BIBLE-WORLD

Biblical Linguistics – 5. The Sumerian Origins and Civilizations

We study the history of the nation of Israel in order to study the Bible, and we cannot ignore Israel's pre-history beginning with Abraham and Isaac. In fact, the appearance of the Hebrews took place long after human civilization began. It may be difficult to realize, but the time interval from the beginning of civilization in the Near East to the beginning of Israel is farther than the time interval from Abraham to our time. Israel's pre-history is still a presumption, not a sure theory. Therefore, we want to define through biblical reasoning based on the Bible.

We are not archaeologically and biologically trying to trace prehistoric history. It is beyond the scope of this paper. Developing discussions in the Biblical archaeological scope will fit the subject. However, the chronology of biblical archeology itself is already controversial. For example, the controversy over whether the seven days of Genesis is actually seven days or a certain period is symbolically described as one day. Judging from geological data, Noah's Flood would be between 4,000 and 3,000 years B.C. The question then becomes how to get the period from Adam to Noah. Therefore, we will begin the discussion based on Noah's Flood.

The Sumerian civilization is at the heart of Israel's history. They founded civilization in the lower part of Mesopotamia, and they are one of the mysteries of human history that led to brilliant civilization. The advanced civilization has continued to lead the absurd claim that the Sumerians are aliens. It is only possible to guess what race they came from and where they came from. In the inscriptions excavated in the ruins, they are described as "a short-beard, short, flat-headed people." It can be inferred that it looks similar to the Asian.

Also, the language used is agglutinative language, which can be found only in Korean and Japanese, including the Altai. In the meantime, in Western linguistics, the Sumerian deadlock was considered a language unparalleled. On the other hand, the origin of Korean and Japanese was not known in the East because there were no languages ​​worldwide that used agglutinative languages ​​such as Korean and Japanese. However, it has been argued that the Sumerian wedge character is deciphered, and that the Sumerian is an ancient Korean family and that the Sumerian is related to the Korean language.

In Mesopotamia there were not only Sumerians, but also Semitic inhabitants called Akkadians. These were semi-nomads who had lived in the northwest of Sumer from an early age. They used Semitic (Akkadian) languages ​​that were completely different from Sumerian, but used wedge syllables to describe the language. It was impossible to distinguish between Sumerian and Semitic elements in Mesopotamia religion because these two races were mixed around B.C.3,000. Subsequent thesis examines the origins of the Sumerians, the Sumerians who have been racially and linguistically followed.

[1] Also called an affixing language. It has an intermediate characteristic between isolated words and inflected words, and the affix is combined with the root to indicate the function of each word in the sentence. Also, unlike in the case of inflected words, there is no change in language in the stem.

[2] John Bright, "Israel History", Translated by Moon Jae Park (Paju: Christian Digest, 2016), 41.

This post (posting) is a personally copyrighted article (including photos) from the Multilingual Bible Institute. Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, and processing are not allowed, but can be used when specifying the source and URL of the material. This institute is an organization that supports the multilingual Reading the Bible movement for missionary activities and the Bible translation work of unreached minorities. In addition to the Bible Hebrew and Bible Greek classes for reading the Bible, the lectures of classical Latin are available (online and offline available). We also offer English courses through the BIBLE ENGLISH system, which is aimed at children and adults. This post (posting) is translated into four languages: English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, and is serviced all over the world, actively supporting the mission of Christian missionaries.

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Bible Linguistics – 4. A language that flows through human history like a drama

Why did God allow human language? It was to praise God the Creator in one voice. God wiped out the fallen mankind by the flood, and then prospered again through Noah's descendants. However, people fell into pride and tried to challenge God by building a tower of Babel. The Tower of Babel might have been intended to create a high place and evacuate safely again in the event of a flood. Until this tower of Babel was built, mankind was speaking only one language. God confuses language to condemn this human pride. This congestion would have been achieved by different pronunciations and word order for each language. This event contrasts with the incident of the Pentecostal Holy Spirit in Acts 2 in the New Testament. This case is the New Testament version of the gracious reversal of the Old Testament version of the Tower of Babel. In the Pentecostal event, the disciples began speaking in more than 15 different languages. Here, the unification of the divided language in Babel took place. In Babel, humans used language to enhance their honor, but in Mark's attic, the “new” language was used to announce “God's great work”. In Babel, God scattered people by judgment, but in Jerusalem, God scattered people and used them to preach the gospel worldwide.

