The Greek adjective agenēs (Ἀγενής) is a compound of the privative a- (not/without) and genos (birth, race, descent), meaning "of no birth, lowly-born, base, ignoble." In classical Greek it referred to people without noble lineage or social standing. It appears in the New Testament only in 1 Corinthians 1:28, where Paul says God chose the base things of the world.
Paul's use of agenēs in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 is one of the most radical social statements in the New Testament. In a culture obsessed with lineage, nobility, and honor, Paul declares that God deliberately chooses what the world considers base, despised, and insignificant. The Greek categories of nobility — wise, influential, well-born — are inverted. The agenēs — the nobodies — become God's instruments "so that no one may boast before him" (v. 29). This is pure grace theology. It echoes Mary's Magnificat: "He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble" (Luke 1:52). God's election is a scandal to every human system of merit and prestige.