I guess it was inevitable that 1 Corinthians 2.9 would come up again on this forum. Several of us have spent quite a few pixels speculating about it and its many parallels, especially with regard to the matter of which writing is being quoted ("as it is written"). Roger Parvus (RParvus) has, both on this forum and elsewhere online in a somewhat more thoroughgoing fashion, suggested that Paul was quoting the Ascension of Isaiah. Robert J. (robert j) has suggested on this forum that Paul himself is the one who devised this composite of two or three verses from Isaiah, and that his "it is written" simply points to that prophet. I myself have conjecturally argued for Alan Garrow's thesis that the line Paul had in mind came from the lost ending of the Didache. Until recently, I had seen the idea that Paul is quoting either the gospel of Thomas or a saying which looks most like the Thomasine version only in other venues or in books, but now Martijn Linssen has brought that idea to the forum for us.
I get the impression sometimes, however, that opinions are formed without having considered the full scope of the available parallels, and the main goal of this thread is to lay as many of them as possible out for consideration.
Let us start with the texts mentioned above, just to get them on the table:
Paul
1 Corinthians 2.6-9: 6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature, a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age [οὐ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου οὐδὲ τῶν ἀρχόντων τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου], who are passing away, 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages [πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων] to our glory, 8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age [οὐδεὶς τῶν ἀρχόντων τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου] has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; 9 but, just as it is written, 9 “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not come into the heart of man, which things God has prepared for those who love him [ἃ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδεν καὶ οὗς οὐκ ἤκουσεν καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη, ἃ ἡτοίμασεν ὁ θεὸς τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν].”
Ascension of Isaiah
Ascension of Isaiah 11.34 (Latin & Slavonic): 34 He said to me, “It is enough for you, Isaiah. For you have seen that which no other son of flesh has seen, which neither eye has seen nor ear has heard, nor has ascended into the heart of man, as many things as God has prepared for all those who love him.” / 34 qui dixit mihi, «Sufficit tibi, Ysaia. vidisti enim quod nemo alius vidit carnis filius, quod nec oculus vidit nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit, quanta preparavit Deus omnibus diligentibus se.»
Thomas
Thomas 17[.1]: 1 Jesus said, “I will give you what eye has not seen, and what ear has not heard, and what hand has not touched, nor has it ascended to the heart of man.”
Didache
Pseudo-Boniface, Renunciation 5: 5 Believe in the advent of Christ, the resurrection of the body, and the judgment of all men. For then the impious shall be separated from the just, the one for the everlasting fire, the others for the eternal life. Then begins a life with God without death, a light without shadows, a health without sickness, a plenty without hunger, a happiness without fear, a joy with no misgivings. Then comes the eternal glory, in which the just shall shine like suns, for no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard, no heart has ever dreamed, of all that which God has prepared for those who love him. / 5 Venturum Christum credite, et carnis resurrectionem, et iudicium omnium hominum. ibi discernuntur impii in ignem aeternum, iusti autem in vitam aeternam. ibi est vita cum Deo sine morte, lux sine tenebris, salus sine aegritudine, satietas sine fame, felicitas sine timore, gaudium sine tristitia. ibi aeterna gloria, ibi fulgebunt iusti sicut sol, quoniam oculus non vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit quantum praeparavit Deus diligentibus se.
Codex Palatinus Latinus 485: Venturum Christum credite, et carnis resurrectionem, et iudicium omnium hominum. Ibi discernuntur impii a sorte iustorum et mittuntur in ignem aeternum, iusti autem in vitam aeternam. Ibi est vita cum Deo sine morte, ibi aeterna gloria sine fine, ibi fulgebunt iusti sicut sol, ibi omnia bona quae oculus non vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit quantum praeparavit Deus diligentibus se, quod ipse praestare dignetur qui in trinitate perfecta vivit et regnat Deus in saecula saeculorum. Amen. [Link.]
