. Lots were laid out in 1818 and the sales began in February the following year. The area was heavily timbered with unbroken forest. Buildings of hewed logs predominated.The town grew slowly.
Townships of Randolph County were organized as follows: Greensfork, 1818;White River, 1818; Ward,1820; Sto West River, 1831;Jackson, 1833; Green, 1834; Nettle Creek, 1835; Wayne, 1838; Monroe, before 1851; Franklin, 1859;Union, 1838; Salamonie, 1834; Madison, 1835.
To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.


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Richard Durbin on Civil Rights
Democratic Sr Senator (IL)
Opponent's Argument for voting No (The Week; Huffington Post, and The Atlantic): House Republicans had objected to provisions in the Senate bill that extended VAWA's protections to lesbians, gays, immigrants, and Native Americans. For example, Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH) voted against the VAWA bill because it was a "politically–motivated, constitutionally-dubious Senate version bent on dividing women into categories by race, transgender politics and sexual preference." The objections can be grouped in two broadly ideological areas--that the law is an unnecessary overreach by the federal government, and that it represents a "feminist" attack on family values. The act's grants have encouraged states to implement "mandatory-arrest" policies, under which police responding to domestic-violence calls are required to make an arrest. These policies were intended to combat the too-common situation in which a victim is intimidated into recanting an abuse accusation. Critics also say VAWA has been subject to waste, fraud, and abuse because of insufficient oversight.
- the flag of the US is a unique symbol of national unity...
- the Bill of Rights should not be amended in a manner that could be interpreted to restrict freedom...
- abuse of the flag causes more than pain and distress... and may amount to fighting words...
- destruction of the flag of the US can be intended to incite a violent response rather than make a political statement and such conduct is outside the protections afforded by the first amendment to the Constitution.
Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman.
The amendment is about how we are going to raise the next generation. It is not an issue that the courts should resolve. Those of us who support this amendment are doing so in an effort to let the people decide.
Supporters rail against activist judges. But if this vaguely worded amendment ever passes, it will result in substantial litigation. What are the legal incidents of marriage? Is a civil union a marriage?
Our ratings are based on the votes the organization considered most important; the numbers reflect the percentage of time the representative voted the organization's preferred position.
OFFICIAL CONGRESSIONAL SUMMARY: A bill to ensure the evacuation of individuals with special needs in times of emergency.
SPONSOR'S INTRODUCTORY REMARKS: Sen. OBAMA: One of the most striking things about the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina is that the majority of stranded victims were our society's most vulnerable members--low-income families, the elderly, the homeless, the disabled. Many did not own cars. Many believed themselves unable to flee the city, unable to forego the income from missed work, unable to incur the expenses of travel, food and lodging. Some may have misunderstood the severity of the warnings, if they heard the warnings at all. Some may have needed help that was unavailable. Whatever the reason, they were not evacuated and we have seen the horrific results.
This failure to evacuate so many of the most desperate citizens of the Gulf Coast leads me to introduce today a bill to require states and the nation to consider the needs of our neediest citizens in times of emergency. It appears that certain assumptions were made in planning and preparing for the worst case scenario in the Gulf Coast. After all, most of those who could afford to evacuate managed to do so. They drove out of town and checked into hotels or stayed with friends and family. But what about the thousands of people left behind because they had special needs?
Communities with special needs may be more challenging to accommodate, but they are every bit as important to protect and serve in the event of an emergency. What we saw in the Gulf Coast cannot be repeated. We may not be able to control the wrath of Mother Nature, but we can control how we prepare for natural disasters.
LEGISLATIVE OUTCOME:Referred to Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; never came to a vote.
OnTheIssues.org interprets the 2005-2006 HRC scores as follows:
The Human Rights Campaign represents a grassroots force of more than 700,000 members and supporters nationwide. As the largest national gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, HRC envisions an America where GLBT people are ensured of their basic equal rights, and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.
Ever since its founding in 1980, HRC has led the way in promoting fairness for GLBT Americans. HRC is a bipartisan organization that works to advance equality based on sexual orientation and gender expression and identity.
