ZHLOUTE (I Cor 12:31)

Steven Lo Vullo slovullo at mac.com
Fri Nov 1 03:32:29 EST 2002


On Friday, November 1, 2002, at 02:14 AM, Steven Lo Vullo wrote:

> On Thursday, October 31, 2002, at 06:39 PM, 
> bounce-b-greek-145610 at franklin.metalab.unc.edu wrote:
>
>> I was wondering if there was any particular grammatical reason that
>> ZHLOUTE in I Corinthians 12:31 is always translated in the imperative
>> rather than the indicative mood.  The word itself is used both ways
>> throughout Scripture.  The indicative seems to fit Paul's 
>> argumentation
>> in chapters 12-14 better.
>
> Greetings, Jesse:
>
> 1 Cor 12.31: ZHLOUTE DE TA CARISMATA TA MEIZONA.
>
> I think understanding ZHLOUTE as imperative here makes better sense, 
> and is for this reason is universally(?) accepted by Bible translators 
> (out of 14 versions I couldn't find one that treats it as indicative). 
> Note the repetition of ZHLOUTE when Paul returns to this point in 
> 14.1: DIWKETE THN AGAPHN, ZHLOUTE DE TA PNEUMATIKA, MALLON DE hINA 
> PROFHTEUHTE. Here ZHLOUTE cannot be taken as indicative, since it is 
> coordinate with DIWKETE, which must be imperative, since the problem 
> was that the Corinthians were NOT pursuing love. Note also the 
> comparative adverb MALLON. The Corinthians were to pursue TA 
> PNEUMATIKA, but *especially* that they might prophesy. This shows that 
> some gifts were more to be desired than others, and thus "greater" 
> than others, i.e., better suited for edification. If Paul commands the 
> Corinthians here to pursue one gift especially, it makes sense that in 
> 12.31 he is commanding them to pursue the "greater" gifts. Note also 
> the repetition of the use of MEIZWN. In 12.31 we have TA CARISMATA TA 
> MEIZONA and in 14.1 the Corinthians are told MEIZWN DE hO PROFHTEUWN H 
> hO LALWN GLWSSAIS EKTOS EI MH DIERMHNEUHi. Again, if the one who 
> prophesies is "greater" than the one who speaks in tongues (unless 
> there is an interpreter), then it makes sense for Paul to command the 
> Corinthians in 12.31 to eagerly desire "the greater gifts," i.e., the 
> gifts that are better suited to building up the body (cf. 14.1-5). 
> Note the NLT translation of 12.31: "And in any event, you should 
> desire the most helpful gifts."

It's 2:30 A.M. here in Madison, and my tired mind forgot to close with 
the summary I had intended in order to tie things together. In short, 
the imperative is to be preferred to the indicative in 1 Cor 12.31 
because the Corinthians were NOT pursuing the greater gifts, as PAUL 
defines greater.

Good night,

Steve Lo Vullo




More information about the B-Greek mailing list