Lessons #485 and 486
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Necessity of Intelligibility of Tongues (1 Cor 14:6-12)
6 Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction? 7 Even in the case of lifeless things that make sounds, such as the flute or harp, how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? 8 Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? 9 So it is with you. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air. 10 Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning. 11 If then I do not grasp the meaning of what someone is saying, I am a foreigner to the speaker, and he is a foreigner to me. 12 So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.
In our last study, we indicated that 1 Corinthians 14:6-12 is concerned with arguments in support of the necessity for intelligibility of tongues in a local church that the apostle provided in verses 6 to 11. Based on his arguments, the apostle gave a concluding instruction in verse 12. Consequently, we stated the message of this section as: Speaking in tongues is only beneficial if it is intelligible. We also indicated there are four arguments the apostle made in support of his point regarding the necessity for intelligibility of speaking in tongues. The first is that speaking in tongues is useful if its content is informative. The second is that sound producing instruments are useful if they give distinctive notes and clear sounds. So, we began to consider the first two musical instruments the apostle referenced in his second argument which are the flute and harp, but we ran out of time with the promise to begin our study this day with the second musical instrument the apostle mentioned.
The second musical instrument the apostle mentioned in support of his argument regarding the necessity for intelligibility of speaking in tongues in a local church is the “harp” as in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 14:7 or harp.
The word “harp” is translated from a Greek word (kithara) that means “lyre, harp.” It is a stringed instrument that is first mentioned together with the flute as introduced by a descendant of Cain, Jubal, in Genesis 4:21:
His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play the harp and flute.
Harp was used in the OT Scripture primarily for Israel’s worship. Thus, it is used in different religious celebrations before the God of Israel as during the celebration that accompanied David’s first attempt to bring the ark to Jerusalem as we read in 2 Samuel 6:2–5:
2 He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark. 3 They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart 4 with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. 5 David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals.
Harp is used in the temple worship in Israel so that the Levites who were singers in the temple used it as part of their musical instruments as we read in 2 Chronicles 5:12:
All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets.
In connection with worship, the harp was an instrument of praise of God in Israel as the psalmist alluded in Psalm 43:4:
Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.
The harp was certainly used by the prophets to elicit divine inspiration as evident when Prophet Elisha demanded its use as he sought to communicate with the Lord as stated in 2 Kings 3:15:
But now bring me a harpist.” While the harpist was playing, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha
It was the harp that was used as a musical instrument to provide therapy to Saul when he was tormented by evil spirit sent by Yahweh as we read in 1 Samuel 16:23:
Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.
The harp, on the one hand, was a musical instrument for ordinary celebration that does not involve religious activities as in sendoff party that Laban claimed he would have given Jacob and his family if he were properly notified of their departure as we read in Genesis 31:27:
Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? Why didn’t you tell me, so I could send you away with joy and singing to the music of tambourines and harps?
On the other hand, it was also used as an instrument for mourning as stated in Isaiah 16:11:
My heart laments for Moab like a harp, my inmost being for Kir Hareseth.
By the way, it is not only Israel that used it for worship so did the pagans of the ancient world. This is evident in the worship of idol that Nebuchadnezzar constructed as we may learn from the record in Daniel 3:7:
Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Be that as it may, the apostle having mentioned two musical instruments proceeds with the second rhetorical question that supports his second argument that sound producing instruments are useful if they give distinctive notes and clear sounds. The question is given in 1 Corinthians 14:7 how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes?