OnTheIssues.org interprets the 2005-2006 NAACP scores as follows:
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has worked over the years to support and promote our country's civil rights agenda. Since its founding in 1909, the NAACP has worked tirelessly to end racial discrimination while also ensuring the political, social, and economic equality of all people. The Association will continue this mission through its policy initiatives and advocacy programs at the local, state, and national levels. From the ballot box to the classroom, the dedicated workers, organizers, and leaders who forged this great organization and maintain its status as a champion of social justice, fought long and hard to ensure that the voices of African Americans would be heard. For nearly one hundred years, it has been the talent and tenacity of NAACP members that has saved lives and changed many negative aspects of American society.
A resolution recognizing the historical significance of Juneteenth Independence Day and expressing that history should be regarded as a means for understanding the past and solving the challenges of the future.
Recognizes the historical significance to the nation, and supports the continued celebration, of Juneteenth Independence Day (June 19, 1865, the day Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War had ended and that the enslaved African Americans were free). Declares the sense of Congress that:
Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity by covered entities (employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, or joint labor-management committees). Prohibits preferential treatment or quotas. Allows only disparate treatment claims. Prohibits related retaliation.
Congressional Summary:
Opponent's argument against bill:(by Cato Institute reported on Fox News): A bill in Congress that would prohibit discrimination in public schools based on sexual orientation or gender identity could stifle free speech and even lead to "homosexual indoctrination" in the nation's classrooms, critics say.
"The real danger is how this will be interpreted," said the associate director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute. "The definition of harassment could be broadly interpreted that anybody who expressed a totally legitimate opinion about homosexual behavior could be made illegal. That's a violation of those kids who want to express opposition to LGBT opinions or behavior. People have a legitimate reason to be concerned about this--not because they're 'haters' but because you're now trying to balance different rights."
Proponent's argument for bill: (Rep. Jared POLIS, House sponsor): "Hatred has no place in the classroom. Every student has the right to an education free from harassment and violence. This bill will protect the freedoms of our students and enshrine the values of equality and opportunity in the classroom."
Sen. LIEBERMAN: This legislation would require the Government to extend employee benefit programs to the same-sex domestic partners of Federal employees. It is sound public policy and it makes excellent business sense.
Under our bill, Federal employee and the employee's domestic partner would be eligible to participate in benefits to the same extent that married employees and their spouses participate. Employees and their partners would also assume the same obligations that apply to married employees and their spouses, such as anti-nepotism rules and financial disclosure requirements.
The Federal Government is our Nation's largest employer and should lead other employers, rather than lagging behind, in the quest to provide equal and fair compensation and benefits to all employees. That thousands of Federal workers who have dedicated their careers to public service and who live in committed relationships with same-sex domestic partners receive fewer protections for their families than those married employees is patently unfair and, frankly, makes no economic sense.
I call upon my colleagues to express their support for this important legislation. It is time for the Federal Government to catch up to the private sector, not just to set an example but so that it can compete for the most qualified employees and ensure that all of our public servants receive fair and equitable treatment. It makes good economic and policy senses. It is the right thing to do.
SUMMARY: Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2007
"Despite passage of the Equal Pay Act & the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s, discrimination against women continues to permeate the workforce and many areas of the economy. Today, women earn about 77 cents for each dollar earned by men, and the gap is even greater for women of color. More than 60% of working women are still clustered in a narrow range of traditionally female, traditionally low-paying occupations, and female-headed households continue to dominate the bottom rungs of the economic ladder.
"A stronger effort is clearly needed to finally live up to our commitment of full equality. The ERA alone cannot remedy all discrimination, but it will clearly strengthen the ongoing efforts of women across the country to obtain equal treatment.
"We know from the failed ratification experiences of the past that amending the Constitution to include the ERA will not be easy to achieve. But the women of America deserve no less."