The Hellenistic period, the middle and old history of the Old and New Testaments, provides a very important clue regarding biblical linguistics. The Hellenistic era is linguistically linking the Tower of Babel and the Pentecostal events. Galatians 4:4 says, "When the time came, God sent his son." Here, "time" is the Greek word "Kronos," meaning a certain period. This "Kronos" is a concept that contrasts with "Kyros," which means "opportunity." Therefore, literally "When the time came" can be translated as "the fullness of time came." The last warning of the Old Testament Malachi says, "Remember the covenant of Sinai (Mal. 4:4)." God is silent for a long period of 400 years after Malachi. This Hellenistic era, commonly referred to as silence, is understood as the period God prepared Jesus Christ. God indeed sent the Messiah over the history of this period. Through this biblical evidence (Isaiah 7:14, etc.) and the development of history (the Greek and Roman periods), God makes the Greek language the world language and uses the Roman Empire to preach Jesus Christ to all nations.

Through this biblical story, we can see that God is using language to proclaim God's righteousness. I've been interested in languages, so I've studied many languages, and I continue to learn languages. It may seem that my current language ability is my own effort, but when I read the story of the Bible, the language ability is entirely a gift from God. It is a gift that is used to reveal the glory of God. This gift may come as a miracle in the absence of human effort, such as the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. When analyzing Corinthians, it is presumed that Paul spoke dozens of languages. It seems that he also received the gift of dialect as a foreign language.

This post (posting) is a personally copyrighted article (including photos) from the Multilingual Bible Institute. Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, and processing are not allowed, but can be used when specifying the source and URL of the material. This institute is an organization that supports the multilingual Reading the Bible movement for missionary activities and the Bible translation work of unreached minorities. In addition to the Bible Hebrew and Bible Greek classes for reading the Bible, the lectures of classical Latin are available (online and offline available). We also offer English courses through the BIBLE ENGLISH system, which is aimed at children and adults. This post (posting) is translated into four languages: English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, and is serviced all over the world, actively supporting the mission of Christian missionaries.

Inquiries about partnerships such as missionary activities: usedslr@gmail.com, YouTube: Multilingual Bible Research Institute

Bible Linguistics – 3. The language of the world was originally one

In order to proceed with the series on the subject of biblical linguistics, we need to first organize the etymology. In Greek,'etym' means'true' and its origin is derived from the meaning of'God's original intention.' Etimology is a study that reveals the original meaning and history of words. When searching for origins in English, French, or German, the concept of “Proto-Indo-European” comes out. It is unclear when and where people speaking this language lived. There is a theory that it is towards the Caucasus Mountains, and it is said that he lived in Turkey. However, from a biblical point of view, it seems correct to see them living in Turkey and gradually moving to regions such as Mesopotamia. The philology, the study of the process of language change, is called linguistics and literature. For example, looking for the origin of'Father' results in Latin'Pater', Greek'Pater', and original Proto-Indo-European'Pəter'. It was Jacob Grimm (1785-1863) who academically systematized this, and this law is called Grimm's Law. William Jones (1746-1794) found that the Western European language was similar to the ancient Sanskrit language of India. He spoke dozens of languages ​​as a genius of language and was the first scholar to establish the concept of the Porto language by studying Sanskrit in earnest.

However, there is a point to be noted regarding'Proto-Indo-European'. Since scholars who developed and succeeded in linguistics were all Western scholars, they would only realize the connection between Sanskrit and European languages. However, much of the Sanskrit language remains in Korean (especially the southern dialect). This fact also provides important clues regarding the controversy over whether the people who invented the Chinese characters were ancient Chinese or ancient Korean. This is because Chinese and Korean are somewhat different in how they read Chinese characters, and some pronunciations are completely different, but the way Koreans read is the original Chinese pronunciation. Since research on this part is ongoing, it will be treated as a separate item. It is interesting to note that many Chinese characters reflect the Genesis narrative as it relates to the invention of Chinese characters. For example, the characters such as 船,造,禁 are related to 'Genesis'. There are numerous examples of these letters. It is evidence that the ancient Korean people who made Chinese characters were people who served God. It is interesting to note that Sanskrit is the root of the Indo-European and also the roots of Korean, Japanese, and Chinese characters. Therefore, it is possible that the language that Europeans call “Proto-Indo-European” was the first human language since the Flood.

