Rediscovering the Wisdom of the Corinthians: Paul, Stoicism, and Spiritual Hierarchy. By Timothy A. Brookins

This thought-provoking book represents a revised and expanded version of Brookins’s doctoral dissertation, published in the Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series in 2014. Focusing on 1 Cor. 1–4, Brookins contends that the Corinthian σοφοί constituted a distinct group within the community, aligned with Paul as its founder in a broadly philosophical sense. He further argues that this group was influenced by Stoic philosophy, albeit within the framework of the apostle’s proclamation of the message of Christ crucified. Drawing on the model proposed by Max Lee, and examining the dynamics and potential compatibility between Stoic philosophy and Christ-faith, Brookins characterizes the Corinthian σοφοί as ‘sub-Stoic’. According to his sequential historical reconstruction of the situation in Corinth, these σοφοί regarded themselves as ‘higher-level’ Christ-believers, grounded in a Stoic conception of self-sufficiency. It is within this context that Paul, particularly in 1 Cor. 1–4, underscores the incongruity of the message of Christ crucified in order to address and correct this specific group.