A bill to restore, reaffirm, and reconcile legal rights and remedies under civil rights statutes. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for:
|Other candidates on Civil Rights:
|Richard Durbin on other issues:
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STEVEN TYLER Performs "Walk This Way' With ALICE COOPER's Backing Band
Legendary rocker Alice Cooper and his band performed on New Year's Eve at Mala Wailea, the famous oceanfront restaurant that is lobby level at Wailea Beach Marriott Resort Spa, in Hawaii, on a bill that included "Weird Al" Yankovic, Pat Simmons and Michael McDonald of DOOBIE BROTHERS and Bob Rock. Comedian Tom Arnold will act as emcee at the event, which benefits the Maui Food Bank and the Maui Arts Cultural Center.
Joining Alice on stage for a performance of THE BEATLES classic "Come Together" was AEROSMITH frontman Steven Tyler. Tyler also sang AEROSMITH's "Sweet Emotion" and "Walk This Way".
Video footage of the "Walk This Way" performance, along with the previously released "Come Together" clip, can be seen below.


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Campus X Roma
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Enterprise ecommerce platform
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Traditional enterprise ecommerce software is broken — costly builds, crashed sites, and infrastructure that burns through development resources.
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Want an even closer look? Take a tour of the Shopify Plus platform.
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Shopify Plus helps you navigate each stage of growth with comprehensive training, tried and tested practices, and powerful growth strategies relevant to your business. Our approach to success has helped thousands of fast-growing brands accelerate their growth.


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Your Healthy Grocery Makeover
12 Easy Ways to Eat Healthier
Who among us hasn't sped down the grocery aisle tossing in items right and left in our rush to get home and make dinner? But these simple substitutions will get you out of the store just as quickly— but with much healthier options.
Instead of: Plain bagels
Get: Whole grain bagels
Most of us know by now that "whole grains are much better than white flour," says Kristin Kirkpatrick, MS, RD, the wellness manager and registered dietician for Lifestyle 80, a program that helps reverse chronic conditions at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland. "It's higher in fiber so it's digested slower. And you won't be hungry an hour later because of a rapid fall in blood sugar." Another smart move: buy bagels the size of hockey pucks, not those that are as big as a hubcap. Or try the new "thinner" bagels.
Instead of: Jelly
Get: Strawberries or bananas
Add sliced strawberries or bananas to a peanut butter sandwich, and you slip in a whole fruit instead of jelly, which is loaded with sugar, Kirkpatrick says.
Instead of: Chicken nuggets
Get: Chicken-on-a-stick
If your tweens still love the ease and familiarity of chicken nuggets, give them what they want—but better. Buy ready-made chicken kabobs (or make your own from boneless chicken breasts), sprinkle with sesame seeds, smoked paprika, or five spice powder, and grill those on an indoor or outdoor gas grill. You're serving a healthy dose of protein instead of breading and fat, says Gaye Lynn Hicks, RD, LD, a dietician specialist at the Methodist Weight Management Center at Methodist Hospital in Houston: "Protein helps us keep lean body mass and essential amino acids help our metabolism function." And besides, your older kids will probably think chicken-on-a-stick is much cooler.
Instead of: Plain eggs
Get: Eggs fortified with DHA (docosahexaenoic acid)
DHA is a heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acid. "People who consume ample amounts of omega-3s, especially DHA, have a much lower incidence of depression, aggressiveness and hostility," says Elizabeth Some, MA, RD, author of Eat Your Way to Happiness. "Look for eggs fortified with sustainable, algae-based DHA. The products fortified with flax, which contains a different omega-3, won't give you the same boost."
Instead of: Canned vegetables
Get: Fresh or frozen
Angela Mackey a stay-at-home mother of three in Fort Smith, Arkansas, shuns canned veggies and syrupy fruit for fresh. Wise move, says dietician Hicks: Fresh and frozen beat canned because canned foods often have added sugar and sodium, she says.
Instead of: Mayonnaise
Get: Salsa
"Salsa has absolutely no fat, lots of flavor, and very few calories," says Bethanne Weiss, founder of Funiq Fitness and a stepmom to three in Lake Mary, Florida. Weiss uses salsa to dress salads, on baked potatoes, in tuna fish, and on sandwiches. The tomatoes in salsa have lots of lycopene, which reduces the risk of prostate cancer. Another option: Use guacamole or avocado slices instead of mayonnaise, says dietician Kirkpatrick: "Avocado is high in vitamin E, which helps brain function."
