BIBLE-WORLD

Hong Chi-mo/Lee ​​Hun-young (Christian Digest)
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1. Content summary

Reformation in the 16th century occurred in the late Middle Ages and in the midst of great turmoil in each field. The Renaissance expressed a passion for classical antiquity rather than Christian antiquity, and nationalism that emerged at the same time weakened the Holy Roman Empire and weakened the pope's priesthood system. Reformation was, above all, a revival of religion. The target of Martin Luther's attack was limited to the Pope's priesthood system, and his efforts were to restore the church in the early Middle Ages. In that case, the original form of the church to be restored should have been in St. Augustine or even in the Pauline Epistles and the Gospels. Here, his fundamental tone was the restoration of pristine Christianity. Reformation was a reformer of the Christian state. But the church was exploding in all its contradictions during the Middle Ages. Among them, the indulgences were the culmination of church corruption. The surplus merit was stored in God's treasure house, and the Pope was the logic that he could freely transfer it to those who could not pay for his sins. The church was exploiting the people by all means.

[Luther's Faith]

Catholic interpreters argue that the Reformation was an extension, not a correction, of the late Middle Ages. Because the reformers removed the discipline instead of resurrecting it, for example, replacing the concubinage of the clergy with the marriage of the clergy. Other Catholic historians regarded Protestantism as an honest attempt to eradicate greed and lust, but saw the enthusiasm as a result of disobedience to the church. It is true that Luther always insisted that philosophy cannot be a measure of faith, but that the Reformation did not start with the disregard of the philosophy and reason of post-Scholarism. The target of his attack was not that of the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages, but that the Catholic Church itself was the target of his attack as a disease to the gospel. In his judgment, the Catholic Church considered God's dignity and holiness too low and overestimated human values ​​and potential. The church used alternating fears and hopes so that believers would not be overly content with too much satisfaction or use of the means of grace. After portraying hell with a gruesome color that despaired, purgatory was often introduced to alleviate it. Purgatory is the middle layer between heaven and hell, and was a place to continue purifying in preparation for entering paradise. Luther, in view of his own failures, is incapable of dealing with crimes individually and because of the very nature of the human nature itself, which requires fundamental reconstruction. Because it is a thing, we have come to the conclusion that there is no good thing that can never be overflowed or diverted to another.

The late Scholastic theologians Luther studied for theology claimed that God is a law to him. Human destiny is indeterminate, and God's decisions cannot be overtaken. No one can be sure that they are saved. Man's fate is predestined for good or evil, but man cannot know the direction. Nothing he can do makes a difference. Condemned people are condemned no matter what they do. Those who are saved are saved no matter what they do. Luther knew why he had a feeling of being abandoned. God is innocent, but humans are ugly. God is strong, but humans are weak. The answer is that he was sinless for us as an innocent person, and thus identified himself as sinful enough to have a sense of unity with human beings, to deal with all of our sins and experience alienation from God with human beings. . Luther was immersed in the Bible and experienced the meaning of God's forgiveness miracles more than any of those who had come to the world for a thousand years, and claimed that faith and trust, only this is necessary. That's why Luther degraded reason so much and that reason was understood as a measure of the human mind.

[Luther's Reform]

Luther fought one type of Catholic theology, Augustine, and another, Thomasism. Thomas Aquinas ultimately assumed that everything was up to God, but he insisted that humans can contribute to his salvation with the power God has given him. There is room for human reason to intervene.

Luther denied the infallibility of the Pope and the church council. In the case of the merit saving theory, Luther was forced to deny the canon law because it was included in the canon law. This attack on authority was further reinforced by the acceptance of two destructive ideas of eschatology and predestination from the later medieval sects. The pope was called the Antichrist and was criticized. Another idea is that the true church is made up of only those who are predestined, which is only threatening when there is a way to determine who the predestined person is. He took the position that he could not talk about it except that he had to be persecuted and concealed in the world.

