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The Pauline Authorship

of 1 Corinthians 13

JEREMY CORLEY
Ushaw College
Durham, DH7 9RH
United Kingdom

THE PAULINE authorship of 1 Cor 12:31b–13:13 has been assumed or asserted

by the majority of past and present commentators.1 Recently, however, it has been
questioned by William O. Walker in an article in this journal in 1998 and in a

1
Scholars who accept Pauline authorship of 1 Corinthians 13 include the following: Jerome
Murphy-O’Connor, 1 Corinthians (NTM 10; Wilmington, DE: Michael Glazier, 1979) 123-26; Oda
Wischmeyer, Der höchste Weg: Das 13. Kapitel des 1. Korintherbriefes (SNT 13; Gütersloh: Mohn,
1981) 38, 228; John C. Hurd, The Origin of I Corinthians (2d ed.; Macon, GA: Mercer University
Press, 1983) 112-13; Helmut Merklein, ‘‘Die Einheitlichkeit des ersten Korintherbriefes,’’ ZNW 75
(1984) 153-83, here 176-77; Charles H. Talbert, Reading Corinthians: A Literary and Theological
Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians (New York: Crossroad, 1987) 85-86; Margaret M. Mitchell, Paul
and the Rhetoric of Reconciliation: An Exegetical Investigation of the Language and Composition of
1 Corinthians (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1991) 165-71, 270-71; E. P. Sanders, Paul
(Past Masters; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991) 104; J. [F. M.] Smit, ‘‘The Genre of 1 Corin-
thians 13 in the Light of Classical Rhetoric,’’ NovT 33 (1991) 193-216, esp. 205-6; Ben Witherington
III, Conflict and Community in Corinth: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on 1 and 2 Corinthians
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995) 266; Raymond F. Collins, First Corinthians (SacPag 7; Collegeville,
MN: Liturgical Press, 1999) 471; Wolfgang Schrage, Der erste Brief an die Korinther: 1 Kor 11:17–
14:40 (EKKNT 7/3; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1999) 276-77; Anthony C. Thiselton,
The First Epistle to the Corinthians: A Commentary on the Greek Text (NIGTC; Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 2000) 1027-30. According to Gordon D. Fee (The First Epistle to the Corinthians [NICNT;
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987] 626), ‘‘in its present form’’ the passage is ‘‘fully Pauline,’’ whatever
its origin. In the opinion of Hans Conzelmann (1 Corinthians: A Commentary on the First Epistle to
the Corinthians [Hermeneia; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1975] 217), ‘‘chap. 13 makes the impression of
an insertion,’’ though ‘‘there are close links with chap. 8.’’ Because of the abundance of studies on
1 Corinthians, this article will make use mostly of writings published since 1975, though much good
work was done before that date.
My thanks go to Dr. P. M. McDonald for commenting on earlier drafts of this article.

256
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AUTHORSHIP OF 1 CORINTHIANS 13 257

monograph published in 2001, developing an earlier suggestion of Eric L. Titus.2

Since not all of Walker’s arguments have received critical scrutiny,3 the present
article offers a detailed consideration of the question: Did Paul write 1 Cor 12:31b–
13:13, or is it, as Walker asserts, a non-Pauline interpolation?4
Walker admits that the strongest evidence for interpolation would be the
passage’s absence from significant early Pauline manuscripts, but no such evi-
dence exists, since the chapter occurs in P46 (ca. A.D. 200) as well as in all the
major uncials.5 Hence, his argument is based on considerations such as vocabu-
lary, content (ideas), appropriateness of location, and form and style. Walker,
however, virtually ignores three important aspects, namely, possible allusions to
the Septuagint, potential influences from the developing Jesus tradition, and the
impact of the cultural context of Paul’s writing. Close examination of all factors
not only suggests the probability of Pauline authorship of 1 Cor 12:31b–13:13 but
also sheds light on Paul’s theology.
The method of this article will be straightforward: to examine first the chap-
ter’s genre, then its vocabulary, next its ideas, thereafter its stylistic features, and
finally allusions to it in Christian texts prior to A.D. 150.