Instead of: Processed deli meats
Get: Nitrate-free deli meats
"I don't even look at the regular meat section anymore," says Jennifer Bright Reich, the cofounder and editorial director of mommymdguides.com and mother of two in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She was right to make the switch to preservative-free meats, says Kirkpatrick. "Processed deli meats and hot dogs have nitrates, which have been linked to certain cancers." They also have a lot of sodium, only a boon if you're after high blood pressure.
Instead of: Sugary cereal
Get: Whole grain cereals
"The first ingredient on the cereal box should be whole grain," says nutrition expert Somer. "Look for ones with at least three to five grams of fiber and less than four grams, or one teaspoon, of sugar per serving." Peggy Frezon, age 49, a writer with two children in Rensselaer, New York, switched from fruit-and-cream oatmeal packets—which have almost 11 grams of sugar per serving—to plain oatmeal. Because of that and a wholesale change to whole grains and low-fat dairy, she's lot 30 pounds, her husband 40, and her teenage son has dropped his cholesterol by 30 points.
Instead of: Blue yogurt
Get: Plain low-fat yogurt
Blend in your own fresh blueberries or strawberries, a little honey, and then your kids will have blue or pink yogurt just like the other kids—except without the dye and sugar, says Kirkpatrick: "There's no benefit to dyes. And although the evidence is weak, animal studies show some links between dyes and ADHD and cancer."
Instead of: Jarred pasta sauce
Get: No-sodium or low-sodium canned crushed tomatoes
"The jarred versions of red sauce have sugar," says Kirkpatrick. "Add basil and pepper to crushed tomatoes and ladle on whole grain pasta. It tastes yummy."
Instead of: Fruit snacks
Get: Whole fruit
"Many fruit snacks are just like sugar—it's no better than eating Gummy Bears," Hicks says. "They have no nutritive value. Instead, buy fresh fruit. Grapes and apples are both great afternoon snacks and are easy to sneak into lunch bags. Don't be tempted by the canned fruit. Most is swimming in syrup," Hicks says.


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Sushi girl gets chocolate dessert pt 2/3
Este vídeo es parte de las siguientes colecciones:
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¿Reconoces a una estrella porno en este vídeo? Ayúdanos a que las estrellas porno sean más fáciles de encontrar en YouPorn diciéndonos quién está en este vídeo.
Ayúdanos: ¿Estas estrellas porno aparecen en este vídeo?
Damn these are sexual beasts The girl made me lol "Im gunna fucking cum again! im gunna fucking cum again! im gunna fucking cum again!"
i love black men :3
im dark chocolate for you
love that position too
wow--- so many women likes to watch porn too but pretend to be angels. i love asian pussies the best any man can have.
I love her
to clear it finally up :-) she is sasha hollander and he is jean claude batiste
always interesting to watch different race-gender combinations
Wow I like te pusy
HE IS FINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sexy!
this girl learn fast to take a stiff rod
Her orgasm is just about the hottest thing ever. I love tiny women that can take big cock.
I don't think I've seen a pornstar get into it as much as this before. Wow.
Is that Kevin Garnette?
Do you notice that no matter how small they are Asian girls have the biggest pussies
nice ass omfg
Asian chick having sexual intercourse with black man couple take turns licking, and sucking each other. Girl has a decent bottom, body and breasts they have sex in several different positions.
i was wrong about you man you gave her the goods man thank you for not dissapointing her.
My body is numb from my pleasure..