Luther's reforms, which began by accusing Catholic corruption, gradually leaned toward rigid Biblicalism. The ultimate authority for him was the Word of God, which meant God's self-revelation through the incarnation, the cross, and the resurrection in Christ. This revelation was not temporally constrained by Jesus' historical life, for Christ is everlasting and always present in the hearts of men. But the best Hyunhyeon was through the incarnation. In the Mass, Luther persistently claimed that this was not a sacrifice. The original language of the Eucharist is eucharist, which means gratitude, and the original intention remains. Luther denied constitutionalism, denied that the bread and wine transformed into the body and blood of God, but did not deny the actual and physical presence. Since the Middle Ages, the number of sacraments has been set to seven: marriage, new, servant, confirmation, confession, mass, and baptism. Luther was reduced to two things: the sacrament and baptism, which was to be an external sign of the invisible grace ordained by Christ and was for Christians only. Luther said that the state should not be interfered with by the church within its own sphere. His ideal was a parallel between the church and the state, which in the Middle Ages was supported by the German emperors against the Popes and defended by Dante's fluent brush strokes. His feasibility has not been proven. Luther was going in the direction of Emperor Popeism.

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]

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Ⅱ. Examples of “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) in the New Testament

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Whether “tongue (s)” means “foreign language” or “repeated unknown sound”, the word is expressed in the New Testament as “γλῶσσα” and “διάλεκτος”. Both are used to mean “word” and “language,” but there are differences in nuances. "tongue (s)" is 31 verses in the entire New Testament except Revelation, of which "διάλεκτος" is written in 2 verses (Acts 2: 6 and 2: 8) and " γλῶσσα " in the other 29 verses. These two words are synonymous with “language,” but the usage is different. “γλῶσσα” is a language that the listener does not know, and “διάλεκτος” is used to mean the language that the listener knows. In Acts 2: 6, 11, are “διάλεκτοs.”

Examples of Mark

Mark 16:17 says, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;” (KJV 1900). Here, "new tongues" (γλώσσαις λαλήσουσιν καιναῖς) was used in plural and was used in the meaning of “foreign languages as a gift”, as is the case in the book of Acts.

However, the last part of Mark's Gospel (Mark 16: 9-20) is included in the old Latin translations or the Synoptic Gospels of Arabic, and many scholars believe that this verse was added by someone later to the original text for a variety of reasons.[33] Because of this, I think of this as a passage that does not serve the purpose of demonstrating the biblical “tongue (s)”. It seems unreasonable to explain this as the basis of “tongue (s)” as an example. Therefore, in this paper, it is classified as “foreign languages” and is not analyzed separately.

Examples of Acts

There are four uses of “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) in the book of Acts, and the use here is “foreign languages as gifts” in connection with the giving of the Holy Spirit. These are: Pentecostal events on Pentecost (Chapter 2); events that gave the Holy Spirit to Cornelius and friends (Chapter 10); events that gave the Holy Spirit to the twelve of Ephesus (Chapter 19).

All were used in plural in Acts, but Thomas R. Schreiner said, “It seems that the gift of Acts 2 was the language of man. This is because people from various regions are listening to what the apostles are saying. Also, there is no evidence anywhere else in the book of Acts that the nature of speaking in tongues is different. Luke doesn't provide a sign that a change has occurred since the first tongue (s) event.” [34]

Here is one thing to point out. Luke was a doctor and accompanied Paul for a long time. However, Paul wrote "1 Corinthians" eight years before Luke wrote "Luke Gospel" and "Acts of the Apostles." Therefore, when writing the book of Acts, it should be considered that Luke understood the meaning of "tongue" (an unknown tongue) as well as "tongues (foreign languages)" prevalent in the Corinthian church. It is also evident that he had discussed this issue several times with Paul. However, Luke recorded only "foreign languages" as a gift without saying a word about this "unknown tongue". Had Luke mentioned only one verse in "Luke's Gospel" or "Acts of the Apostles", there would have been a theologically significant conclusion in the "tongue (s)" study. This is a very sad part. On the other hand, all four uses of “γλῶσσα” in Acts are used in plural and are “foreign languages ​​as gifts”. Therefore, “γλῶσσα” in 1 Corinthians 14, which is used in the singular, must be regarded as different from “foreign languages ​​as gifts.” [35]

C. Examples of Revelation

In general, most “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) research books or papers do not extend the use of “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) to “Revelation”. However, this paper includes the use of “Revelation”. This is because this paper attempts to clearly distinguish the use of plural and singular by analyzing all the uses of “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) in the entire New Testament.