The apostle is concerned with a listener understanding what is being played. This he conveyed first with the word “know” that is translated from a Greek word (ginōskō) that may mean to arrive at a knowledge of someone or something, hence “to know, know about, make acquaintance of.” Thus, it may be used to arrive at understanding of truth, as it is with this meaning that the word is used in Jesus’ declaration of being set free by knowledge of truth in John 8:32:
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
In the same meaning, it can refer to arriving at the knowledge or even being acquainted with someone as it is used by Apostle Paul regarding Christ in 2 Corinthians 5:16:
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
The translators of the NIV used the meaning “to regard” in translating our Greek word here since, for example, the sentence we once regarded Christ is more literally we have known Christ. The word may mean to acquire information through some means and so means “to learn (of), to ascertain, to find out.” Thus, it is in the sense of to find out something that our Greek word is used to describe Apostle Paul’s desire to learn about the faith of believers in Thessalonica, as we read in 1 Thessalonians 3:5:
For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.
The word may mean to grasp the significance or meaning of something and so means “to understand, comprehend” as it is used to indicate the disciples of Jesus did not comprehend what He said to them about His coming death and resurrection when they were on their way to Jerusalem for the final time as reported by Luke in Luke 18:34:
The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.
Of course, it is in this meaning of grasping the significance of something that our Greek word was used in the apostolic prayer of Paul for the Ephesians to comprehend Christ’s love for them although our word is translated “know” in Ephesians 3:19:
and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
The word may mean to be aware of something, that is, “to perceive, notice, realize”, as it is used to describe that the woman Jesus healed of her bleeding, realized, or perceived it, as recorded in Mark 5:29:
Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
The sentence she felt is more literally she knew, that is, she realized or perceived that she had been healed because her bleeding stopped. The word may mean “to acknowledge, recognize” as it is used in Galatians 4:9:
But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?
Although the NIV translated our Greek word with “know” twice but the sense of the Greek word in this passage is that of “to acknowledge.” Thus, the clause now that you know God is translated in the NEB as now that you do acknowledge God. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:7, the word is used in the sense of “to be understood.”
The thing to be understood is given in the clause of 1 Corinthians 14:7 what tune is being played which is a way the translators of the NIV compactly translated the literal Greek that reads what is being played on the flute or what is being played on the harp. The literal Greek indicates that the word “tune” used in the NIV although a good one is not in the Greek. That aside, the verbal phrase is being played is how the translators of the NIV summarized two Greek words used. The first is a Greek word (auleō) that means “to play the flute” as it is used in the Lord Jesus’ statement of children playing the flute while expecting their playmates to dance as recorded in Luke 7:32:
They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.’
In our passage 1 Corinthians 14:7, the Greek word is used in the sense of “to play the flute,” that is, “to play on a pipe instrument by blowing.” However, the apostle used a participle so that the Greek phrase involved, has the meaning of “what is played on the flute.” The second is a Greek verb (kitharizō) that appears twice in the Greek NT. In its other occurrence, the word is translated in the NIV with the meaning “to play a harp” in Revelation 14:2:
And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:7, it has the meaning of “to play the lyre or harp.” However, since the apostle used a Greek participle the sense of the word is “what is played on a harp.”
Each musical instrument gives a unique musical note by which it is recognized as in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 14:7 a distinction in the notes. The word “distinction” is translated from a Greek word (diastolē) that means “distinction, difference.” It is with the meaning “difference” that Apostle Paul used it to convey that the benefit of the death of Christ is for everyone who believes in Him regardless of whether the person is a Jew, or a Gentile as stated in Romans 10:12:
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:7, the Greek word means “distinction,” that is, the recognition and understanding the difference between things.
The distinction or recognition of a musical instrument is by its note. The word “note” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (phthongos) that appears only twice in the Greek NT. When it is used with humans, it means “voice” as Apostle Paul used it in his quotation from the OT Scripture where the heavens are said to witness to God’s greatness in the nineteenth chapter of psalms, but the apostle applied it to humans who proclaim the word of God as given in Romans 10:18:
But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
In the other usage of the Greek word in 1 Corinthians 14:7, it is used with respect to musical instruments and so means “tone” or “musical note.”
