Exegesis of II Corinthians 12:7

             ἵνα με κολαφίζῃ, ἵνα μὴ ὑπεραίρωμαι.9.
             σκόλοψ is an hapax legomenon in the New Testament.10 However, the word does appear three times in the LXX.11 In Numbers 33:55, it is used in a metaphorical sense to describe what the inhabitants of Canaan will be like if the Israelites do not drive them fully out of the land. They will be σκόλοπες ἐν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ὑμῶν-irritants, pricks, or thorns in your eyes. In Ezekiel 28:24 enemies of Israel are referred to as σκόλοψ πικρίας καὶ ἄκανθα ὀδύνης-thorn of bitterness and thorn of anguish. Thirdly, in Hosea 2:6 where the Lord is saying that he will soon φράσσω τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτῆς ἐν σκόλοψιν-hedge her way with thorns. From each of these references in the LXX it can be easily seen how σκόλοψ is understood metaphorically as a hindrance or irritant that keeps one from doing something. It would seem that Paul and his audience even may be aware of the metaphorical use of thorns in the LXX.12 Therefore the purpose of this thorn was to hinder Paul in some way.13 .
             τῇ σαρκί is the dative form of sarx or flesh. The problem is to decide how the dative functions in this passage and whether τῇ σαρκί is referring to Paul's body or referring to Paul's carnality and fleshly desires. This difference is major. One leads the reader down the road to thinking about some type of physical ailment that afflicted Paul, while the other causes the reader to think of some irritant to keep Paul from acting on worldly desires. A quick survey of 2 Corinthians finds forms of sarx used ten times and only two of those times purely as the physical body. In 2 Cor 4:11 sarx refers to flesh as the body because of the qualifier qnhtovV mortal is given. In 2 Cor 7:5, sarx seems to be used in more of the frailty of flesh sense which is similar to the body.