Apostolic Constitutions 7.32: 32 For in the last days false prophets shall be multiplied (= Matthew 24.11; Didache 16.3), and such as corrupt the word; and the sheep shall be changed into wolves (= Matthew 10.16; Didache 16.3), and love into hatred (= Didache 16.3), for through the abounding of iniquity the love of many shall wax cold (= Matthew 24.12). For men shall hate, and persecute, and betray one another (= Matthew 24.9-10; Didache 16.4). And then shall appear the deceiver of the world (= Didache 16.4), the enemy of the truth, the prince of lies (= 2 Thessalonians 2.3), whom the Lord Jesus shall destroy with the spirit of His mouth (= 2 Thessalonians 2.8; Isaiah 11.4), who takes away the wicked with His lips; and many shall be offended at Him. But they that endure to the end, the same shall be saved (= Matthew 24.13; Didache 16.5). And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven (= Matthew 24.30; Didache 16.6); and afterwards shall be the voice of a trumpet by the archangel (= Matthew 24.31; 1 Thessalonians 4.16; Didache 16.6); and in that interval shall be the revival of those that were asleep (= Didache 16.6); and then shall the Lord come, and all His saints with Him (= Didache 16.7; Zechariah 14.5), with a great concussion above the clouds (= Matthew 24.30; Didache 16.6), with the angels of His power (= Matthew 16.27), in the throne of His kingdom, to condemn the devil, the deceiver of the world, and to render to every one according to his deeds. Then shall the wicked go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous shall go into life eternal (= Matthew 25.46) to inherit those things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, which things God has prepared for those who love Him [κληρονομοῦντες ἐκεῖνα ἃ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδεν καὶ οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσεν καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη, ἃ ἡτοίμασεν ὁ Θεὸς τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν] (= 1 Corinthians 2.9) and they shall rejoice in the kingdom of God, which is in Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 2.6-9: 6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature, a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age [οὐ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου οὐδὲ τῶν ἀρχόντων τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου], who are passing away, 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages [πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων] to our glory, 8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age [οὐδεὶς τῶν ἀρχόντων τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου] has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; 9 but, just as it is written, 9 “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not come into the heart of man, which things God has prepared for those who love him [ἃ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδεν καὶ οὗς οὐκ ἤκουσεν καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη, ἃ ἡτοίμασεν ὁ θεὸς τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν].”
Ascension of Isaiah
Ascension of Isaiah 11.34 (Latin & Slavonic): 34 He said to me, “It is enough for you, Isaiah. For you have seen that which no other son of flesh has seen, which neither eye has seen nor ear has heard, nor has ascended into the heart of man, as many things as God has prepared for all those who love him.” / 34 qui dixit mihi, «Sufficit tibi, Ysaia. vidisti enim quod nemo alius vidit carnis filius, quod nec oculus vidit nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit, quanta preparavit Deus omnibus diligentibus se.»
Thomas
Thomas 17[.1]: 1 Jesus said, “I will give you what eye has not seen, and what ear has not heard, and what hand has not touched, nor has it ascended to the heart of man.”
Didache
Pseudo-Boniface, Renunciation 5: 5 Believe in the advent of Christ, the resurrection of the body, and the judgment of all men. For then the impious shall be separated from the just, the one for the everlasting fire, the others for the eternal life. Then begins a life with God without death, a light without shadows, a health without sickness, a plenty without hunger, a happiness without fear, a joy with no misgivings. Then comes the eternal glory, in which the just shall shine like suns, for no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard, no heart has ever dreamed, of all that which God has prepared for those who love him. / 5 Venturum Christum credite, et carnis resurrectionem, et iudicium omnium hominum. ibi discernuntur impii in ignem aeternum, iusti autem in vitam aeternam. ibi est vita cum Deo sine morte, lux sine tenebris, salus sine aegritudine, satietas sine fame, felicitas sine timore, gaudium sine tristitia. ibi aeterna gloria, ibi fulgebunt iusti sicut sol, quoniam oculus non vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit quantum praeparavit Deus diligentibus se.
Codex Palatinus Latinus 485: Venturum Christum credite, et carnis resurrectionem, et iudicium omnium hominum. Ibi discernuntur impii a sorte iustorum et mittuntur in ignem aeternum, iusti autem in vitam aeternam. Ibi est vita cum Deo sine morte, ibi aeterna gloria sine fine, ibi fulgebunt iusti sicut sol, ibi omnia bona quae oculus non vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit quantum praeparavit Deus diligentibus se, quod ipse praestare dignetur qui in trinitate perfecta vivit et regnat Deus in saecula saeculorum. Amen. [Link.]