He looks like this guy I know
Fuck yes
that aint garnett, that's OJ...
g thai et g laime de gros bite come sa c bon dans foufoune
Asian pussy is that perfect tight wet cunt designed for big strong Black cock. They're perfect together.
why every time i visit the Philippines Filipino girls wanna rape me mahakita black guy lol
the very best yet
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I wonder what this black man feel in his body after so much sex.
love asian women with nice big asses she's sexy as hell that cute voice would make climb up the fuckin wall with her
She looks like she was about to have a convulsion lol
This mean you never fuck like That this before is very far way from you reality this is a woman orgasm but i gust you don't know anything about it . Let said thanks youporn to make this visible to world Female Orgasm and King of fuck a pussy
common man stop playing fuck that sweet pussy she wants more fuck her man stop playing pound her hader
2:42 Did she fart?
luuuuuuuv asian pussy!
5:09 - I love that position.
gag this bitch!!! so shell shut up godamn shes hot as hell though
That is Scarlett solano
i guess thats how tigur woods was mad lol
I would have been BEGGING for that cock in my ass. No need to rub my clit if it's in my ass.
well i am gay but i had to put up with all the homophobic black men for about ten years
I need badly that gorgeous black cock in my mouth and then in my ass
he looks like mos def ....
decent performance by both. He was pounding her but she took it like a champ
lol shes mad cute. her voice
nice job...............
@ smithers... dont be jealous.... yes the colonial and imperial brainwashing is wearing off... sorry. lol!
This girl is a trooper. My dick is not as big as this guy and my asian girlfriend can't take a pounding like this. She'll be hurting for a couple of days and we won't have anymore sex for the day. I've done it before and it's disappointing. I have been with 4 asian women and they all had tight pussies but not all will take the pounding.
Is about técnic you nedd learn how to usted you dick head rub Your head to her clítoris more and more she Will star beging you beg ,lick her pussy and them she Will take anything ....
Is she fainting at 14:04 XD
Great fuck. I know the guy.
lol shushi nothing sushi here more like Manila
Just fuckin great
asian chicks are incredible.
im asian and this is how my black boyfriend and i fuck
what is her name?
she is from quezon ave manila i know her
wow now its black cocks in yellow chicks the new trend?
muito gostosa essa japa!
anyone know who this chick is??? - shes on CFNM too, fuckin hot as hell when she cums
nothing sexier and a tall dark long dick in standing position pounding a pussy effortlessly
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I live with my grandparents since my mom went to prison. Sometimes they act like I'm going to get in trouble like my mom did. They have such strict rules for me. I don't do drugs, drink, or smoke, and I do OK at school. How can I get them to trust me?
- Mark*
When someone is incarcerated, it can be hard on everyone in the family. You and your grandparents probably have a lot of emotions and concerns about your mom's situation. Talking together about how you feel can help you get closer and understand each other better.
Maybe it's natural for your grandparents to worry a little more over you right now. Most likely, they are trying their best to care for you and keep you safe. Talk to them (respectfully, calmly, and with love) about how you feel.
Tell your grandparents you want their trust and that you plan to earn it. Let them know the ways you already try to stay safe and out of trouble. Remind them of what's going well for you. Remind them about what's good in your life, your accomplishments, and the dreams you have for your life.
Listen to what your grandparents have to say about family rules, curfews, and their expectations for you. Talk together about how you can earn their trust and make them proud.
Don't give in to negative expectations anyone may have of you because of your mother's situation. You are your own person. Set positive goals and standards for yourself. Surround yourself with people who are positive influences and who believe in you. Work hard to accomplish your goals and move toward your dreams.
As you build a great track record of taking good care of yourself and doing your best, hopefully your grandparents will be able to trust you more and more.
Sometimes difficult situations can help us learn good things. Try to learn positive lessons from your mom's experience and focus on living your very best life.
Reviewed by: D'Arcy Lyness, PhD
Date reviewed: October 2013
*Names have been changed to protect user privacy.
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Cooking Thai Food in American Kitchens Book 3 with Garnish and Entertaining from Malulee Pinsuvana is a bilingual spiral-bound book on preparing fruits and garnishes with a set of 9 carving tools. With this book and tools, you can create garnishes and carvings such as celery fans, carrot flowers and radish water lilies. The cook book portion covers 10 desserts, 16 salads and 25 main dishes. Illustrated with color prints. Product of Thailand.
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