In any case, the second rhetorical question of the apostle in 1 Corinthians 14:7 how will anyone know what tune is being played unless there is a distinction in the notes? indicates in the Greek that the expected answer is to be “no one.” Actually, the apostle implies that no one could recognize a musical instrument without the instrument giving a musical note that is characteristic of the specific instrument. Thus, his point is that if a musical instrument is going to be useful then it must give notes that will help to understand what is being played.
The apostle was not content with referencing the two musical instruments he cited in verse 7 so he adds another musical instrument as by way of emphasis to his point. We say this not only because of what is stated in verse 8 but also because of the Greek phrase that he used to begin verse 8 indicates that the apostle is concerned with additional reference to musical instrument. The Greek phrase that begins 1 Corinthians 14:8 consists of two Greek particles. The first particle (kai) that is not explicitly translated in the NIV that is often translated “and” in our English versions. Nonetheless, the Greek conjunction has several other usages. For example, it may be used to introduce a result that comes from what precedes and so may be translated “and then, and so.” It may be used to mark an explanation so that what follows explains what goes before it, leading to the translation “that is, namely, and so.” It may be used to emphasize a fact as surprising or unexpected or noteworthy with the meaning “and yet” or “and in spite of that” or “nevertheless.” The second is a Greek particle (gar) translated “again” in the NIV that has several usages. For example, it can be used as a marker of inference with the meaning “so, then, by all means” or it can be used as a marker of cause or reason for something in which case it may be translated “for, because.” It could also be used as a marker of continuation or connection. As we indicated, the translators of the NIV used the meaning “again” to translate this second particle, but we are not sure in what sense they meant. We say this because “again” may mean “once more” or “returning to a previous position or condition” or “in addition to what has already been mentioned.” That aside, when the two Greek particles are used together, the resultant Greek phrase has been translated several ways in the NIV. Examination of the 76 occurrences of the phrase in the Greek NT reveals that the translators of the NIV handled it in five different ways. The first is where both particles were not translated as we find, for example, in the commendation of the recipients of the book of Hebrews for their attitudes towards suffering either of their fellow believers or personally in Hebrews 10:34:
You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.
The second is the situation where one meaning of the Greek particles is used to translate the phrase as when the apostle asserted of the many members that form the church of Christ where it is translated “now” in 1 Corinthians 12:14:
Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.
The third is where the Greek phrase is translated to convey a concept using words that are not necessarily a common meaning of the Greek particles used as we find in the recognition of the situation at hand in the riot in Ephesus by those who were anti the gospel preaching of Apostle Paul as we read in Acts 19:40:
As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of today’s events. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.”
The expression as it is, is more literally for also or for indeed. The fourth is where the Greek phrase is translated with the meanings of each of the particle. For example, when the phrase is used in the Lord Jesus’ declaration of the essence of His mission of dying for us where it is translated “for even” in Mark 10:45:
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
The fifth is where the Greek phrase is translated using a word that technically is not a meaning of the two particles. For example, the translator of the NIV translated the phrase with the word “neither” in describing the relation of man and woman in creation in 1 Corinthians 11:9:
neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.
The NIV is not alone in this approach since the ESV and the NET, for example, used the same word “neither” in their translation although the NASB used the phrase “for indeed.” The use of a word that is not technically a meaning of either Greek particle is also reflected in the NIV in the passage we are studying, that is, 1 Corinthians 14:8 since the translators used the word “again” in rendering both phrases although some English versions such as the NET, the CEV, and the NJB did not translate the Greek phrase. The REB rendered the phrase similar to the NIV although it used two words in the phrase “or again.” These translations notwithstanding, it is likely that the apostle used the phrase in an emphatic addition or explanation to what preceded so that the Greek phrase may be translated “and indeed” or “for also.”
The point of the apostle in using the Greek phrase in question being that after referencing a stringed musical instrument he returned to continue his point by referencing another wind instrument beside the first one, he referenced, although he did it in a more emphatic manner. It is second wind instrument that is introduced in the rhetorical question of 1 Corinthians 14:8 if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?