This post (posting) is a personally copyrighted article (including photos) from the Multilingual Bible Institute. Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, and processing are not allowed, but can be used when specifying the source and URL of the material. This institute is an organization that supports the multilingual Reading the Bible movement for missionary activities and the Bible translation work of unreached minorities. In addition to the Bible Hebrew and Bible Greek classes for reading the Bible, the lectures of classical Latin are available (online and offline available). We also offer English courses through the BIBLE ENGLISH system, which is aimed at children and adults. This post (posting) is translated into four languages: English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, and is serviced all over the world, actively supporting the mission of Christian missionaries.

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Bible Linguistics – 2. The Tower of Babel

According to Genesis 11, humanity was originally unified in one language, but since the Tower of Babel, the language has become congested and scattered everywhere. Biblical genealogy, starting with Belek, Noah's eldest son Shem, and Joktan, his younger brother, divided their families and languages ​​(Genesis 10). This is probably the time when the tribe has changed since the Tower of Babel. Subsequently, as they spread all over the world, they developed into groups and languages. The Bible reveals twice that the world has been divided from Belek (meaning'Sharing') and Yoktan.
The Bible specifically lists the genealogy of Jokdan (meaning “He will be small”) twice with 1 Chronicles. Belek and Joktan descended from Shem, the brothers of Ham and Japheth. Apart from Peleg, where the world is divided, the fact that the genealogy of Joktan was mentioned twice appears to suggest that Joktan's genealogy will play an important role in the future. From this time on, the Bible explains that the tribe and language have been divided. It is said that the descendants of Joktan were the mountain east of the road from Mesa to Sval. Archeology thinks this is the Pamir Plateau, the Cheonsan Mountains, and the Altai Mountains, but this is a problem that needs to be studied further etymologically.
In this regard, we should pay attention to the Sumerian culture, and the Sumerian civilization is an ancient civilization that flourished around Mesopotamia. It will be covered later in this chapter to reveal where the Sumerians come from. We see the origin of human culture as Mesopotamia and start the discussion. Looking at the archaeological achievements of the region, from B.C 5,000 to 3,000, the region has a mixture of Stone Age and Bronze Age. Amazing culture was already in bloom at this time. With the development of irrigation agriculture and commerce, the prosperity of urban states, etc., the invention of characters was made, and what we are interested in is the existence of primitive characters at this time.
During the time of Belek and Joktan, the peoples scattered all over the world continued to speak different languages. On the other hand, each language evolved into each character, and the Sumerian (cuneiform, wedge), known as the first character, influenced the Semitic (Phoenician, Hebrew) characters and the Indo-European (Sanskrit, Tamil) characters. It seems to have affected. From this Sanskrit script, it has been developed into Greek/Roman, French/German, and English. This part belongs to etymology, which we will focus on in other parts. A recent study revealed that these languages ​​are roots of Korean and Japanese roots through the analysis of Sanskrit and Tamil. Since Sanskrit also forms the root of the Indo-European family, Sanskrit also serves as a common denominator for East and West languages, as it also serves as the basis for Chinese characters related to Korean. It is expected that the Sanskrit etymology study will prove that the language before the Tower of Babel was originally the same language.

This post (posting) is a personally copyrighted article (including photos) from the Multilingual Bible Institute. Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, and processing are not allowed, but can be used when specifying the source and URL of the material. This institute is an organization that supports the multilingual Reading the Bible movement for missionary activities and the Bible translation work of unreached minorities. In addition to the Bible Hebrew and Bible Greek classes for reading the Bible, the lectures of classical Latin are available (online and offline available). We also offer English courses through the BIBLE ENGLISH system, which is aimed at children and adults. This post (posting) is translated into four languages: English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, and is serviced all over the world, actively supporting the mission of Christian missionaries.

Inquiries about partnerships such as missionary activities: usedslr@gmail.com, YouTube: Multilingual Bible Research Institute

Bible Linguistics - 1. Concepts and Definitions

The Bible teaches that God is completely separate from us, but we can speak about Him in common language. The reason God gave us language is because we want to speak to God Himself through language rather than talking about the world and communicating with each other, but through the Bible. The Bible's language about God has a clear meaning.

Biblical linguistics can be said to study the etymology on the basis of the Bible to reveal the history of the nation and language to uncover the truth of the past. In addition, multi-lingual acquisition will be obtained. I am Korean. There are many languages ​​I can speak. For example, English, Modern Chinese, Old Chinese, Japanese, Old Korean, Biblical Greek, Biblical Hebrew, Punishment And Classical Latin. Currently studying Aramaic, Sanskrit and Sumerian. In the future, it is aimed to expand these languages ​​to the surrounding languages ​​to explore the biblical etymology to reveal the origin and branch of the nation and language.

