Carl Conrad wrote:
> Personally I've always thought that the delicate irony of 13:1
> makes pretty clear what Paul means by "the greater gifts" and
> that is why I think the adversative DE in 12:31 is important:
> not everyone can heal, not everyone can speak in tongues or
> interpret them, but everybody can show Christ's love, and that
> is a considerably greater, more valuable gift, the absence of which can
> nullify any value to healing, tongue-speaking, or interpretation.
Whenever I question Carl's interpretations, I look like a fool afterwards,
but I always learn something useful in the process, so here goes...
I like the above interpretation, but I'm struggling with the meaning of ETI
KAQ hUPERBOLHN hODON:
1Cor 12:31 (GNT) ZHLOUTE DE TA CARISMATA TA MEIZONA. KAI ETI KAQ hUPERBOLHN
hODON hUMIN DEIKNUMI. 13:1 EAN TAIS GLWSSAIS TWN ANQRWPWN LALW KAI TWN
AGGELWN...
Doesn't ETI indicate that love is a *still* more outstanding way than the
greater gifts? If this is the case, then it can't be identical with the
greater gifts. And TA CARISMATA is plural - love would be one gift, and
hence singular.
Robertson's Word Pictures suggests the translation "I show you a way par
excellance", or "beyond all comparison", saying that this is superlative,
not comparative. He indicates the use of KAQ hUPERBOLHN EIS hUPERBOLHN in 2
Cor 4:17 to support this. But if this is the case, what is that ETI doing there?
Jonathan
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