Where is the scribe?

[OsoWeakbutHeIsStrong]

I'm reading through Isaiah and I came to 34:18

"Thine heart shall meditate terror.  Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?"

Of course it made me think of 1 Corinthians 1:19-20
"For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
"Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?"

Is Paul using that language to point us back to this passage in Isaiah?  Is there a connection here or was this simply just a common question?

[Rowan M.]

It's possible that Paul is alluding to that verse in Isaiah (small correction though - it's 33:18 and not 34:18). Apart from the repetition of "Where is the scribe?", the structure of the two verses is remarkably similar, with their series of "Where is ..." questions. However, I don't think he's directly quoting it (apart from maybe that one part about the scribe). Admittedly, with the New Testament being written in Greek, citations from the Old Testament are really Greek translations of the Hebrew in which the OT was written. That's why the English translations can end up looking a little different when you compare the Old Testament originals with their quotations in the New Testament. (God knew what He was doing with that though.) Even taking that into account though, I think Paul is, at most, alluding to the Isaiah verse and not quoting it in full.

Verse 19 of 1 Corinthians 1 does appear to be clearly referencing a verse in Isaiah though:

Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. (Isaiah 29:14)

So it's not beyond the realms of possibility that Verse 20 might be hearkening back to Isaiah 33:18. In any case, the phrase "Where is the scribe?" only appears twice in the KJV. Based on that, I would say it wasn't a common question.

[OsoWeakbutHeIsStrong]

Oops!  Thank you for that correction and your answer.  OH, I see!  So that's why we see when they quote the OT in the NT, that it's not exactly quoted?  That makes sense.  (I'm thinking of the book of Hebrews when the author is quoting the Psalms.) Sometimes it's word for word and other times it looks like the author is paraphrasing.  Thanks again for your answer.

[creationliberty]

Paul is almost certainly referring back to that passage. He does it a lot in his epistles, but it takes a lot of study to get all those references down. I need help with it sometimes too.

[OsoWeakbutHeIsStrong]

That's what I was thinking (that he was referring back).  Very cool.  Thank you!