I. Genre
Walker observes that the literary genre of 1 Corinthians 13 is far removed
from that of chaps. 12 and 14 of the epistle.6 If, as Margaret M. Mitchell has

2
William O. Walker, ‘‘Is First Corinthians 13 a Non-Pauline Interpolation?’’ CBQ 60 (1998)
484-99; republished in a slightly revised form in his Interpolations in the Pauline Letters (JSNTSup
213; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001) 147-65; cf. Eric L. Titus, ‘‘Did Paul Write I Corin-
thians 13?’’ JBR 27 (1959) 299-302. My references will be to the more recent book form of Walker’s
essay, rather than to the journal article. Although Walker, in his monograph, considers several Pauline
passages besides 1 Corinthians 13 to be interpolations, this view does not substantially affect my
argument. The fact that I regard 1 Corinthians 13 as authentically Pauline does not mean that I deny
the possibility of interpolations elsewhere.
3
In an article entitled ‘‘1 Corinthiens 13: Analyse rhétorique et analyse de structures’’ (in The
Corinthian Correspondence [ed. R. Bieringer; BETL 125; Leuven: Peeters, 1996] 199-245), Camille
Focant acknowledges that ‘‘l’authenticité paulinienne de 1 Co 13 a été relativement peu mise en
question’’ (p. 199), but that ‘‘la preuve en la matière serait très difficile à faire et n’a pas été faite’’
(p. 199 n. 2). Despite the difficulties, my article attempts to gather indications tending toward a proof—or
at least a strong probability—of the authenticity of 1 Corinthians 13.
4
Walker’s essay (Interpolations, 147) actually includes in his discussion the first three words
of 1 Cor 14:1, diōkete tēn agapēn (‘‘pursue love’’). However, following the layout of the twenty-
seventh edition of Nestle-Aland, Novum Testamentum Graece (ed. B. Aland and K. Aland; Stuttgart:
Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1993) [henceforth Nestle-Aland27], I regard the passage as ending with
the affirmation in 13:13. The translations of Greek words, given in parentheses for the sake of clarity,
are mine.
5
Walker, Interpolations, 161.
6
Ibid., 151.
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shown, First Corinthians is basically a work of deliberative rhetoric, in which Paul

appeals for unity in the Corinthian community, then this chapter differs from what
surrounds it by being, as noted by J. Smit, a piece of epideictic rhetoric.7 How-
ever, Walker too quickly rejects the widespread view that 1 Corinthians 13 is a
Pauline digression within chaps. 12–14.8 He believes that the chapter’s soaring
poetic quality marks it out as non- Pauline.9 However, if it is intentionally a case
of epideictic rhetoric, such a quality is surely to be expected. Some other highly
rhetorical passages occur elsewhere in Paul (e.g., Rom 8:31-39; 1 Cor 3:21-23;
15:51-57; 2 Cor 11:22-29; Gal 2:15-21).
Features of style (to which we will return later) are not necessarily the most
reliable guides as to whether a passage is Pauline. Potentially more informative
is a look at the vocabulary.

II. Vocabulary
Walker lists ten Pauline hapax legomena in the chapter: deiknymi (‘‘show’’),
hodon . . . deiknymi (‘‘show . . . a way’’), chalkos ēchōn ē kymbalon alalazon (‘‘a
noisy gong or a clanging cymbal’’), pistis hōste orē methistanai (‘‘faith so as to
remove mountains’’), chrēsteuomai (‘‘to be kind’’), perpereuomai (‘‘to boast’’),
paroxynomai (‘‘to be irritable/to be provoked’’), blepō . . . di’ esoptrou (‘‘to see
. . . in/through a mirror’’), ainigma (‘‘riddle/indirect image’’), and prosōpon pros
prosōpon (‘‘face to face’’); and in addition, psōmizō (‘‘to dole out’’) occurs only
once elsewhere in Paul.10 In fact, several of these expressions are drawn from the
Septuagint and would thus have been well known to Paul (see below).
Walker recognizes the important indicator provided by linguistic features. He
helpfully divides the linguistic usage into four possible categories: first, what is
distinctively Pauline; second, what is Pauline but not distinctively so; third, what
is non-Pauline but not identifiably post-Pauline; and fourth, what is distinctively
post-Pauline.11 On the basis of the first three of these categories, let us examine
whether the vocabulary of 1 Corinthians 13 has Pauline features.

