Note 10 at 2 Cor. 1:8: Paul did not make it clear just which experience he was referring to here. It is possible that he was thinking of the time he was stoned and left for dead in Acts 14:19-20 (see note 3 at Acts 14:20, p. 658). Paul faced death often so it could have been anyone of many instances.

A close examination of the Greek and English words reveal that what Paul was really saying here was something similar to this: "We were placed in such trying circumstances in Asia, what we were dealing with was so far beyond our own strength, power and ability to handle, that we lost all hope that we would come out of this alive. It was as if a sentence of death was upon our lives, but the end result was that we could not rely on, depend on, or put confidence in ourselves, i.e. in our own resources, but rather our reliance, dependence, confidence, and hope was in God alone, who even raises the dead."

We can see from this that Paul was a real person with the capacity for all of the fears, emotions, and thoughts that we all sometimes face. However, his faith in a God that raises even the dead allowed him to triumph.