The Bible is not a book about the etymology itself, but indirectly tells us how people and languages ​​are divided. This is based on the premise that the Bible is an error-free truth. So far, it should be called biblical etymology, but the name of biblical linguistics is because this biblical linguistics presents a methodology to facilitate the acquisition of modern languages. For example, English is not a semantic character like Chinese characters, so it is difficult to learn without knowing the etimology. The difference in pronunciation for each word is different from that of Latin and German. Although the use of cataclysm and verbs is simpler than that of Greek and Latin, English is a very demanding language, compared to Greek and Latin. However, if you memorize the Sanskrit, Latin, and Greek words that are the roots of about 1,000 words each, the English words are mostly covered etymologically. Readers who want to reach advanced levels of English are encouraged to read the Bible language (lecture).

This post (posting) is a personally copyrighted article (including photos) from the Multilingual Bible Institute. Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, and processing are not allowed, but can be used when specifying the source and URL of the material. This institute is an organization that supports the multilingual Reading the Bible movement for missionary activities and the Bible translation work of unreached minorities. In addition to the Bible Hebrew and Bible Greek classes for reading the Bible, the lectures of classical Latin are available (online and offline available). We also offer English courses through the BIBLE ENGLISH system, which is aimed at children and adults. This post (posting) is translated into four languages: English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, and is serviced all over the world, actively supporting the mission of Christian missionaries.

Inquiries about partnerships such as missionary activities: usedslr@gmail.com, YouTube: Multilingual Bible Research Institute

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.

This post (posting) is a personally copyrighted article (including photos) from the Multilingual Bible Institute. Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, and processing are not allowed, but can be used when specifying the source and URL of the material. This institute is an organization that supports the multilingual Reading the Bible movement for missionary activities and the Bible translation work of unreached minorities. In addition to the Bible Hebrew and Bible Greek classes for reading the Bible, the lectures of classical Latin are available (online and offline available). We also offer English courses through the BIBLE ENGLISH system, which is aimed at children and adults. This post (posting) is translated into four languages: English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, and is serviced all over the world, actively supporting the mission of Christian missionaries.

Inquiries about partnerships such as missionary activities: usedslr@gmail.com, YouTube: Multilingual Bible Research Institute

Ⅲ. Interpretation of 1 Corinthians 14

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So far, we have analyzed Corinthian situation at the time of Paul to interpret the “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) in 1 Corinthians 14. We also looked at the use of “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) in other New Testament books except 1 Corinthians 14. When “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) is used in plural, it was confirmed that it means “foreign languages ​​as gifts” with almost no exception. Here, I would like to make a correct interpretation of “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) in 1 Corinthians 14 on this basis. By doing so, we will analyze whether the “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) of the modern church has a biblical basis or not. To do this, we first interpret “foreign language tongues as gifts” in plural with little controversy, and then analyze tongue as “an unknown tongue” used as a singular in a number of controversies.

In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul described “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα), alternating between tongues as “foreign language tongues as gifts” and “unknown sound”. This has caused a lot of confusion for future generations to interpret this. In particular, when we translate this into Korean, we are particularly confused because plural or singular forms are translated into singular in Korean. Paul or Luke, Mark and John, who used “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα), wrote the Bible clearly with distinction between singular and plural forms. It is our job to interpret this. Paul recommends not speaking in the church without an interpreter, whether it is "foreign language tongues as a gift" or "unknown sound.” However, Paul said that they should not forbid speaking in a foreign language as a gift (verse 39). This is because, as mentioned earlier, foreign language tongues as gifts can be used as a miracle for unbelievers as they are used (verse 22).

Paul wants all members of the Corinthian church to speak “foreign language tongues as gifts.” However, it is emphasized that prophecy is superior to this, unless someone interprets these foreign language tongues as gifts to bring virtue to the church (14: 5). Here, prophecy does not mean “to predict the future as superstition” (預言), but “to convey the will of God.” (代言) Also, “προφητεία” (prophesing), which means prophecy, also means “prophesed text,” so it is natural in context to translate it as “the word of God.” Then Paul himself asks, “What is the benefit of not speaking revelation, knowledge, prophecy, or teaching (v. 6)” by saying “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα)? Paul encouraged the Corinthians to prophesy in the church because prophecy is more beneficial than “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα).

