1Cor 1:24

Harold R. Holmyard III hholmyard at ont.com
Mon Mar 27 11:36:41 EST 2000


Dear Alan,
     Thank you for bringing in 1 Cor 1:30 to the discussion of 1 Cor 1:24.
Note that "wisdom" is clearly indefinite in 1:30. The subject of "wisdom"
arose in 1:17, where "wisdom" is also indefinite. These verses may bear on
how to translate QEOU SOFIAN in 1:24. Wisdom continues to be indefinite in
2:1, 4, 5, and in 2:5 "wisdom of men" is in contrast with "power of God,"
the same phrase as in 1:24 (word order reversed however: DUNAMIN QEOU
instead of QEOU DUNAMIN).
     You ask what sort of genitive is QEOU SOFIAN in 1:24. To me it seems a
genitive of source. This wisdom has its source in God, not in the world.
Whether or not QEOU SOFIAN is technically definite, I wonder what Paul's
emphasis was. The phrase can mean "wisdom which is from God," where it
would not emphasis definiteness so much as the substance wisdom and its
source.

					Yours,
					Harold Holmyard





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