How to read this page

An Intertextuality Pair — one connection between two passages, shown as linked verse cards: the Later text and the Earlier text it quotes, alludes to or echoes. The Significance essay explains why the link matters and where it points in Christ.

Reference Type— how explicit the link is: Quotation, Allusion, or Echo
Connection Method(s)— how it carries meaning: e.g. Typology, Promise-Fulfillment, Analogy, Longitudinal Theme
Found via— where the connection was identified, e.g. the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge or an Anchor-Text Network

Graph View — tap the constellation icon in the top bar to see this page's connections as a web of light: gold points are passages, and the coloured threads are the connection types. Click any type in the graph's own legend to filter it in or out, and use the expand control for the full-screen night sky.

New to a term? The Glossary explains every abbreviation and term on the site in plain words.

Intertextuality Pair

1 Corinthians 1:31 → Jeremiah 9:23-24

Quotation

Later text

1 Corinthians 1:31BSB

Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Earlier text

Jeremiah 9:23-24BSB

This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches. But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.

Walk the Square · a single-voice walk of this pair around the Clowney square9:31

Significance

Jeremiah 9:23-24 contrasts false grounds for boasting (wisdom, strength, wealth) with the only true ground - knowing Yahweh. Paul applies this directly to the Corinthian situation where believers boast in human leaders and philosophical wisdom. By citing Jeremiah, Paul shows that the Corinthians' factionalism repeats Israel's error of boasting in human achievements rather than in God alone. The christological focus intensifies Jeremiah's point: "the Lord" in whom we boast is specifically Christ Jesus, who embodies all true wisdom and righteousness. This quotation establishes that Christian identity is fundamentally about receiving everything from God in Christ, leaving no room for self-promotion or party spirit.

Found via: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Direct Quotation
Connection Method(s): Analogy

Hermeneutical Notes

NT Use Pattern: Proverbial — Let him who boasts boast in the Lord. Paul uses Jeremiah's prophetic wisdom-saying as a proverbial maxim governing Christian self-conception.

Linked Mentions 2

Trajectory Tables 1

Wisdom and Foolishness of the Cross Trajectory Table

Longitudinal Themes 1

Wisdom