An Interpretation of "γλῶσσα" written in the 1 Corinthians ⑪

CHAPTER 4. CONCLUSION

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As described above, starting with the definition of “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα), we have examined why this study is necessary and how important it is in the interpretation of modern theology. We also contrasted and compared the Bible in the original language and many versions to understand the exact meaning, and based on the achievements already developed by the advanced leaders of faith, we tried to argue the apostle Paul's view of 1 Corinthians 14 “tongue (s).”

In the 20th century, the rise of the Pentecostal movement, emphasizing the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts, brought “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) to a large proportion in the modern church. Therefore, studying this is absolutely necessary for believers, and in fact, many theologians have studied it. However, in the interpretation of the “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) used in 1 Corinthians, most people misinterpreted that it was used only in one meaning. For that reason, there has been semantic confusion, and it has been difficult to explain in logic contextually.

Looking at the use of “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) used in the entire New Testament except for 1 Corinthians, we saw that it is used in the sense of “foreign languages” when it is used in plural even from Mark, Acts, and Revelation. The term “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) used in 1 Corinthians 14 are classified two meanings broadly and at least three meanings when categorized in detail. That is, in relation to the plural and singular forms of “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα), the plural methods are “foreign languages”, and the singular method is subdivided into a positive side “an utterance of ecstasy” and a negative side “repeated meaningless sound.”

As such, we have confirmed that the use of the singular in 1 Corinthians Chapter 14 is not explicitly used as a “foreign language”. The singular “an unknown tongue” was also a positive side “an utterance of ecstasy”, but there must have been a “repeated meaningless sound” in a negative side as well. It is presumed that the members of the Corinthian Church acted as if they had been given the best gift in disorderly abuse of these “tongue (s).”

It is true that in the interpretation of 1 Corinthians 14, all sorts of misunderstandings were prevalent because the “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) is not accurately distinguished from the plural and singular usages. In various circumstances, it is estimated that the apostle Paul spoke a considerable number of foreign languages. And this foreign language ability would have been an indispensable gift to his historical mission on the Mediterranean coast, which was the world at the time. Paul had no reason to think negatively about speaking a foreign language in general. In this way, the apostle Paul welcomed "general foreign language ability", "foreign language tongues as a gift", and "the language of the ecstatic angels." But with regard to “foreign language tongues as gifts”, he said it was a one-time miracle used to show unbelievers. Therefore, he taught that "foreign language tongues as gifts" should not be done by many people at any time in the church. On the other hand, the prophecy of preaching God's will was thought to be more beneficial for the church.

On the contrary, for the singular "an unknown tongue", Paul advised to be cautious and restrictive only if there was an interpreter, because he did not yet know exactly what it was. Since it has seemed to be chaotic, it would be okay if there was an interpreter, but it was recommended to be limited in order. However, Paul says in 14: 4 that “tongue” as a singular is also beneficial to “edify oneself,” and verse 28 also says, “Don't do it in the church when there is no interpreter, but do it to yourself and to God.” Therefore, we would interpret as following; Paul believed that if anyone believed that it was beneficial, it was a privacy, and it was not necessary to forbid it.

Thus, we have reviewed the use cases related to the “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) of the New Testament and analyzed “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) in 1 Corinthians 14. Through this study, we demonstrated that the apostle Paul clearly used the singular and plural of “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) in 1 Corinthians 14 in different ways. This was originally the hypothesis raised by "King James Version" (KJV) and No Uho. In this paper, this hypothesis is further strengthened by analyzing it by assigning it to the entire New Testament (including some Old Testament), especially 1 Corinthians 14. This opened the possibility for this hypothesis to develop into a theory in the future. In addition, through the analysis of 13: 1 and 14: 4, it was believed that Paul acknowledged not only the “foreign language as a gift” but also the “language of angels” and the positive “utterance of ecstasy.” A new attempt was also made by analyzing the definite articles and punctuation (semicolon) of the Greek original Bible in relation to 14: 2-3. Above all, in this paper, an in-depth analysis of "tongues" in Chapter 14:21 was conducted. Paul used "tongues" as "heteroglossolalia" where the listener hears the content in their own language when the other person speaks a foreign language. By interpreting this, we were able to make a logical interpretation of 1 Corinthians 21-25 and 39.

In this way, I have analyzed the “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) of 1 Corinthians from various angles, but rather than concluding a conclusion on this part, it is just a foundation for future research. And further study will be continued to study based on this. In particular, we concluded that Paul divided "an unknown tongue", which is similar to "the tongue(s) phenomenon of the modern church", into "utterance of the ecstasy" on the positive side and "repeated meaningless sound" on the negative side. Based on this report, I hope that more research will be conducted on what the “the tongue(s) phenomenon of the modern church” is like, and at the time, it is like the “an unknown tongue” of 1 Corinthians.

 

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[1] Lee Seongho, Seven Things a Church Officer Should Know (Seoul: Seum Books, 2017), 219.

[2] Robert G. Gromacki, “Modern Tongue Movement Research,” trans. Kim Hyo-sung (Seoul: Christian Documentary Mission, 1983), 7-8.

[3] Moon Hyosik, Theological Evaluation of Tongues, International Theology, Vol. 4 (2002.12) (International Theological Seminary School Press), 101.

[4] (1) Scholars who see indefinite sounds; 「Duranno Seowon's Pastoral and Theological Editorial Team」, Kim Dongchan, J. Oswald Sanders, Lee Sanghoon, Myungbok Bae, Bae Jongryul ② Scholars who look in foreign languages; Augustine, J. Calvin, Kwon Kihyun, Joseph H. Thayer, and R. G. Gromacki ③ Scholars who see two meanings as mixed; Tertullian, Abohott-Smith, and No Uho.