7
On the deliberative genre of First Corinthians, see Mitchell, Paul and the Rhetoric of Recon-
ciliation, 20-64. Although on p. 274 she considers 13:1-3, 8-13 as deliberative rhetoric and 13:4-7 as
an encomium (= epideictic), it is better to regard the whole of 1 Corinthians 13 as a piece of epideictic
rhetoric (see Smit, ‘‘Genre,’’ 199).
8
Walker, Interpolations, 154-55. Apart from Fee (First Epistle, 626), scholars not cited by Walker
on this point who regard 1 Corinthians 13 as a Pauline digression include Collins, First Corinthians,
443, 471; Witherington, Conflict and Community, 264; Murphy-O’Connor, 1 Corinthians, 104; Talbert,
Reading Corinthians, 81; Nils W. Lund, Chiasmus in the New Testament: A Study in Formgeschichte
(2d ed.; Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1992) 163-64. On Paul’s use of digression elsewhere in 1 Corin-
thians, see Collins, First Corinthians, 14-16; Murphy-O’Connor, 1 Corinthians, 39, 77; Talbert, Reading
Corinthians, 12, 56.
9
Walker, Interpolations, 155-56.
10
Ibid., 156-57. The list echoes the data (though not the conclusion) of Smit, ‘‘Genre,’’ 199-201.
11
Walker, Interpolations, 77.
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AUTHORSHIP OF 1 CORINTHIANS 13 259

A. What Is Distinctively Pauline

Walker notes that ‘‘the presence of distinctively Pauline linguistic features
strengthens the case for Pauline authorship.’’12 I propose that the following words
or phrases from 1 Cor 12:31b–13:13 are characteristic of Paul’s seven undisputed
letters (Romans, 1–2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and
Philemon).
[Link] kath’ hyperbolēn (‘‘to an extraordinary degree, to excess, in the
extreme’’): also Rom 7:13; 2 Cor 1:8; 4:17; Gal 1:13. The noun hyperbolē
(‘‘excess’’) occurs additionally in 2 Cor 4:7; 12:7, but nowhere else in the NT.13
[Link] psōmisō (‘‘I dole out’’): the verb also occurs in Rom 12:20, quoting
Prov 25:21.14 These are the only two NT occurrences of the verb.
[Link] kauchēsōmai (‘‘I may boast’’) [the reading of P46 S A B]: besides the
thirty-four instances of this verb in Paul’s undisputed letters, it occurs only three
other times in the NT (Eph 2:9; Jas 1:9; 4:16).15
[Link] makrothymei (‘‘is patient’’) + chrēsteuetai (‘‘is kind’’): although the
verb chrēsteuomai (‘‘be kind’’) is a hapax legomenon in the NT, these linked ideas
occur elsewhere in Paul. See Gal 5:22, makrothymia, chrēstotēs (‘‘patience, kind-
ness’’); 2 Cor 6:6, en makrothymiaÄ en chrēstotēti (‘‘in patience, in kindness’’);
Rom 2:4, tēs chrēstotētos . . . kai tēs makrothymias (‘‘of the kindness . . . and of
the patience’’).
[Link] zēloi (‘‘is jealous’’): the verb occurs seven times elsewhere in the
undisputed Pauline letters (1 Cor 12:31a; 14:1, 39; 2 Cor 11:2; Gal 4:17 [bis], 18).
Elsewhere in the NT the verb occurs only three times (Acts 7:9; 17:5; Jas 4:2).
[Link] physioutai (‘‘is inflated’’): besides here, the verb occurs in 1 Cor 4:6,
18, 19; 5:2; 8:1, and elsewhere in the NT only in Col 2:18.
[Link] aschēmonei (‘‘is unseemly’’): the verb appears only here and in 1 Cor 7:36
in the NT. Among the NT writings, the cognate adjective aschēmōn (‘‘unseemly’’)

12
Ibid.
13
This phrase may allude to Paul’s rhetorical use of hyperbolē (‘‘exaggeration’’); see Collins,
First Corinthians, 475; Witherington, Conflict and Community, 266-67.
14
Since some manuscripts of LXX Prov 25:21 (such as Sinaiticus and Alexandrinus) employ
the verb trephō (‘‘feed’’), the appearance of the verb psōmizō in Codex Vaticanus of Prov 25:21 may
perhaps be under the influence of Rom 12:20.
15
Here some later manuscripts read kauthēsomai (‘‘I shall be burned’’) or kauthēsōmai (‘‘I may
be burned’’). Though the latter reading is accepted by Walker (Interpolations, 159) and many other
commentators, the reading kauchēsōmai (‘‘I may boast’’) is preferable, particularly as it appears in the
earliest manuscripts (P46 S A B). For reasons to prefer kauchēsōmai (‘‘I may boast’’) to the alternative
readings here, see Thiselton, First Epistle, 1042-44; J. F. M. Smit, ‘‘Two Puzzles: 1 Corinthians 12:31
and [Link] A Rhetorical Solution,’’ NTS 39 (1993) 246-64, esp. 255-56; Fee, First Epistle, 634; Bruce
M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (2d ed.; New York: United Bible
Societies, 1994) 497-98; J. H. Petzer, ‘‘Contextual Evidence in Favour of KAUCHSWMAI in 1 Corin-
thians 13:3,’’ NTS 35 (1989) 229-53. For a possible explanation of the origin of the alternative
readings, see below (sections II.C.1 on 13:3 and III.F on martyrdom).
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occurs only in 1 Cor 12:23, while the noun aschēmosynē (‘‘unseemliness’’) is