Apostolic Constitutions 7.32: 32 For in the last days false prophets shall be multiplied (= Matthew 24.11; Didache 16.3), and such as corrupt the word; and the sheep shall be changed into wolves (= Matthew 10.16; Didache 16.3), and love into hatred (= Didache 16.3), for through the abounding of iniquity the love of many shall wax cold (= Matthew 24.12). For men shall hate, and persecute, and betray one another (= Matthew 24.9-10; Didache 16.4). And then shall appear the deceiver of the world (= Didache 16.4), the enemy of the truth, the prince of lies (= 2 Thessalonians 2.3), whom the Lord Jesus shall destroy with the spirit of His mouth (= 2 Thessalonians 2.8; Isaiah 11.4), who takes away the wicked with His lips; and many shall be offended at Him. But they that endure to the end, the same shall be saved (= Matthew 24.13; Didache 16.5). And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven (= Matthew 24.30; Didache 16.6); and afterwards shall be the voice of a trumpet by the archangel (= Matthew 24.31; 1 Thessalonians 4.16; Didache 16.6); and in that interval shall be the revival of those that were asleep (= Didache 16.6); and then shall the Lord come, and all His saints with Him (= Didache 16.7; Zechariah 14.5), with a great concussion above the clouds (= Matthew 24.30; Didache 16.6), with the angels of His power (= Matthew 16.27), in the throne of His kingdom, to condemn the devil, the deceiver of the world, and to render to every one according to his deeds. Then shall the wicked go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous shall go into life eternal (= Matthew 25.46) to inherit those things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, which things God has prepared for those who love Him [κληρονομοῦντες ἐκεῖνα ἃ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδεν καὶ οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσεν καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη, ἃ ἡτοίμασεν ὁ Θεὸς τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν] (= 1 Corinthians 2.9) and they shall rejoice in the kingdom of God, which is in Christ Jesus.
(Those last three I list, of course, as the main sources from which Garrow reconstructs the lost ending of the Didache. I will not be specifically arguing for his option here and now, and it is speculative regardless.)
So far so good. One thing that is universally acknowledged is that the version in 1 Corinthians 2.9, at least, is a conflation of two or three verses from Isaiah:
Isaiah 64.3 OG: 3 From the age [ἀπὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος] we have not heard, nor have our eyes seen [οὐκ ἠκούσαμεν, οὐδὲ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ ἡμῶν εἶδον] a God besides you, and your works which you will do [καὶ τὰ ἔργα σου ἃ ποιήσεις] for those who wait on you [τοῖς ὑπομένουσιν ἔλεον].
Isaiah 65.16-17 OG: 16 He shall be blessed on the earth, for they shall bless the true God, and those who swear upon the earth shall swear by the true God, for they shall forget the former affliction, and it shall not come into their heart [καὶ οὐκ ἀναβήσεται αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν]. 17 For there shall be a new heaven and a new earth, and they shall not at all remember the former things, neither shall they at all come up into their heart [οὐδ᾽ οὐ μὴ ἐπέλθῃ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν].
Isaiah 65.16-17 OG: 16 He shall be blessed on the earth, for they shall bless the true God, and those who swear upon the earth shall swear by the true God, for they shall forget the former affliction, and it shall not come into their heart [καὶ οὐκ ἀναβήσεται αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν]. 17 For there shall be a new heaven and a new earth, and they shall not at all remember the former things, neither shall they at all come up into their heart [οὐδ᾽ οὐ μὴ ἐπέλθῃ αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν].
The implicit context of that first Isaian quotation and the explicit context of that second Isaian quotation — the new heaven and new earth promised for a future time — form the background for many of the parallels I will be adducing; another common motif is that "what eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it arisen in the heart of man," is what is currently being kept in heaven, which either no human or only a privileged human like Isaiah is permitted to view. In truth, there is no real or necessary conflict between these two perspectives, since many Jews and many Christians alike (regardless of how you decide to draw the line between them) agreed in antiquity that the eschaton, the new heaven and new earth, was all about bringing what is in heaven down to earth, whether figuratively or literally. In other words, to glimpse something in heaven in the present is also to glimpse what the future holds for earth.
This heavenly perspective is at least part of the background for the version of this saying in the Ascension of Isaiah. Another notion lurking behind the Ascension of Isaiah is the ancient controversy over Moses versus Isaiah. Moses said that no one can see God and live (Exodus 33.20), whereas Isaiah claims to have seen God (and, by implication, lived to tell us about it; Isaiah 6.1).
The Thomasine version adds hands not touching, which some scholars have likened to the following:
1 John 1.1-4: 1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life — 2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us — 3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.
Muratorian Canon, lines 26b-31: 26b-31 What marvel, therefore, is it if John so constantly also in his epistles profers single points, saying about himself, “What we saw with our eyes and heard with our ears and our hands handled, these things we wrote to you” (= 1 John 1.1, 4)? / 26b-31 quid ergo mirum si Iohannes tam constanter singula etiam in epistulis suis proferat, dicens in semetipso, «Quae vidimus oculis nostris et auribus audivimus et manus nostrae palpaverunt, haec scripsimus vobis.»