On the other hand, when analyzing the interpretation of “tongue” (γλῶσσα) as a singular noun in 14: 2 at the center of controversy, “For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. ” (1 Corinthians 14: 2, NIV)”(Ὁ γὰρ λαλῶν γλώσσῃ οὐκ ἀνθρώποις λαλεῖ ἀλλὰ θεῷ · οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἀκούει, πνεύματι δὲ λαλεῖ μυστήρια ·) (NA 28), if you look at “θεῷ ·” here, you can see that a semicolon (Greek ‘·’, English ‘;’) is attached.[43] The role of the semicolon is to supplement the preceding sentence. Therefore, in consideration of this, if we translate it again, “He who speaks a tongue (an unknown tongue) does not do it to anyone but to God.[44] ; It is said to tell the secret in spirit[45](δὲ), but no one understands it. ” In addition, verse 2 has a semicolon (;) appended to the last letter "μυστήρια ·". Therefore, the sentence is not yet finished. Since Greek does not have a colon (:) in English and only a semicolon (;), it should be considered that the semicolon (;) can play both roles of a colon (:) and a semicolon (;) in Greek. The period of the sentence is at the end of verse 3. “Ὁ δὲ προφητεύων ἀνθρώποις λαλεῖ οἰκοδομὴν καὶ παράκλησιν καὶ παραμυθίαν”(NA 28). Therefore, when verses 2 and 3 are combined and translated, “he who speaks tongues does not speak to man, but to God; It is said to tell the secret in spirit (δὲ), and no one understands it : On the other hand, those who prophesy speak to people, and it is to edify, exhort, and comfort.” Verses 2 and 3 are mutually contrasting expressions. “What you do to God” and “what you do to people” becomes a contrast, There is a contrast between the phrase “I tell you the secret in the spirit, but no one understands it” and the phrase “Educate, encourage, and comfort”.

The next verse 4 is a phrase that clearly reveals how Paul sees the “tongue” (an unknown tongue) as a singular. “Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church” (1 Corinthians 14: 4, NIV). The Greek manuscripts of this verse are as follows; “Ὁ λαλῶν γλώσσῃ ἑαυτὸν οἰκοδομεῖ · ὁ δὲ προφητεύων ἐκκλησίαν οἰκοδομεῖ” (NA28). The Greek “ἑαυτὸν οἰκοδομεῖ” is translated by NKRV as “to build one's own virtue,” and the English version (KJV, NIV) translates to “edify himself.” Here “οἰκοδομέω”means “build, build up, strengthen.” Since the word is linked to both “self” and “church,” it clearly shows that “tongue” (an unknown tongue) is beneficial to himself. The overall context of verse 4 only means that “tongue (s)” is only good for oneself, while “prophecy” is good for the whole church. This should be interpreted as referring to the superiority of "prophecy" over dialect, and not to say that "tongue" as a singular is not beneficial. Although the whole Chapter 14 is in a negative context for “tongue” (γλῶσσα), the positive “an unknown tongue” in 14: 4 is considered personally beneficial.

Next, verses 5 and 6 refer to “foreign language tongues” as gifts. Paul wants all church members to receive the gift of "foreign language tongues," but he said this was also worse than prophecy. In other words, prophecy is more virtuous to the church than "foreign language tongues."

In verses 7 to 11, Paul negatively criticizes the “tongue” (an unknown tongue) as a singular, insisting that when a person speaks, he must let others know what it means. This part is clearly different from what Paul said in 14: 4 that "tongue" (an unknown tongue) as a singular is "good for the individual." This shows Paul's attitude toward the “tongue” (an unknown tongue) as a singular. He thought it could be a "religious ecstasy" in a positive sense or a "repeated sound of unknown meaning" in a negative sense. In this regard, verse 9 uses the definite article to refer to “τῆς γλώσσης” (the tongue). It is clear from the grammatical structure that it refers to an unknown tongue mentioned in verses 2 and 4 as seen earlier.

Paul then admonishes church members (v. 13) that if they want to speak an unknown tongue, then they should pray for the gift of interpretation to be received as well. Then Paul said, "If I pray with my tongue" (an unknown tongue), my spirit will pray, but I will not understand myself "(verse 14). Then he said, "I will have to pray in 'tongue' (an unknown tongue) and pray again with understandable words, and I will have to praise again in 'tongue' (an unknown tongue) and praise with understandable words" (verse 15). And Paul is asking, "How can someone who doesn't know well say "Amen" if they give thanks only with the spirit?" (16).[46] What is noteworthy here is that it is difficult for us to know clearly whether Paul himself prayed or praised with “an unknown tongue” or not. This is because, as we saw earlier, Paul is writing a subjunctive saying, "If I pray with ‘tongue’”(an unknown tongue). Therefore, it is more important to know how Paul judges it, because it is difficult to know whether he did "prayer in an unknown tongue" or not. In this regard, the next verse “What shall I do then”? (NKRV, 14: 15a) shows Paul's attitude toward "prayer in an unknown tongue." However, KJV and NIV have different positions. KJV negatively says, "What is it then?", And NIV neutrally or positively, "So what shall I do?"