found only in Rom 1:27 and Rev 16:15.
[Link] zētei ta heautēs (‘‘seeks its own [things]’’): this verb with a neuter
plural object occurs in Phil 2:21, ta heautōn zētousin (‘‘they seek their own
[things]’’). Compare the same verb with a neuter singular object in 1 Cor [Link]
mēdeis to heautou zēteitō (‘‘let no one seek his own [thing]’’), and in 1 Cor [Link]
mē zētōn to hemautou symphoron (‘‘not seeking my own advantage’’).
[Link] logizetai (‘‘devises, reckons’’): of the forty instances of the verb in the
NT, thirty-three cases are in the undisputed Pauline letters.
[Link] panta stegei (‘‘it bears all things’’): all four occurrences of the verb in
the NT are in Paul. Most similar is 1 Cor 9:12, panta stegomen (‘‘we bear all
things’’); see also 1 Thess 3:1, 5.
[Link] panta elpizei, panta hypomenei (‘‘it hopes all things, it endures all
things’’): both ideas are combined three times elsewhere in Paul. Thus, Rom 8:25
combines elpizomen (‘‘we hope’’) with di’ hypomonēs (‘‘through endurance’’);
Rom 12:12 links tēÄ elpidi (‘‘in hope’’) with hypomenontes (‘‘enduring’’); and 1 Thess
1:3 has tēs hypomonēs tēs elpidos (‘‘of endurance in hope’’).
[Link] prophēteiai . . . glōssai . . . gnōsis (‘‘prophecies . . . tongues . . . knowl-
edge’’) [the reading of Nestle-Aland27]: compare 1 Cor [Link] glōssais . . . en gnōsei
ē en prophēteiaÄ (‘‘with tongues . . . with knowledge or with prophecy’’). This triad
echoes 1 Cor 13:1-2: glōssais . . . prophēteian . . . gnōsin (‘‘tongues . . . prophecy
. . . knowledge’’). See also the list of nine charisms in 1 Cor 12:8-10, including
logos gnōseōs (‘‘utterance of knowledge’’), prophēteia (‘‘prophecy’’), and genē
glōssōn (‘‘kinds of tongues’’).
[Link] katargēthēsontai . . . katargēthēsetai (‘‘they will be made ineffective
. . . it will be made ineffective’’): the verb occurs twenty-two times in the undis-
puted Pauline letters (including 1 Cor 1:28; 2:6; 6:13; 13:10; 15:24, 26), but
elsewhere in the NT only five times. All fourteen occurrences in the passive voice
are in the undisputed Pauline letters.
[Link] ek merous (‘‘in part’’): this phrase occurs four times in 1 Cor 13:9-12,
and once in 1 Cor 12:27. A similar expression, apo merous (‘‘in part’’), occurs in
Rom 11:25; 15:15, 24; 2 Cor 1:14; 2:5. In particular, ek merous gar ginōskomen
(‘‘for we know in part’’) in 1 Cor 13:9 resembles epegnōte hēmas apo merous
(‘‘you have understood us in part’’) in 2 Cor 1:14.
[Link] nēpios (‘‘babe, child’’): this noun occurs ten times in the undisputed
Pauline letters, and elsewhere in the NT only five times. Akin to the contrast of
nēpios (‘‘child’’) with to teleion (‘‘what is mature/perfect’’) in 1 Cor 13:10-11 is
the contrast of nēpiazete (‘‘be babes’’) with teleioi (‘‘mature [persons]’’) in 1 Cor
14:20. A similar contrast occurs between en tois teleiois (‘‘among the mature’’)
in 1 Cor 2:6 and hōs nēpiois (‘‘as to babes’’) in 1 Cor 3:1. A comparable antithesis
also occurs in Eph 4:13-14.
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AUTHORSHIP OF 1 CORINTHIANS 13 261

