Reading 1 Corinthians with philosophically educated women

Abstract

This dissertation engages the question "what is the substance of the philosophical teachings that women may have known in the Pauline communities of the Greek East, and how does this knowledge inform their understanding of 1 Corinthians?" The involvement of women in philosophy indicates that some women in the Corinthian church could have the philosophical background required to interact with selected teachings in 1 Corinthians which are already located in Greco-Roman philosophy: friendship and patronage, self-sufficiency and the agon motif, and teachings concerning marriage and family that Paul applies to worship regulations. These widely known teachings in popular philosophy are investigated from the perspective of two philosophically educated women, Sophia and Fortuna, who read Paul in light of their social location as wealthy widows and intellectual background.