The conditional clause if the trumpet does not sound a clear call is literally if (a) trumpet gives (an) unclear sound. This is because we have first a Greek word (adēlos) that appears twice in the Greek NT. In its other usage beside our passage, it pertains to not being readily apparent hence means “not clear, latent, unseen” although the NIV used the meaning “unmarked” to translated it as it is used to describe a grave in Luke 11:44:
“Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it.”
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:8, the word pertains to not being clearly defined and so may mean “indistinct” or “not clear.” The sound that is unclear is one that comes from a trumpet.
The word “trumpet” is translated from a Greek word (salpigx) that may refer to a wind instrument used especially for communication hence means a “trumpet” as it is used in comparison of the voice Apostle John heard during the revelation he received as stated in Revelation 1:10:
On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.
The word may refer to the sound made, or signal given by a trumpet so that it may mean “trumpet call” as it is used to describe what will happen at the second coming of Jesus Christ as we have recorded in 1 Thessalonians 4:16:
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:8, it is used with the meaning “trumpet” although some English versions such as the NRSV used the meaning “bugle.” This translation assumes a modern military background since “the bugle” was unknown” in the NT times.
Trumpet in the OT Scripture was used in different ways. Trumpets served as instruments for public summoning of Israel to several kinds of events other than war. Thus, the instruction of Yahweh to Moses about making trumpets is stated to be for assembling of Israel, especially during the exodus as we read in Numbers 10:1–6:
1The LORD said to Moses: 2 “Make two trumpets of hammered silver, and use them for calling the community together and for having the camps set out. 3 When both are sounded, the whole community is to assemble before you at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 4 If only one is sounded, the leaders—the heads of the clans of Israel—are to assemble before you. 5 When a trumpet blast is sounded, the tribes camping on the east are to set out. 6 At the sounding of a second blast, the camps on the south are to set out. The blast will be the signal for setting out.
Trumpets were used to announce various religious celebrations in Israel, as we read, for example, in Leviticus 25:8–12:
8 “‘Count off seven sabbaths of years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbaths of years amount to a period of forty-nine years. 9 Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. 10 Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan. 11 The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines. 12 For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields.
Trumpets’ use for announcement is not limited to religious celebrations but also to announce the accession of a king as in the announcement of coronation of Solomon as we read in 1 Kings 1:34:
There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’
Another usage of trumpets in Israel was for worship purposes. Hence, the Levitical choirs of Israel played the trumpets as implied in Nehemiah 12:40–42:
40 The two choirs that gave thanks then took their places in the house of God; so did I, together with half the officials, 41 as well as the priests—Eliakim, Maaseiah, Miniamin, Micaiah, Elioenai, Zechariah and Hananiah with their trumpets— 42 and also Maaseiah, Shemaiah, Eleazar, Uzzi, Jehohanan, Malkijah, Elam and Ezer. The choirs sang under the direction of Jezrahiah.
As part of Israel’s praise of God, the trumpet was used as implied by the admonition of the psalmist to Israel to praise Yahweh as recorded in Psalm 98:4–6:
4 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; 5 make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, 6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—shout for joy before the LORD, the King.
Still another most common usage of trumpet in Israel was for military purposes. So, trumpets were used to signal the beginning of a military attack as we read in Judges 6:33–35:
33 Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. 34 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. 35 He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them.
Likewise, trumpets were used to signal the end of military attack as it was used during the conflict between David’s men and Israel’s army under the command of Abner, Saul’s commanding officer, according to 2 Samuel 2:28:
So Joab blew the trumpet, and all the men came to a halt; they no longer pursued Israel, nor did they fight anymore.
Of course, the trumpet was also used to warn of impending danger, especially of a military attack as we may gather from Ezekiel 33:3–6:
3 and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head. 5 Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself. 6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’
It is in the usage of trumpet for military purposes that Apostle Paul used it in 1 Corinthians 14:8 because of the rhetorical question who will get ready for battle? The word “battle” is translated from a Greek word (polemos) that refer to military conflict. When there is a single engagement of military conflict, the word may mean “battle” as it is used in the decisive end of time military conflict recorded in Revelation 20:8:
and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.
