Talk:1 Cor 13:1-5

From Feast upon the Word (http://feastupontheword.org). Copyright, Feast upon the Word.

Tongues of men and of angels

Speaking with the tongues of men and of angels seem to be made parallel with having the gift of prophecy (v2), understanding all mysteries (v2), bestowing all my goods to feed the poor (v3). Paul seems to be playing off the idea that whatever it means to speak with the tongues of men and of angels is something which is taken as an outward sign of personal virtue. It seems the only real candidate for what Paul is talking about is glossalia. 1 Cor 12:10 where "diverse kinds of tongues" is specifically mentioned (and mentioned in contrast to the interpretation of tongues). But it is interesting then that this isn't what Nephi seems to mean in 2 Ne 31:13 (and see related commentary). Clearly Nephi seems to be drawing on a different tradition. Maybe this isn't surprising once we think about the fact that Nephi wrote long before Paul. Further, maybe glossalia's impotance as a spiritual gift seems to be somewhat unique to the new testament (and maybe also the early church?) --Matthew Faulconer 10:46, 8 August 2007 (CEST)