[5] Douglas Webster, Pentecostalism and Speaking with Tongues (Londo, England:Highway Press, 1964), 21.

[6] Gospel Sub, ed. Life Bible Dictionary (Seoul: Words of Life, 2011), 221.

[7] Stanley Mr. Brugess, medieval Examples of Charisatic Piety in the Roman Catholic Church, 5 Perspectives on the Pentecostalism, ed. Russel P. Spittler (Grand Rapids: MI: Baker Book House, 1976): 19-21.

[8] Ok Hanhum, The Holy Spirit and Dialects (Modern Church and Holy Spirit Movement: JeongUm Publishing, 1984), 137-38.

[9] No Uho, Commentary on 1,2 Corinthians (Sancheong: Ezra House, 2019), 90-94.

[10] Robert G. Gromacki, Modern Tongue Movement Study, trans. Kim Hyo-sung (Seoul: Christian Documentary Mission, 1983), 73.

[11] Pastoral and Theological Editorials, How to Preach 1 Corinthians (Seoul: Duran Noh Seowon), 182-183.

[12] Kim Dongchan, Who forbids dialects (Seoul: Bethany Press, 2016), 194-195.

[13] J. Oswald Sanders, Holy Spirit and His Gifts, trans. Kwon Hyukbong (Seoul: Jordan Press, 1990), 193.

[14] Lee Sanghoon, Tongues in the New Testament, Christian Thought 69.6 (Christian Society of Korea), 71-77.

[15] Kim Dongchan, Knowing Tongues Right (Seoul: Bethany Publishing, 2015), 149.

[16] Yoo Myungbok, Tongues from a Linguistic Perspective, Christian Education Information, Vol. 33 (Seoul: Korean Christian Education Information Society, 2012), 235.

[17] Bae Jongyeol, “The Holy One” appeared in 1 Corinthians 12-14, 18th Collection (2018.09), Gaesin Graduate University Press, 54-82.

[18] John Calvin, The New Testament Commentary Volume 8 (Seoul: Bible Textbook, 1980), 388.

[19] Kwon Ki-hyun, Are dialects an celestial language not used on the earth?, World of Truth and Academic Studies, Vol. 23 (Gyeongsan: Dal Gubeul Christian Research Society, 2011), 166-175.

[20] Joseph H. Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Edinbugh: T.&T. Clark, 1954), p.118

[21] Robert G. Gromacki, Modern Tongue Movement Study, 86-87.

[22] No uho, let's verify the dialect (Sancheong: Ezra House, 2014), 76.

[23] G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (Edinbugh : T.&T. Clark, 1954), p.93.

[24] No Uho, let's verify the dialect, 124.

[25] However, one thing to note here is that the Corinthian society was an international trade port at the time, and as many foreigners came in and out, all kinds of foreign languages were mixed together, and it was a kind of complicatedly mixed foreign language, but there must have been words that sounded like “an unknown tongue”. An analysis of this is also necessary, but it is difficult to see this as a “foreign language as a gift”, so we will classify it by including it in “an unknown tongue”

[26] Anthony C. Thistleton, 1 Corinthians, trans. Kwon Yeon kyung (Seoul: SFC Publishing Division, 2019), 24-27.

^[27] Kim Seyoon, The Corinthians 1st Lecture (Seoul: Duranno Academy, 2008), 336–337.

[28] John Bright, Israel History, trans. Park Moonjae (Paju: Christian Publishing Distributor, 2016), 573-577.

[29] Han Won-Kim, Original Bible, One Word: The Name of God 「Magazine Re」 (Yeosu: Gratia, 2017), 83.

^[30] Kim Seyoon, A Corinthians 1st Lecture, 21–24.

^[31] Cruise Colin, 2 Corinthians, trans. Wang Inseong (Seoul: Christian Documentary Mission, 2013), 39–40.

[32] No Uho, 「An Commentary on 1,2 Corinthians」, 273-341.

[33] Kim Dongchan, Knowing the Dialects Immediately, 150-152.

[34] Thomas R. Schreiner, New Testament Theology, trans. Lim Beomjin (Seoul: Revival and Reform History, 2017), 678-9.

[35] Charles R. Smith, Tongues in Biblical Persprctive (Winona Lake, Indiana : BMH Books, 1976), 39.

[36] No Uho, Let's Verify the Dialects, 173.

[37] Kim Dongchan, Who Forbids Dialects, 210-223.

[38] William D. Mounce, Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, Translated by Myungwoon Jo (Seoul: Blessed Person, 2017), 458-469.

^[39] Kim Seyoon, A Corinthians 1st Lecture, 326–327.

^[40] Seyoon Kim, A Corinthians 1st Lecture , 329.

[41] Kim Dongchan, Knowing the Dialects Right, 248.

[42] Kim Dongchan, Knowing the Dialects Right, 161-162

[43] Kim Dongchan, Who Forbids Dialects, 201.

[44] Here, it is unique that NA28 does not use a definite article for θεῷ. It may imply that God is god, not God (In the case of ‘God’, as in verse 18, it is written as τῷ θεῷ). However, since verses 27 and 28 refer to “tongue” (γλῶσσα) as a singular and are used as τῷ θεῷ, it seems difficult to claim that the usage in verse 14: 2 is god rather than God.

[45] It is noteworthy that πνεύματι is not πνεύματι ἁγίῳ (The Holy Spirit), but πνεύματι (spirit). However, since it is written only in πνεύμα in the verses that clearly indicate the Holy Spirit as in Mark 1:10, it cannot be distinguished whether it is πνεύματι ἁγίῳ (The Holy Spirit) or simply πνεύματι (spirit).

[46] No Uho, Let's Verify the Dialects, 118.

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