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1 Corinthians Chapter 2

1 Corinthians Chapter 2

(Underlining marks a quotation/allusion. [Brackets] mark a textual variant.fnWhen two (or more) different copies of an original manuscript disagree on any given word or phrase — addition, omission, word order, etc. — the disagreement is called a "textual variant". ~99% of existing textual variants are either minor (like spelling), obviously not original (often appearing only in a few late manuscripts), or don't affect meaning (like "Jesus Christ" vs. "Christ Jesus"). The ~1% that remain do not affect any central doctrine of Christianity. The BOS Bible only marks significant textual variants that affect the meaning; smaller variants that do not affect meaning won't be marked for readability.  "Love" with a caret ("^love") is agapé.fn"agapé" The Greek words ἀγάπη (agapé, noun), and ἀγαπάω (agapaó; verb) are typically translated "love".  However, unlike our English word "love" – which primarily speaks of affection and feelings — agapé centers on choice and behavior.  It’s the "love" based on will, choice, behavior, and action; not feelings.  (Feelings-based love is the Greek word φιλέω (phileó), which properly means "brotherly love/affection".)  Thus, you could hate someone passionately and still treat him with "agapé".  Agapé "love" is best understood as the pursuit of what is most beneficial to someone or something, regardless of the cost to yourself or the type of response received from the person or thing.  It can also indicate a preference for someone or something over other things. An asterisk (*) indicates a verb in the Greek perfect tense.fnThe Greek perfect tense signifies a completed action in the past with a result and/or an ongoing state that extends into the present. For example, Hebrews 12:2 says in part: "He *sat down at the right hand of the throne of God"; the verb for "sat" is in the perfect tense, indicating that He sat down once (completed action in the past), and also that He remains seated until the present moment (ongoing state).)

Glossary

Note: this glossary is currently a work in progress; entries that do not expand will be added as time permits

Ages/of ages
“ages” and “of ages” are the Greek words “αἰών” (aión, noun form) and “αἰώνιος” (aiónios, adjective form) respectively.  The adjective form is typically translated “eternal”, as in “eternal life”. The noun form refers to a whole time period, (Keizer, “Life Time Entirety”) such as a person’s lifetime (an older Greek sense), an age/epoch (e.g., 2 Cor 4:4), or even time in its entirety, making its meaning similar to “forever” (e.g., John 14:16). The adjective form is similarly context-dependent, and the New Testament context often dictates a meaning similar to “forever” (but not always: e.g. 2 Tim 1:9).  Alternately or additionally, it can indicate the quality of a time period — indicating greatness/severity — like the English idiom “of ages” (e.g. “battle of the ages”). Thus, “of ages” was chosen for the adjective form so that both the time and quality senses remain visible.

Clean/unclean

Covenant

Faith

Flesh

Forgive/forgiveness

Grace
The Greek word is “χάρις” (charis), most often translated “grace”, “gift”, or “thanks”. It was a technical term in the 1st century, referring to the Patronage system in place. The Patron (from “pater” = “father”) would give gifts or do favors (both called a charis). A charis was always given/done freely to anyone who would be grateful for it, and this person then became a “client” of the patron. The clients were expected to reciprocate by telling everyone what the patron had done, and offering their services to the patron whenever the patron needed them. This reciprocal act was also called “charis”, and the ones who reciprocated were “being faithful” by giving thanks in this way. Both were done out of gratitude, not legal obligation. A client who wasn’t faithful and grateful probably wouldn’t receive any more charis from his patron, or any other patrons. The patron was responsible for taking care of all his clients, and making sure their needs were met. New Testament usage typically casts God the Father as a Heavenly Patron, to whom Christians should be grateful and faithful because of the gifts He has given us. (e.g. salvation, provision, protection, etc.)

Holy

Justification

Law (Torah)

Make purification

Pure/Impure

Purification offering
In the Old Testament, this is typically the Hebrew “חַטָּ֖את” (khat-tat); in the New Testament, it’s typically “περὶ ἁμαρτίας” (peri hamartias), which is what the Septuagint (an ancient translation of the Old Testament into Greek) used to translate the Hebrew. It’s traditionally translated “sin offering”, but that translation has less support in high-level scholarship. The Hebrew word can mean “sin”, but it can also mean “purification” (e.g. Numbers 8:7). This offering was used to purify uncleanness, whether or not a sin was committed. Thus, it was required even when no sin was committed, such as after childbirth (Leviticus 12:1-8), for certain diseases (Leviticus 14), etc. High-level, peer-reviewed scholarship dedicated to the field (e.g. Milgrom, Levine, Gane, Sklar, Wright, Gorman, etc.) is largely united on the “purification offering” understanding. The BOS Bible has aligned itself with that high-level, peer-reviewed scholarship in its translation.