Therefore, we must comprehend and interpret the context after all. The purpose of 1 Corinthians' writing is to correct the wrong part of the Corinthian Church, and in this epistle, Paul devotes much space on “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) to provide recommendations and advice. Judging from this series of circumstances, it is believed that Paul is rebuking the members of the Corinthian church for doing the wrong thing. At the time of Paul's writing of 1 Corinthians, he might not yet be convinced of what the Corinthian "tongue (s)" was. Paul told the Corinthian church members, “If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret.” (1 Corinthians 14:27, NIV). It is presumed that Paul was concerned because the “tongue(s)”(γλῶσσα) prevalent in the Corinthian Church were in disorder. Therefore, in the overall context of Chapter 14, it can be said that Paul described "prayer in an unknown tongue" in the church in a negative tone and "prophecy" in a positive tone.

Here is one thing to be considered. Paul may have heard from Timothy that some members of the church at Corinth speak "unknown sound", not "foreign language tongues as gifts" or "angelic languages". So he might have instructed that if someone tried to “unknown sound”, it should be limited only if they could interpret, because he still doesn't know exactly what “unknown sound” is.

In conclusion, Paul himself was thanking God for more “foreign language tongues as gifts” than anyone else (v. 18). However, he might have judged that the singular “unknown sound” had both positive and negative aspects. So he said, “I would rather say five enlightened words than ten thousands words like that” (v. 19). That's why Paul is asking earnestly the members of the church at Corinth, saying "If someone wants to speak with an 'an unknown tongue' in the church, do it in turn, but never do it without an interpreter" (v. 27, 28).

This post (posting) is a personally copyrighted article (including photos) from the Multilingual Bible Institute. Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, and processing are not allowed, but can be used when specifying the source and URL of the material. This institute is an organization that supports the multilingual Reading the Bible movement for missionary activities and the Bible translation work of unreached minorities. In addition to the Bible Hebrew and Bible Greek classes for reading the Bible, the lectures of classical Latin are available (online and offline available). We also offer English courses through the BIBLE ENGLISH system, which is aimed at children and adults. This post (posting) is translated into four languages: English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, and is serviced all over the world, actively supporting the mission of Christian missionaries.

Inquiries about partnerships such as missionary activities: usedslr@gmail.com, YouTube: Multilingual Bible Research Institute

D. Examples of 1 Corinthians

In 1 Corinthians, “γλῶσσα” was written in plural six times (Chapter 12, 4 times; Chapter 13, 2 tiems) except for 14. Chapter 14 was used 16 times. It was written eight times in verses 5(x2), 6, 18, 21, 22, 3, 39, and eight times in verses 2, 4, 9, 13, 14, 19, 26, 27. The peculiarity is that in verse 9 “οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς διὰ τῆς γλώσσης ἐὰν μὴ εὔσημον λόγον δῶτε, πῶς γνωσθήσεται τὸ λαλούμενον; ἔσεσθε γὰρ εἰς ἀέρα λαλοῦντες” (1 Cor. 14:9, NA28) is written as a singular number (τῆς γλώσσης) and should be translated as “the tongue” with a definite article attached. In the English version, the words “the tongue words” (KJV) and “ your tongue ” (NIV, ESV) are written, so that if “as part of the body, tongue” cannot be attached to the definite article, so it should be viewed as “tongue” (an unknown tongue). The Korean version is divided into “tongue as a body part” (NKRV, DKV) and “tongue (s)” (NKSV, NCTB).

On the other hand, KJV says that 7 of the 8 verses (2; 4; 9; 13; 14; 19; 27) excluding the 26 verses used in the singular is “an unknown tongue”. On the other hand, in verse 26 it is written with “a tongue”. This is a different expression from the other verses used in the singular. This is because verse 26 is written with listing " a psalm ", " a doctrine ", " a tongue ", " a revelation ", and " an interpretation ". For rhetorical reasons, it seems to have been omitted to balance the other words.