[Link] ephronoun (‘‘I used to think’’): this verb occurs twenty-two times in
the undisputed Pauline letters and only five times elsewhere in the NT.
[Link] epignōsomai kathōs kai epegnōsthēn (‘‘I shall know, just as also I am
known’’): compare the repetition of this verb in 2 Cor 1:13-14: elpizō de hoti heōs
telous epignōsesthe, kathōs kai epegnōte hēmas apo merous (‘‘and I hope that you
will understand until the end [or: perfectly], just as also you have understood us
in part’’). More similar in meaning to 1 Cor 13:12, however, is the play on the
cognate verb ginōskō (‘‘know’’) in Gal [Link] nyn de gnontes theon, mallon de gnōs-
thentes hypo theou (‘‘but now knowing God, or rather being known by God’’).
[Link] nyni de (‘‘now then’’): this phrase occurs thirteen times in the undis-
puted Pauline letters and five times elsewhere in the NT. In addition, nyni without
de occurs twice in Acts. (There is some manuscript variation between nyni and
nyn.)
[Link] pistis, elpis, agapē (‘‘faith, hope, love’’): in the undisputed Pauline
letters this triad of nouns occurs in 1 Thess 1:3; 5:8; Gal 5:5-6; Rom 5:1-5. It also
occurs in later NT texts (Col 1:4-5; Eph 4:2-5; Heb 6:10-12; 10:22-24), as well
as in subsequent Christian writings. See the discussion below (section III.G).
[Link] meizōn de toutōn hē agapē (‘‘but the greatest of these [is] love’’): here
Paul finishes a section on love with a five-word phrase culminating in the arthrous
noun hē agapē. So too in Rom 13:10, at the end of another section on love (Rom
13:8-10), Paul concludes with a five-word phrase ending with the same arthrous
noun: plērōma oun nomou hē agapē (‘‘so the fulfillment of the law [is] love’’).16
This list has noted twenty linguistic usages that are distinctively Pauline in
the thirteen and a half verses of the passage. Admittedly, some of the examples
are more significant than others, but cumulatively they provide an initial indica-
tion that the chapter’s vocabulary is characteristic of the Apostle Paul.

B. What Is Pauline But Not Distinctively So

A number of other words or expressions in the chapter may be regarded as
Pauline but not distinctively so. Here are some examples.
[Link] tōn anthrōpōn . . . kai tōn angelōn (‘‘of human beings . . . and of
angels’’): compare 1 Cor [Link] kai angelois kai anthrōpois (‘‘both to angels and to
human beings’’).
[Link] ta mystēria (‘‘the mysteries’’): besides here, the noun occurs seven
other times in the undisputed Pauline letters (Rom 11:25; 16:25; 1 Cor 2:1 [P46
S* A C]; 2:7; 4:1; 14:2; 15:51). In addition to the thirteen occurrences of the noun
in the disputed Pauline letters, the noun appears only in Revelation (four times)
and once in each of the three Synoptic Gospels. More significantly, apart from

16
Both of these summaries on the centrality of love have five words. I wonder if there is any
connection with the ‘‘five words’’ that Paul would prefer to speak in 1 Cor 14:19.
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Matt 13:11 and Luke 8:10, the plural form occurs only in 1 Corinthians (4:1; 14:2;
and here) among the NT writings.
[Link] outhen eimi (‘‘I am nothing’’): a variant form, ouden eimi (‘‘I am
nothing’’), occurs in 2 Cor 12:11.17
[Link] ōpheloumai (‘‘I am benefited’’): the verb appears three other times in
the undisputed Pauline letters (Rom 2:25; 1 Cor 14:6; Gal 5:2), as well as twice
in Hebrews and nine times in the gospels.18
[Link] synchairei (‘‘it rejoices together’’): besides here, the verb occurs in
1 Cor 12:26; Phil 2:17, 18; and elsewhere in the NT only three times in Luke.
These five examples are consistent with Pauline authorship of 1 Corinthians
13, even if they do not provide proof of it.

