Bible Strands
2 Corinthians 11:33
But I was lowered in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his grasp.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul writes to the Corinthian church, recounting his flight from Damascus to demonstrate his apostolic endurance. He describes this escape immediately after noting the governor under King Aretas secured the city to arrest him.
The words — The Greek σαργένῃ (sarganē) denotes a woven basket or mat, while ἐχαλάσθην (echalasthēn) literally means "I was let down." These terms specify the physical mechanism of his concealment and descent.
The thread — This escape mirrors earlier biblical rescues where figures are lowered through city walls or windows to avoid capture. The narrative parallels the methods used in Joshua 2:18, 1 Samuel 19:12, and Acts 9:25.
Why it lands — The account demands recognition that deliverance often operates through ordinary, concealed means rather than miraculous displays. A reader must accept that apostolic authority is validated by survival amid persecution, not by unbroken safety.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.
Cross-references
- Acts 9:25 One night, however, his disciples took him and lowered him in a basket through a window in the wall.
- Joshua 2:18 unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother and brothers and all your family into your house.
- 1 Samuel 19:12 So Michal lowered David from the window, and he ran away and escaped.