In relation to the singular and plural use of this “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα), there are eight places in Revelation (5:9; 7:9; 10:11; 11:9; 13:7; 14:6; 16:10; 17:15) Among them, except for 16:10, which was used as the meaning of ‘tongue’, the rest was written as the people (s) and used as the meaning of language (s). However, in 5: 9 and 14: 6, γλῶσσα is used as a singular, but this is used as a singular because “πᾶς” in front of it means “every” and cannot be used in plural. In fact, it is a plural noun. Many English translations (KJV, NIV, ESV, NIT) also use every tongue (language). Therefore, when “γλῶσσα” is used in plural in the entire New Testament except for 1 Corinthians, it is used as “a foreign language (languages) as a gift” or “an angel's language”. We can see that it is written as “unknown sound” only when it is used in singular.

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In 1 Corinthians, Paul gives counsel and advice with considerable weight to the disordered “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) in the church, among the many problems arising in the Corinthian Church at that time. Judging from the context of 1 Corinthians 14, Paul does not appear to have grasped the exact reality of what the Corinthian church “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) is. He thought that the “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) prevalent in the Corinthian Church was not only “foreign language tongues as gifts” or “the language of angels”, but also “an unknown tongue” in the negative. This is because Paul does not appear to have made a clear and consistent claim to “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) in 1 Corinthians 14. So, if they want to speak in tongues, they are asked to do it in an orderly way through verification procedures such as interpretation. So, unfortunately, it doesn't remain, but the third letter, "Written with mourning in agony," is probably the answer to this problem.

With regard to the four epistles Paul sent to the Corinthian Church, an analysis of the time, place, and purpose of writing plays an important role in the interpretation of 1 Corinthians' “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα). This is because Paul's attitude toward “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) in 1 Corinthians is quite ambiguous and it is rarely easy to understand its meaning. So, for an accurate analysis of Paul's point of view, the chart is summarized below.[32]

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Table 1. Paul's Corinthian Ministry and Letters in Charts

CHAPTER 3. Study of 1 Corinthians “γλῶσσα”

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Ⅰ. Corinthian Church Analysis

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In order to understand what “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) in 1 Corinthians is, we first need to understand the basic cultural characteristics of Corinth and the social, political, and economic characteristics, and then sincerely translate various versions, including the original Greek manuscripts. You should make a sharp contrast and analyze the verse, and any problems with the translation of the verse should be thoroughly criticized and corrected. What matters is the facts about what happened in the Corinthian Church and how Paul viewed it.

A. Corinthian city of Rome and its cultural characteristics

Greece's Corinth has always been crowded with travelers as a strategic hub for commerce and trade between the north and south and east and west of the Greek Peninsula. It was an international trade center and a city sensitive to business and economic prosperity. Corinth could not have been such an easy mission district to a man like the apostle Paul, who lives a life of self-humble under the cross among those who are so successful. Combined with 2 Corinthians, the epistle of Corinthians is the longest book in the entire New Testament, not just in Paul's letter. With regard to the subject of this paper, “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα), we must have a good understanding of Corinthian cultural background in order to properly analyze the purpose of Paul's letter writing, especially because the interpretation of the usage in 1 Corinthians is difficult. [26]

Meanwhile, before becoming a member of the church, Corinthian Christians brought many of the characteristics of their culture into the church. This was likely to occur in a mixed culture. Considering Corinth at the time when there was a huge floating population from east to west and from north to south, the influx of churches of this complex culture would have been enormous. This situation allows us to understand many of the problems in 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians.

Here we must infer the situation surrounding the Corinthian Church in relation to the subject of this paper, “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα). In various parts of 1 Corinthians, Paul is grateful for the gifts of church members in foreign languages. Paul, who was fluent in multilingualism, would have hoped that Corinthians, especially those who were good at foreign languages, could spread to various parts of the Roman Empire through them in the future to be able to actively evangelize.

The members of the Corinthian churches, according to their Greek background, especially liked the gifts of tongue (s) and prophecy. They seem to have regarded and valued the tongue (s), the utterance of ecstasy among the tongue (s) and the gifts of prophecy, as the most prominent manifestation of the Holy Spirit. However, Paul evaluated the gifts not in terms of their apparent appearance, but in terms of whether they benefit all (12: 7), or whether they are useful in building up the church. Because for Paul, the Holy Spirit expresses himself with love to serve others.^[27]

The socio-economic atmosphere of the Corinthian Church

By the time Paul arrived in Corinth for his missions, many Jews probably lived in Corinth. There are records of eight million Jews scattered around the world in diaspora only in the middle of the Old and New Testaments, beginning from the time they were already taken captive to Babylon. At that time, many Jews lived in famous Greek cities, such as Alexandria, Rome, and Corinth. As we can see in Acts 18, there were also synagogues in Jews.[28]

Corinth was a city of many races and ethnic groups because of its geographical location. In this atmosphere, Corinthians would have been confused with a large number of languages mixed with languages from all regions. Examples of this can be found in modern Singapore and Hong Kong. There are many cases where English, Chinese standard language, Cantonese, etc. are mixed to make it difficult to know which language it is. Also, as all idolatry was practiced under the influence of the religions of other countries, their “unknown sound” must have been prevalent.