C. What Is Seemingly Non-Pauline But Not Identifiably Post-Pauline

By the expression ‘‘seemingly non-Pauline,’’ I refer to vocabulary unattested
elsewhere in the undisputed Pauline letters.19 In fact, such vocabulary, character-
ized by Walker as ‘‘non-Pauline,’’ may belong to the Apostle, particularly if we
allow for Paul’s ability to refer to earlier Jewish and Christian traditions. Two
possible sources of unusual vocabulary in 1 Corinthians 13 are the Septuagint and
the Jesus tradition, while a third influence is Paul’s context.
1. The Septuagint. Paul’s frequent allusion to the LXX (virtually ignored by
Walker) explains some unusual usages in 1 Corinthians 13. Note that the whole
letter also employs more than a dozen quotations from the LXX.20
[Link] hodon . . . deiknymi (‘‘I show . . . a way’’): this idiom occurs four
times in the LXX in the metaphorical sense of teaching (1 Sam 12:23; Isa 40:14;
48:17; Mic 4:2), as well as four times in a literal geographical sense (Exod 13:21;

17
The spelling outhen in 1 Cor 13:2 is presumably for the sake of variety, since the spelling
ouden occurs in 1 Cor 13:3, though Sinaiticus and Alexandrinus have outhen there too. The cognate
verb exoutheneō (‘‘I set at nothing’’) occurs eight times in the undisputed Pauline letters (Rom 14:3,
10; 1 Cor 1:28; 6:4; 16:11; 2 Cor 10:10; Gal 4:14; 1 Thess 5:20), and elsewhere only three times in
the NT (plus the variant form exoudeneō once).
18
This verb with ouden (‘‘nothing’’) occurs here and in Gal 5:2, as well as thrice in the gospels
(Matt 27:24; John 6:63; 12:19); see also Mark 5:26 with mēden (‘‘nothing’’).
19
Walker, Interpolations, 77. For 1 Cor 12:31b–13:13, he lists ten hapax legomena plus the
verb psōmizō (ibid., 156-57), as noted at the start of section II above.
20
On Paul’s use of the LXX see, e.g., Richard B. Hays, Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of
Paul (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989); Paul and the Scriptures of Israel (ed. Craig A. Evans
and James A. Sanders; JSNTSup 83; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993); Christopher D.
Stanley, Paul and the Language of Scripture: Citation Technique in the Pauline Epistles and Contem-
porary Literature (SNTSMS 74; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992). Apart from the
mysterious case of 1 Cor 9:10, Stanley examines thirteen Septuagintal quotations in 1 Corinthians
(pp. 185-215), including four from Isaiah and two from the Psalter. The older study by E. Earle Ellis,
Paul’s Use of the Old Testament (Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, 1957) lists sixteen OT quotations in
1 Corinthians, plus eighteen OT allusions and parallels (pp. 150-54).
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AUTHORSHIP OF 1 CORINTHIANS 13 263

Deut 1:33; 1 Kgs 13:12; Jdt 10:13). Paul’s metaphorical use of the expression may
be an echo of LXX Isa [Link] hodon syneseōs tis edeixen autōÄ (‘‘the way of
understanding—who has shown to him [= God]?’’). Twice elsewhere (1 Cor 2:16;
Rom 11:34) Paul quotes the previous verse, Isa 40:13.21 As in 1 Cor 8:1, Paul
seems in 12:31b to be contrasting the way of knowledge with the way of love.
Hence, this idiom need not be un-Pauline.22
[Link] kymbalon alalazon (‘‘a clanging cymbal’’): this expression echoes
LXX Ps [Link] aineite auton en kymbalois alalagmou (‘‘praise him with clanging
cymbals’’).23 In 1 Cor 14:7-8, Paul refers to other musical instruments.
[Link] (pistin hōste) orē methistanai (‘‘[faith so as] to remove mountains’’):
here is a phrase from LXX Isa 54:10 which has been woven into the Jesus
tradition attested in Matt 17:20 (see section II.C.2 below). According to Codex
Vaticanus, LXX Isa 54:9-10 speaks of a divine oath ‘‘not to be angry against you
any more, nor in a threat to you for the mountains to be removed (ta orē metastē-
sesthai).’’24
[Link] ean paradō to sōma mou (‘‘if I hand over my body’’): this may be an
echo of the fourth Servant Song (Isa 53:12) applied to Jesus’ paschal self-offering.
According to LXX Isa 53:12, ‘‘his soul was handed over to death (paredothē eis
thanaton hē psychē autou),’’ and ‘‘on account of their sins he was handed over
(paredothē).’’ In its declaration that ‘‘he was handed over (paredothē) on account
of our misdeeds,’’ Rom 4:25 imitates the concluding phrase of LXX Isa 53:12.
However, Gal 2:20 employs the verb in the active voice and applies it to the love
manifested in Jesus’ self-sacrifice on the cross: ‘‘I live by faith in God’s Son, the
one who loved me and handed himself over for me (tou agapēsantos me kai
paradontos heauton hyper emou).’’ The use of the verb paradidōmi (‘‘hand
over’’) suggests that underlying Paul’s mention of ‘‘handing over one’s body’’
was the thought of Jesus’ action at the Last Supper and at the crucifixion, as
foreshadowed by Isa 53:12. The following section (II.C.2) will consider the ver-
bal connection with Jesus’ words at the Last Supper, which may explain why 13:3
has ‘‘body’’ (1 Cor 11:24) rather than ‘‘soul’’ (LXX Isa 53:12).