Muratorian Canon, lines 26b-31: 26b-31 What marvel, therefore, is it if John so constantly also in his epistles profers single points, saying about himself, “What we saw with our eyes and heard with our ears and our hands handled, these things we wrote to you” (= 1 John 1.1, 4)? / 26b-31 quid ergo mirum si Iohannes tam constanter singula etiam in epistulis suis proferat, dicens in semetipso, «Quae vidimus oculis nostris et auribus audivimus et manus nostrae palpaverunt, haec scripsimus vobis.»
The context here is obviously one of eyewitness or earwitness testimony (to what, exactly, might remain an open matter). I am not sure how close this is to Thomas.
And, of course, the putative lost ending of the Didache, in Garrow's reconstruction, is definitely in keeping with the original context in Isaiah.
It is not always easy to figure out whether a parallel is truly a parallel or not. Do the following passages count?
Matthew 13.16-17: 16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
Luke 10.23-24: 23 Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see, 24 for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them.”
Luke 10.23-24: 23 Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see, 24 for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them.”
In this case, though, the idea is that the ancients could imagine what was to come, and they longed for it; they were just born into the wrong generation.
Pairing eyes with ears is hardly enough for a parallel; ancient literature of all kinds does this relentlessly. So indeed does modern literature.
But what about adding the mind or the heart of man to eyes and ears? Is that enough?
Plutarch, How the Young Person Should Study Poetry 17e: 17e And let these [words] of Empedocles be at hand: “Thus these things are not to be seen by men, nor heard, nor comprehended with the mind.” / 17e Καὶ τὰ Ἐμπεδοκλέους ἔστω πρόχειρα ταυτί· Οὕτως οὔτ' ἐπιδερκτὰ τάδ' ἀνδράσιν οὔτ' ἐπακουστὰ οὔτε νόῳ περιληπτά.
Empedocles, On Nature 2 (translation slightly formatted from that of William Ellery Leonard):
For narrow through their members scattered ways
Of knowing lie. And many a vile surprise
Blunts soul and keen desire. And having viewed
Their little share of life, with briefest fates,
Like smoke they are lifted up and flit away,
Believing only what each chances on,
Hither and thither driven; yet they boast
The larger vision of the whole and all.
But thuswise never shall these things be seen,
Never be heard by men, nor seized by mind;
And thou, since hither now withdrawn apart,
Shalt learn — no more than mortal ken may span.
[Underlined portion: οὕτως οὔτ' ἐπιδερκτὰ τάδ' ἀνδράσιν οὔδ' ἐπακουστὰ οὔτε νόῳ περιληπτά. Link.]
Empedocles, On Nature 2 (translation slightly formatted from that of William Ellery Leonard):
For narrow through their members scattered ways
Of knowing lie. And many a vile surprise
Blunts soul and keen desire. And having viewed
Their little share of life, with briefest fates,
Like smoke they are lifted up and flit away,
Believing only what each chances on,
Hither and thither driven; yet they boast
The larger vision of the whole and all.
But thuswise never shall these things be seen,
Never be heard by men, nor seized by mind;
And thou, since hither now withdrawn apart,
Shalt learn — no more than mortal ken may span.
[Underlined portion: οὕτως οὔτ' ἐπιδερκτὰ τάδ' ἀνδράσιν οὔδ' ἐπακουστὰ οὔτε νόῳ περιληπτά. Link.]
How much does it matter that only the senses are mentioned, but not the eyes or ears themselves? At any rate, the addition of human reasoning or imagination to seeing and hearing is something Empedocles does, just like that composite quotation of Isaiah.
Or consider:
Acts of Peter 7.21a: 21a .... But Peter said to them, “If there be in you the faith that is in Christ, if it be firm in you, then perceive in your mind that which you see not with your eyes, and though your ears are closed, yet let them be open in your mind within you.” ....
Clementine Recognitions 2.44b: 44b Then Peter, “You have answered rightly, O Clement; for as no one can see without eyes, nor hear without ears, nor smell without nostrils, nor taste without a tongue, nor handle anything without hands, so it is impossible, without the true Prophet, to know what is pleasing to God.” And I answered, “I have already learned from your instruction that this true prophet is the Christ, but I should wish to learn what the Christ means, or why He is so called, that a matter of so great importance may not be vague and uncertain to me.”
Clementine Recognitions 2.44b: 44b Then Peter, “You have answered rightly, O Clement; for as no one can see without eyes, nor hear without ears, nor smell without nostrils, nor taste without a tongue, nor handle anything without hands, so it is impossible, without the true Prophet, to know what is pleasing to God.” And I answered, “I have already learned from your instruction that this true prophet is the Christ, but I should wish to learn what the Christ means, or why He is so called, that a matter of so great importance may not be vague and uncertain to me.”
Both of these have been suggested as parallels in the literature, but I am not sure they are.