In 1 Corinthians, "tongue (s)" is written with only one word; " γλῶσσα ". Also, when “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) is used in conjunction with a verb, it is written as “speak in tongues”. There is only one verse in 1 Corinthians 14:14 that says "prayer in tongue (s)." However, even in 14:14, it is difficult to make evidence of the existence of “tongue (s) prayer” because it was used as a subjunctive, “if you pray in tongue (s)”. For this reason, in practice, the definite usage of verb phrase relevant to "tongue (s)" should only be “to utter in tongue(s)”, not “to pray in tongue (s).” [36]

Here, since the subjunctive phrase of 1 Corinthians 14:14 has decisive clues regarding “praying in tongues”, it must be interpreted accurately. Kim Dong-chan claims that 1 Corinthians 14:14 is not a "subjunctive", but a "simple conditional clause." That's because in the English grammatical structure, an auxiliary verb is not used in the main clause in the phrase. In order for 14:14 to become “subjunctive”, the future verb “προσεύξομαι” must be written as used in 14:15. Therefore, 14:14 is a simple conditional clause. That's why we have to interpret that Paul was actually “praying in tongues.”[37] It may seem reasonable when interpreted using English grammar. However, this seems to be a mistranslation from a poor understanding of the Greek “subjunctive”. “Subjunctive” is more versatile in Greek than in English. The verb used as “subjunctive” has no meaning of “time,” only the meaning of “aspect.” Whether in the "aorist" or "present" tense, the Greek "subjunctive" has no concept of absolute time. Therefore, in 14:14, there are subjunctive conjunction “ἐὰν” and lengthend verb “προσευχωμαι”, so the Greek present subjunctive conditions are met. The interpretation of how to interpret it, that is, whether the speaker sees the conditional clause as actually happening or simply presupposes the possibility, must be judged by context.[38]

Another important point is to quote Isaiah 28: 11, 12 from 1 Corinthians 14: 21 and 22. The "tongue" in Isaiah 28: 11 of the Old Testament is clearly a foreign language in context. However, in the Old Testament the Hebrew word “Rashon” (לָשׁוֹן) is written in singular. LXX also writes “γλώσσης ἑτέρας” (another tongue) in singular, whereas Paul uses plural in 1 Corinthians 14:21 (ἑτερογλώσσοις, other tongues). When used in singular in LXX, it seems to be due to the rules of grammar that singular nouns must come after "another" in English. However, it seems that Paul intentionally changed the expression and used it as a plural (ἑτερογώσσοις, other tongues). It is an attempt to clearly distinguish it from “γλῶσσα” as a singular.

However, as mentioned in Chapter 1, there is “heteroglossolalia” among the types of “tongue (s)” (γλώσσαις) classified by Stanley Mr. Brugess.

“Heteroglossolalia” is a “tongue (s)” (γλώσσαις) that enables listeners to understand the content in their own language when the other person speaks a foreign language. If you look at the word “ἑτερογλώσσοις”, which is a retranslated (γλώσσαις), you can translate it as “heteroglossolalia” as a plural noun. If such a new interpretation is attempted, the interpretation of 1 Corinthians 21-25, which can be said to be the representative verse of the New Testament Bible Difficulty, must be interpreted completely differently from the previous interpretation. In other words, “as recorded in the Old Testament, even if God sent another nation to prove to the North Israel people who mocked and did not listen to the prophets, they would not listen.” (Verse 21). As you can see from the quoted Old Testament verse, “tongue (s)” is used to express a one-time miracle (σημεῖον) to unbelievers”(v. 22). For this reason, verse 23 can be interpreted as “If all the church members are talking in these “tongues”, wouldn’t unbelievers or new believers say that all people in the church are crazy?” On the other hand, the prophecy of preaching the word of God strengthens the faith of believers, and if everyone in the church speaks of this prophecy, unbelievers and new believers will be moved to repent and worship it (verses 24-25). As such, Paul in verses 21-25 does not condemn “foreign tongues” as a gift, but argues that it is irrational to do collectively in the church, judging by the usage of “foreign tongues”. For this reason, it is nevertheless recommended not to stop speaking in “tongues”, a foreign language as a gift (verse 39).