21
Note also that 1 Cor 1:19 quotes Isa 29:14; 1 Cor 2:9 alludes to Isa 64:4[3] and 65:16; 1 Cor
14:21 quotes Isa 28:11-12; 1 Cor 15:32 cites Isa 22:13; and 1 Cor 15:54 quotes Isa 25:8.
22
An additional point noted by Witherington (Conflict and Community, 264-65) is that the verb
deiknymi (‘‘show’’) is entirely appropriate in a passage of epideictic (demonstrative) rhetoric.
23
Note also that 1 Cor 3:20 quotes Ps 94[93]:11; 1 Cor 10:26 cites Ps 24[23]:1; 1 Cor 15:25
alludes to Ps 110[109]:1; and 1 Cor 15:27 quotes Ps 8:6[7]. It is possible that Paul chose the unusual
word alalazon (‘‘clanging’’) in 1 Cor 13:1 to suggest the noun alazōn (‘‘braggart’’), which the Apostle
employs in Rom 1:30 (cf. 2 Tim 3:2).
24
LXX Isa 54:9-10 reads: ‘‘I swore to him at that time by the earth not to be angry against you
any more, nor in a threat to you for the mountains to be removed, nor will your hills be shifted,’’
although Codex Sinaiticus reads the second clause ‘‘for the boundaries to be removed (ta horia
metastēsasthai).’’ Note that LXX Isa 54:1 is quoted in Gal 4:27.
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A further reference to the LXX would be added if kauthēsomai (‘‘I shall be

burned’’) or kauthēsōmai (‘‘I may be burned’’) were accepted in 1 Cor 13:3.
Mention of handing over one’s body as a martyr occurs in the story of the three
young men in Dan 3:95[28], where the Theodotion text reads: paredōkan ta
sōmata autōn eis pyr (‘‘they handed over their bodies to fire’’).25 Besides these
three young men who escaped death by fire, the LXX also refers to the Maccabean
martyrs who suffered death by burning; in 2 Macc 7:37, the seventh brother says:
kai sōma kai psychēn prodidōmi peri tōn patriōn nomōn (‘‘I give up both body
and soul for the ancestral laws’’). This reference to martyrdom (see section III.F
below) seems to explain the widespread textual reading kauthēsomai (‘‘I shall be
burned’’) or kauthēsōmai (‘‘I may be burned’’) in 1 Cor 13:3. In the context of
early Christian martyrdoms by burning, it was easy for later copyists to regard this
as the correct reading, even though the four earliest manuscripts [P46 S A B] read
kauchēsōmai (‘‘I may boast’’).26
[Link] makrothymei (‘‘is patient’’) + chrēsteuetai (‘‘is kind’’): though the verb
chrēsteuomai (‘‘be kind’’) is a hapax legomenon in the NT, the linkage of these
two roots occurs in the LXX. In consecutive lines, LXX Ps 144[145]:8-9 describes
God as makrothymos (‘‘patient’’) and chrēstos (‘‘kind’’). Likewise, Wis 15:1 calls
God both chrēstos and makrothymos (see also LXX Ps 86[85]:5, 15).
[Link] en ainigmati (‘‘in an enigma, in a riddle’’): here Paul refers to LXX
Num 12:8, where God declares of Moses: ‘‘Mouth to mouth (stoma kata stoma)
I will speak to him, in a visible form, and not through riddles (di’ ainigmatōn).’’27
In 2 Cor 3:7-18, Paul plays on the same pentateuchal motif of Moses beholding God.
[Link] prosōpon pros prosōpon (‘‘face to face’’): although this alliterative
formulation probably takes its idea from the phrase ‘‘mouth to mouth (stoma kata
stoma)’’ in LXX Num 12:8 (see the previous paragraph), the euphonious phrasing
comes from the story of Jacob in LXX Gen 32:31 [NRSV Gen 32:30]: ‘‘I have
seen God face to face (prosōpon pros prosōpon).’’28 Elsewhere, Paul employs
phrases from Genesis; 1 Cor 6:16 quotes LXX Gen 2:24, while 1 Cor 15:45 cites
LXX Gen 2:7.

