My essay analyzes the concept of sophia (wisdom) from the first two chapters of first Corinthians and how sophia may have been understood and used in related contexts. Paul uses sophia as a rhetorical antithesis, emerging as a desirable sophia that the church is encouraged to pursue. This carries multifaceted connotations of Greek and Judeo-Hellenistic thought but appears as something new in the light of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Simultaneously Paul also presents an undesirable, contrasting sophia that belongs to the world. Scholars present a diversified picture of how this contrasting sophia can be understood. Different schools of thought are being identified as particularly influential, such as stoicism and sophism. These are important aspects to consider in the translation process of the thirteen verses where sophia appears in the first two chapters of first Corinthians. This essay examines these verses based on the introductory background study of the concept sophia, the Greek text and six different Bible translations in Swedish and English. The overall aim of my study is to approach Paul´s own view of sophia and derive a correlating translation. The discussion highlights various possibilities of how to translate sophia in the first two chapters of 1 Corinthians, each reflecting different connotations of sophia. Furthermore, I contribute to the discourse by presenting my own suggested translation of these verses.

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