Ransom

Redemption

Repent/repentance

Righteous/righteousness

Salvation/save

Soul
“soul” is the Greek word “ψυχή/psuché” and Hebrew word “נֶפֶשׁ/nephesh”. The BOS Bible translates these words as “soul” for consistency, and so the full meaning of “soul” isn’t obscured by different translations in different places. They closely overlap in meaning and are typically translated “soul” or “life”. They refer to the animating force of a living thing, and thus can also refer to its life, or to the whole of any person or creature, including animals (e.g. fish in Revelation 8:9 and Genesis 1). They are frequently used as an emphatic reference to a person’s whole self, including longings, deep emotions, and inner life. (e.g. Ps 42:11) Note: while “soul” has significant overlap in meaning with “spirit”, the words have distinct meanings and usages throughout scripture. For example, lions tear apart a soul in Psalm 7:2, and a “dead soul” is mentioned in Leviticus 21:11; “spirit” has no analogous usages, and it returns to God at death (Ecc 12:7; Acts 7:59). The adjective forms of soul and spirit are contrasted in 1 Corinthians 2:14-15; see also: Hebrews 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

Sin

Click to Collapse the Glossary
God’s Wisdom (Continued)

(Parallel teachings: Ephesians 3:3-9; Colossians 1:25-27; Romans 16:25-26)
(Thematic parallels: Matthew 11:25-27; John 16:12-15; Judges 7:1-22)

  • 1 And having come to you,fnquotation/allusion to Acts 18:1 (his stay ends in Acts 18:18) brothers, I didn’t come with excellent speech or wisdom; I came proclaiming the [testimony]fn“testimony” many early manuscripts have “now-revealed mystery” here instead; see footnote on “now-revealed mystery” in verse 7. of God to you.
  • 2 For I decided not to *know anything among you except Jesus the Anointed, and Him *crucified.
  • 3 And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
  • 4 And my word and my preaching weren’t in persuasive [words of human] wisdom, but in a demonstrationfn“demonstration” the Greek word here means to demonstrate something as proof of something else. of the Spirit and of power,
  • 5 so that your faith wouldn’t be in men’s wisdom, but in God’s power.
  • 6 Now, we do speak wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, the ones being nullified.fn“being nullified” the Greek word here refers to rendering something completely inactive or inert, so it’s without force, ability or power; to do away with something completely.
  • 7 But we speak God’s wisdom in a now-revealed mysteryfn“now-revealed mystery” is one word in Greek. It originally referred to secret knowledge reserved for initiates of the ancient mystery religions; i.e. “members only” knowledge that was revealed to insiders, but concealed from everyone outside. Paul uses it for secrets that God kept hidden until the work of Jesus, after which they were revealed in the good news (aka, the gospel). which was *hidden, which God appointed beforehand, before the ages, for our glory,
  • 8 which none of the rulers of this age has understood.  For if they had understood it, they wouldn’t have crucified the Lord of glory.fnquotation/allusion to Psalm 24:7-10 (also quoted/alluded to by Jas 2:1)
  • 9 But just as it’s *written:
    • “which the eye didn’t see, and the ear didn’t hear,
    • and it didn’t enterfnliterally “didn’t spring up” or “didn’t arise” into the heart of man
    • how many things God prepared for the men ^loving Him.”fnquotation/allusion to Isaiah 64:4
  • 10 For God revealed them to us through the Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
  • 11 For who among men *knows the depths of the man, except the man’s spirit within him?   And likewise, no man *knows the depths of God, except the Spirit of God.
  • 12 But we didn’t receive the spirit of the world, but the Spirit from God, so that we might *know the things which were freely given to us by God,
  • 13 things of which we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, we’re interpretingfn“interpreting” This Greek word has the root meaning of “judging together”, with the idea of putting two things together and comparing them, which leads to a proper understanding of what’s being compared.  Thus it can be translated as combine, compare, or interpret depending on the context. spiritual things with spiritual wisdom.
  • 14 But the man driven by base instinctfn“man driven by base instinct” is one word in Greek, which could also be translated “man influenced by base instinct”. It literally means “soulish”, and is the adjective form of the Greek word for “soul”. It’s also used in James 3:15 and Jude 1:19 to indicate what is natural for animals; i.e., the base instinct toward pleasure without wisdom and reason. doesn’t welcome the things of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to him and he isn’t able to understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
  • 15 But the spiritual man discerns all things, but he himself is discerned by no one.
  • 16 For who understood the Lord’s mind?  Who will instruct Him?fnquotation/allusion to Isaiah 40:13 (also quoted/alluded to by Rom 11:34) But we have the mind of the Anointed.

 

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