Texts in Conversation
In 1 Corinthians, Paul reshapes Isaiah’s language of advisors whose wisdom is rejected, to warn against pride. In Isaiah, it exposes the futility of human plans in the face of divine action. Paul uses this to contrast human cleverness with deeper wisdom.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Isaiah 44:25
Septuagint
23 Rejoice, O heavens, because God has had mercy on Israel; trumpet, O foundations of the earth; shout for joy, O mountains, the hills and all the trees that are in them, because God has redeemed Iakob, and Israel will be glorified! 24 Thus says the Lord, who redeems you, who forms you from the womb: I am the Lord, who accomplishes all things; I alone stretched out heaven, 25 and I bolstered earth. Who else will scatter the signs given by ventriloquists and the divinations from the heart, turning the wise backward and making their counsel foolish 26 and confirming the words of his servant and proving true the counsel of his messengers? The one who says to Ierousalem, “You shall be inhabited,” and to the cities of Judea, “You shall be built,” and her deserted places shall arise, 27 who says to the deep, “You will become desolate, and I will dry up your rivers,”
1 Corinthians 1:20
New Testament
18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will thwart the cleverness of the intelligent.” 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the expert in the Mosaic law? Where is the debater of this age? Has God not made the wisdom of the world foolish? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching. 22 For Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks ask for wisdom,
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Notes and References
"... In 1 Corinthians 1:19–20 Paul may be inspired by LXX Isaiah 19:11–12: “The leaders of Tanis will be fools; as for the wise (1:19) counselors of the king, their counsel will be made foolish (1:20; compare LXX Isaiah 44:25). How will you say to the king, ‘We are sons of the intelligent (1:19), sons of the kings of old’? Where are now your wise ones? (compare 1:20)” ..."
Heil, John Paul
The Rhetorical Role of Scripture in 1 Corinthians
(p. 32) Society of Biblical Literature, 2005
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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