σοφία G4678
wisdom — skill, insight, or prudence; in Scripture, the divine attribute and its human reflection in right living
Sophia spans from practical craftsmanship in classical Greek to the supreme theological concept of divine wisdom. Across 51 New Testament occurrences, it appears as the wisdom of God vindicated by her deeds (Matt 11:19), the wisdom of Solomon (Matt 12:42), and the astonishing wisdom of Jesus that scandalized Nazareth (Matt 13:54; Mark 6:2). Paul radically reframes it: the cross is the wisdom of God, foolishness to the world but power to the called (1 Cor 1:24, 30). Spanish 'sabiduria,' French 'sagesse,' German 'Weisheit' all converge on this single concept.
Senses
1. of wisdom — Wisdom as a comprehensive quality embracing divine insight, practical discernment, and moral understanding. In the Synoptics, it denotes the extraordinary teaching authority of Jesus (Matt 13:54; Mark 6:2) and the proverbial wisdom of Solomon (Matt 12:42; Luke 11:31). In Paul, sophia undergoes a dramatic redefinition: the world's wisdom is folly before God, while Christ crucified becomes 'the wisdom of God' (1 Cor 1:21-24). In Luke 2:40, 52, the child Jesus grows in sophia as a mark of messianic development. The domain tagging as 'conflict' likely reflects passages where human and divine wisdom clash (1 Cor 1-3), but the word itself is fundamentally a cognitive-moral term. All 51 occurrences share this unified sense of insight rightly applied. 51×
AR["الحِكْمَةُ", "الحِكْمَةِ", "حِكمَةً", "حِكمَةَ", "حِكمَةُ", "حِكْمَةً", "حِكْمَةٌ", "حِكْمَةَ", "حِكْمَةُ", "حِكْمَةِ"]·ben["জ্ঞান", "জ্ঞানে", "জ্ঞানের,", "প্রজ্ঞা", "প্রজ্ঞা।", "প্রজ্ঞায়", "প্রজ্ঞার"]·DE["Weisheit"]·EN["of-wisdom", "wisdom"]·FR["sagesse"]·heb["חָכְמַת", "חָכְמָה", "חׇכְמָה"]·HI["बुदधि", "बुदधि-को", "बुद्धि"]·ID["hikmat", "itu"]·IT["sapienza"]·jav["kawicaksanan", "kawicaksanan,", "kawicaksanan."]·KO["지혜", "지혜-를", "지혜-와", "지혜가", "지혜를", "지혜의"]·PT["de-sabedoria,", "sabedoria"]·RU["-премудрости", "мудрости", "мудрость"]·ES["de-sabiduría", "sabiduría"]·SW["hekima", "hekima,", "hekima."]·TR["Tanrı'nın", "bilgelerin-", "bilgelik", "bilgelikte", "bilgeliğe", "bilgeliği", "bilgeliğin", "bilgeliğinde", "bilgeliğini", "dünyanın-", "o-"]·urd["-سے", "حکمت", "حکمت-کو", "حکمت-کی", "حکمت-کے", "دانش"]
Matt 11:19, Matt 12:42, Matt 13:54, Mark 6:2, Luke 2:40, Luke 2:52, Luke 7:35, Luke 11:31, Luke 11:49, Luke 21:15, Acts 6:10, Acts 7:10 (+38 more)
Related Senses
H4421 1. war, battle, armed conflict (319×)H0341 1. enemy, adversary, foe (284×)H3898a 1. Nifal: to fight, wage war (167×)H2026 1. kill, slay (active) (146×)H2451 1. wisdom, discernment (146×)H5483b 1. horse (the animal) (138×)H0006 1. to perish, be destroyed (105×)H7843 1. Hifil: destroy, annihilate (83×)H2491a 1. slain, fatally pierced (74×)H6862c 1. adversary, enemy, foe (69×)H8045 1. destroy, exterminate (69×)G0615 1. kill, put to death (60×)H6571b 1. horseman, cavalryman (52×)H8077a 1. desolation, waste (abstract state) (52×)G4717 1. crucify, fasten to a cross (46×)H2763a 1. utterly destroy (Hifil active) (44×)G0622 1. perish, be destroyed (intransitive) (41×)H0006 2. to destroy, annihilate (Piel) (38×)H8074 1. be desolate, lie waste (36×)G2190 1. enemy / hostile one (32×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
σοφία, Ionic dialect -ιη, ἡ, properly cleverness or skill in handicraft and art, as in carpentry, τέκτονος, ὅς ῥά τε πάσης εὖ εἰδῇ σ. Refs 8th c.BC+; of the Telchines, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἡ ἔντεχνος σ., of Hephaestus and Athena, Refs 5th c.BC+; of Daedalus and Palamedes, Refs 5th c.BC+; in music and singing, τέχνῃ καὶ σ. Refs 6th c.BC+; in medicine or surgery, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἡ περὶ Ὁμήρου σ. Refs…