In the Corinthian epistle, the apostle Paul said, “For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”),” (1 Corinthians 8:5, NIV). This means that there were many religions in Corinth at that time. In Greek and Roman myths and other myths, there are dozens of pages of tables listing the genealogy of the gods.[29] They would have focused their attention on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially those that are prominent, such as tongue (s), boasting to each other the gifts they received, creating an atmosphere of pride and contempt, envy and conflict. In this situation, it seemed that the worshiper used the tongue (s) and prophecy competitively to create chaos (1 Corinthians 12-14).^[30] Therefore, Paul needed to establish order by criticizing the problems of the Corinthian church.

C. Background of the Apostle Paul's 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians

One of the most important things in examining the background and purpose of 1 Corinthians' writing is the number of letters sent to Corinth. It is also necessary to understand exactly where and under what circumstances Paul wrote the book of 1 Corinthians. Various views on this have been widely presented. Paul seems to have written at least four letters to the church in Corinth. The first letter is the now-disappeared “old letter” mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5: 9, followed by our 1 Corinthians. The third letter was Paul's “sorrowful letter” (2 Corinthians; 7: 8; 12) for the Corinthians by writing “with anguish and mourning and tears” (2 Corinthians 2: 3; 4). The fourth letter is 2 Corinthians we have.^[31]

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Ⅲ. The theory that two meanings are mixed

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According to this theory, Paul saw positive evaluations of foreign languages and negative evaluations of an unknown tongue. The representative English version, KJV (King James Version) fits this theory. The term “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) in 1 Corinthians 14 is separately used as “an unknown tongue” and “foreign languages”. As is well known, KJV is a translation based on “TR1550MR” (Textus Receptus). TR1550MR is a Bible based on the translation of the Latin translation (Vulgate) into Greek. In 1 Corinthians 14: 2, 13, 14, 19, 27 used as a singular form in KJV, it is translated with “an unknown” that is not found in the original Greek text. When “tongue” (γλῶσσα) is written in singular, it is translated as “an unknown tongue” and when used in plural form, it is translated into foreign languages.

Abbott Smith understood that the “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) used in the New Testament was relatively broad. In other words, it took a more comprehensive position than other views by defining as "the incomprehensible sounds spoken in the spiritual selflessness" along with the language organs (tongues) and the human language (foreign languages).[23]

No Uho said, “Paul uses 'tongue (s)', which is used in 1 Corinthians 14, in two categories. One thing is used in singular, it is an unknown sound that the Corinthian speaks to God alone that no one can understand. Another is written in plural form, meaning the foreign languages of Paul himself. ”[24] There is an opinion that dividing the “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) of the Corinthian church into singular and plural forms is an irrational interpretation. However, KJV (King James) clearly interprets singular and plural separately, and it seems to be quite a reasonable translation compared to other contexts. This is because many other opinions have an error in interpretation due to assuming that the “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) of the Corinthian Church is all the same concept. Therefore, we have to interpret this by dividing it into “foreign language as a gift” (12:10), “angel's language” (13: 1), and “unknown sound” (14: 2).

What is unusual is that Paul said, “In the law it is written, with men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 14:21, KJV 1900)

It is an example that "tongues" is clearly interpreted as "foreign languages." In this context, it is foreign languages when it is used as a plural noun in all cases of “γλῶσσα” in the New Testament, including the examples of Isaiah 28:11 in 14:21. And when it is used as a singular noun, it should be considered as “the utterance of an ecstasy” or “repeated unknown sound.”

So far, we have reviewed previous studies on the meaning of “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) in the New Testament. Through this, it can be seen that the “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα), which the apostle Paul speaks, was clearly divided into plural and singular. Each theory has its own logic and argument, but none of the theories provide a solid argument for the meaning of the “tongue (s)” (γλῶσσα) phenomenon of the modern church. Therefore, in Chapter 3, we will look at the use of the entire New Testament (including some Old Testament Bibles) and draw conclusions on this, especially in 1 Corinthians 14.[25]

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