In sustained military conflicts, the word means “war” as the word is used to describe some of the events of end time as we read in Matthew 24:6:
You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
The word may refer to a state of hostility or antagonism hence means “strife, fight” as it is used in the question of the Holy Spirit through James in James 4:1:
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 4:8, it has the sense of “battle,” that is, a single engagement in military conflict. Anyway, the rhetorical question who will get ready for battle? expects the answer “no one.” Thus, if the trumpet does not signal properly that a military conflict was brewing then no person will get ready for battle in which case the trumpet has served no purpose even if it had been blown. Of course, there is the assumption that those who are alerted of coming military conflict had received signal as to when a trumpet blast indicates military conflict. With the apostle’s mention of trumpet, the apostle in effect ends his second argument in support of the necessity for intelligibility of speaking in tongues which is that sound producing instruments are useful if they give distinctive notes and clear sound.
The third argument of Apostle Paul in support of the necessity for intelligibility of speaking in tongues is that speaking in tongues is beneficial if it involves intelligible message. The third argument is related to the second argument. This is because of the beginning sentence in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 14:9 So it is with you. Literally, the Greek reads So you also. The apostle was emphatic in that what he stated as his third argument is linked to the second argument. We say that the apostle links the third argument to the second because of the word So that begins the verse. The word “so” is translated from a Greek word (houtōs) that is used primarily in two ways in the Greek. It could refer to that which follows in a discourse material and so may be translated “in this way” or “as follows.” Another usage is to refer to what precedes, in which case, it may mean “in this way, in this manner, so, thus.” It is in the second usage of referring to what precedes that the apostle used the word in our passage so that it may be translated “so” or “thus,” that is, “in the way indicated.” What preceded is the second argument that sound producing instruments are useful if they give distinctive notes and clear sound. This being the case, we can deduce that what the third argument of the apostle is linked to is the second argument. In fact, we can say that the third argument is really a conclusion that results from the second argument.
In any case, we asserted that Apostle Paul was emphatic in that what he stated as his third argument is linked to the second argument. We use the word “emphatic” because of the word the apostle used in the Greek that was not directly translated in the NIV and many of our English versions but translated “also” in the NASB as in our literal translation. The word “also” we used in the literal translation is translated from a Greek conjunction (kai) that is often translated “and” in our English versions. However, the Greek conjunction has several other usages. For example, it may be used to introduce a result that comes from what precedes and so may be translated “and then, and so.” It is probably that some of our English versions felt that this meaning is reflected in the word “so” that they did not independently translate it. That aside, the word may be used to emphasize a fact as surprising or unexpected or noteworthy with the meaning “and yet” or “and in spite of that” or “nevertheless.” Of course, it could be used simply for emphasis with the meaning “even.” It may be used to mark an explanation so that what follows explains what goes before it, leading to the translation “that is, namely, and so.” In our verse, the apostle used it with emphatic force as well as a marker of additional argument. The point is that the apostle not only added a third argument but was emphatic as he did so. Another indicator of the apostle being emphatic in the verse we are considering is that he addressed the Corinthians with the pronoun you that is in the plural in the Greek. Some of our English versions, such as the ESV and the NRSV, conveyed that the apostle used the plural in their translation of yourselves. Nonetheless, when the apostle used the Greek word (hymeis) that means “you” in our passage he was being emphatic.