To understand what the “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) of 1 Corinthians 14 means, we must first accurately analyze the usages in Chapters 12 and 13. First, in Chapter 12, the Holy Spirit gives nine examples (wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, tongues, interpretation in tongues) as gifts to the common good. These are all spiritual gifts and are given to each member (12:11). Paul "does not want church members to be uninformed" (12: 1). And he recommends them to "eagerly desire the greater gifts" (12:31). It is clear that the four uses of 1 Corinthians 12 “tongue (s)” (γλώσσαις) (12:10; 2 times, verse 28, verse 30) are all used in plural and are “foreign languages ​​as gifts” as in Acts. Judging from this, the “foreign language tongues” used in plural in 1 Corinthians should be regarded as the ability to “mostly have not learned at all” as a gift of the Holy Spirit, rather than just “a good ability to speak foreign languages.” But in verse 14:18, Paul says, "Thank God for saying "tongues"(γλώσσαις) more than others (μᾶλλον γλώσσαις λαλῶ). Given this, Paul's brilliant foreign language proficiency implies that some of his foreign language skills were received as gifts and would have been used in his wide range of missionary activities, although much of his knowledge was acquired through his own learning.

Paul places 13 Chapters preaching love between Chapter 12, which discusses the gift of the Holy Spirit, and Chapter 14, which can be called the “Chapter of tongue (s)”. The members of the Corinthian church seemed to be facinated and enthusiastic about gifts such as “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα), which seemingly brilliant, perhaps a common sight in worship. It was a childish sense of superiority to show off to others and another sign of no love. Paul set the example of his self-sacrificing love and service in Chapter 9, between Chapter 8 and 10. This was to show Paul to the Corinthians that the strong and the weak were fighting for the problem of eating idol offerings, because there was no love and service. Likewise, Paul put Chapter 13 of praise for love between Chapter 12 and 14, which deals with the proper use of the gifts. In doing so, all gifts are taught to be used to serve neighbors and build communities in a spirit of love.^[39]

Paul emphasizes love by saying, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13: 1, NIV). The people thought that the gift of tongues was the language spoken by angels, and they valued and boasted the gift of the tongue, and they exercised indiscriminately at every service, causing chaos. “A resounding gong or a clanging cymbal” was a tool used in the frenzy of hell in Greek mysterious religions. Paul's use of this expression here is to remind the Corinthian Christians of their past experiences in Greek mystery religion, to say that speaking in tongues without love is no different from the worship of their past Gentile religions.^[40] It is said here, “even if I speak the languages ​​of people and angels” (Ἐὰν ταῖς γλώσσαις τῶν ἀνθρώπων λαλῶ καὶ τῶν ἀγγέλων). “People” and “angels” become “peoples languages” and “angels languages” because they are linked together to “languages”. This can be viewed as the basis of the modern church's “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) or as “a kind of exaggerated expression”. However, “tongues” (γλῶσσα) at ​​this time were used in plural. In view of this, Paul seems to have thought that there are also “religious ecstasy” in the “foreign language tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) as the gifts he is doing. It was said that Paul would have admitted to "tongue (s)" (γλῶσσα) as a gift, as well as "religious ecstasy" as well as "foreign language tongues." Kim Dongchan said, '' tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) is not a gift given to all believers. Therefore, it is wrong to teach that anyone who is filled with the Holy Spirit can receive the gift of ‘tongue (s)’ (γλῶσσα), and it can hurt the believer.”[41] Many influential and spirit-filled workers around the world often fail to "tongue (s)" (γλῶσσα) but acknowledge that "tongue (s)" (γλῶσσα) is a gift from God. In this case, however, it also refers to ecstasy as “a foreign language as a gift” or “an angel's language”, not as an “repeated unknown sound” as a negative aspect.

These “foreign language tongues as gifts” are not whole, but partial, so “when everything comes will disappear” (13: 8, 10). There is also the theory that “the whole thing” is the Second Coming of Jesus, and that the New Testament was completed as the canon (about A.D. 90). If we take “the theory of completion of the canon,” these “tongues (s)” (γλῶσσα) should have disappeared in modern times. On the other hand, if we take “the theory of the Second Coming of Jesus,” there will still be partially “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) in modern times. Considering various evidences, it can be seen that “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) still exists in the modern church. Therefore, in this paper, “the theory of the Second Coming of Jesus” is taken.[42]

This post (posting) is a personally copyrighted article (including photos) from the Multilingual Bible Institute. Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, and processing are not allowed, but can be used when specifying the source and URL of the material. This institute is an organization that supports the multilingual Reading the Bible movement for missionary activities and the Bible translation work of unreached minorities. In addition to the Bible Hebrew and Bible Greek classes for reading the Bible, the lectures of classical Latin are available (online and offline available). We also offer English courses through the BIBLE ENGLISH system, which is aimed at children and adults. This post (posting) is translated into four languages: English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, and is serviced all over the world, actively supporting the mission of Christian missionaries.

Inquiries about partnerships such as missionary activities: usedslr@gmail.com, YouTube: Multilingual Bible Research Institute