Be that as it may, the apostle was concerned with the intelligibility of speaking in tongues that he states a situation that leads to a rhetorical question that he posed at the end of verse 9. The situation is given in the clause of 1 Corinthians 14:9. Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue. Literally, the Greek reads with the tongue unless you give (an) intelligible message. There is problem of how to interpret the word “tongue” in this passage. Some, such as the NIV, the NET, among others take the position that it refers to the act of speaking in general. This does not seem to be what the apostle meant. Instead, “tongue” here refers to speaking in tongue. You see, literally, the Greek reads with the tongue unless you give (an) intelligible message. The literal translation indicates that the apostle used a definite article to qualify “tongue.” Hence, the definite article is used to ensure that we understand that “tongue” here refers specifically to the speaking in tongues that has been the apostle’s concern, especially in this fourteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians.
In any event, the apostle is concerned with intelligibility of the message that results from speaking in tongues as in the sentence you speak intelligible words. The word “words” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (logos) that concerns communication of what is in a person’s mind so that it means “word.” However, it has several nuances. It may mean “message” as it is used to describe the response of those who heard the sermon Peter delivered on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:41:
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
The phrase his message is literally his word. The Greek word may mean “speech” as it is used to describe Moses by Stephen in his sermon, as recorded in Acts 7:22:
Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
The phrase powerful in speech is literally powerful in words. The Greek word may mean “statement”, as that is the sense of its usage in Luke’s record of the response of the elders of the Ephesian church to what Paul said to them recorded in Acts 20:38:
What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
The phrase his statement is literally the word. The Greek word may mean “command” as it is used by Apostle Paul to quote from the OT Scripture about the summation of the law in Galatians 5:14:
The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
The phrase in a single command is literally in one word. The Greek word may mean “instruction” as it is used in what Apostle Paul said to the Thessalonians regarding his letter to them as stated in 2 Thessalonians 3:14:
If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed.
The phrase our instruction is literally our word. It may mean “preaching” when it is used with the Greek word that means “teaching”, as it is used in 1 Timothy 5:17:
The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.
The clause those whose work is preaching and teaching is literally those laboring in word and teaching. The Greek word may mean “reason, ground, motive” as the word is used to encourage believers to be able to defend what they believe in 1 Peter 3:15:
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
The phrase the reason for the hope is literally the word for the hope. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 14:9, the Greek word is used in the sense of “utterance” or “message,” that is, a communication that is spoken. Thus, the apostle is concerned with intelligibility of the message that results from speaking in tongue.
The apostle’s concern is that unless an intelligible message results from speaking in tongues, it is not beneficial to the congregation of believers assembled for worship as implied in the rhetorical question of 1 Corinthians 14:9 how will anyone know what you are saying? The expected answer to the rhetorical question is that no one would understand the exercise of speaking in tongues unless the message delivered is intelligible to others.
To ensure that the Corinthians, and so all, believers understand that any speaking in tongues that does not communicate intelligent message is not useful, the apostle adds a reason or an explanation to the rhetorical question that leaves no doubt that he was concerned with intelligibility of speaking in tongues in the last sentence of 1 Corinthians 14:9 You will just be speaking into the air. The translators of the NIV omitted a Greek word that is translated “for” in majority of our English versions. The Greek of the last sentence of verse 9 began with a Greek word (gar) that has several usages. For example, it can be used as a marker of inference with the meaning “so, then, by all means” or it can be used as a marker of cause or reason for something in which case it may be translated “for, because.” It can used as a marker of clarification or explanation so that it may be translated “for” or “you see.” It is in the sense of providing reason or explanation that the word is used in our passage. In other words, the apostle wrote the last sentence of 1 Corinthians 14:9 You will just be speaking into the air to give reason or to explain what he meant by tongue not being beneficial if it does not lead to an intelligible message. Such an exercise of gift of speaking in tongues amounts to nothing. When a person speaks to the air the implication would be that there is no one nearby to comprehend what is said or that what is said is wasted. Hence, if speaking in tongues is compared to speaking into the air, the conclusion is that the exercise of speaking in tongues is not useful. Let me end with a reminder of the message of the section that we have been considering: Speaking in tongues is only beneficial if it is intelligible.
01/13//23