25
The LXX text of Dan 3:95[28] has the same reading, except that the final word is empyris-
mon (‘‘burning’’).
26
As noted by Fee (First Epistle, 634), it would be hard to understand the opposite scribal
change from ‘‘burn’’ to ‘‘boast.’’
27
Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians, 227; Fee, First Epistle, 647 n. 42; Collins, First Corinthians,
487. 1 Cor 10:5-10 refers to a series of incidents from the Book of Numbers, while 1 Cor 14:5 may
echo Num 11:29; cf. Thiselton, First Epistle, 730-43, 1097.
28
LXX Deut 34:10 states of Moses that ‘‘the LORD knew him face to face (prosōpon kata
prosōpon),’’ using a slight variant of Paul’s expression. For the exact phrase of 1 Cor 13:12, compare
also LXX Judg 6:22, where Gideon says: ‘‘I saw the angel of the LORD face to face (prosōpon pros
prosōpon).’’
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AUTHORSHIP OF 1 CORINTHIANS 13 265

Thus, several striking phrases in 1 Corinthians 13 are echoes of Septuagintal

usage, and therefore not alien to Pauline style, even if the exact formulation occurs
only in this chapter of the NT.29
2. The Jesus Tradition. This category refers to a second feature virtually
ignored by Walker, namely, Paul’s use of the tradition of Jesus’ teachings. In fact,
1 Corinthians (outside chap. 13) has several examples of explicit references to the
Jesus tradition, plus some implicit allusions.30 Admittedly, any firm reconstruc-
tion of the early Jesus tradition is fraught with difficulty, because the canonical
gospels had not yet reached written form (though an early text of the Q tradition
may have already existed). Nevertheless, the cases of 1 Cor 7:10-11 (similar to
Mark 10:9, 11) and 1 Cor 9:4, 14 (echoing Luke 10:7) suggest that it is methodo-
logically unsound to exclude the possibility that some of Jesus’ teachings may
have influenced Paul’s writings. Although Paul presumably referred to oral tradi-
tions, it is not inappropriate to make tentative proposals based on the surviving
evidence in the later canonical gospels.
[Link] pistin hōste orē methistanai (‘‘faith so as to remove mountains’’): this
phrase echoes the Jesus tradition preserved in Matt 17:20 and 21:21, though Paul
takes the verb from LXX Isa 54:10 (see section II.C.1 above). Both Matt 17:20
and 21:21 have pistin (‘‘faith’’) and tōÄ orei tout ōÄ (‘‘to this mountain’’), plus a verb
of movement; Matt 17:20 has the imperative metaba (‘‘move’’), while Matt 21:21
has arthēti (‘‘be lifted up’’).31
[Link] (kan psōmisō) panta ta hyparchonta mou (‘‘[and if I dole out] all my
possessions’’): this total giving up of possessions may be an echo of the Jesus
tradition, as in Luke [Link] ‘‘Every one of you who does not take leave of all his

29
Three other weaker echoes of the LXX occur in the chapter: 1 Cor 13:5¶Zech 8:17; 1 Cor
13:6¶Prov 24:19; 1 Cor 13:11¶Tob 1:4, 9.
30
On Paul’s use of the tradition of dominical teachings, see David L. Dungan, The Sayings of
Jesus in the Churches of Paul: The Use of the Synoptic Tradition in the Regulation of Early Church
Life (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1971), concentrating on 1 Cor 7:10-11 and 9:14; Frans Neirynck, ‘‘Paul
and the Sayings of Jesus,’’ in L’Apôtre Paul: Personnalité, style et conception du ministère (ed. A. Van-
hoye; BETL 73; Leuven: Peeters, 1986) 265-321; idem, ‘‘The Sayings of Jesus in 1 Corinthians,’’ in
The Corinthian Correspondence (ed. Bieringer), 141-76, with discussion of 13:2; N. Walter, ‘‘Paul and
the Early Christian Jesus-Tradition,’’ in Paul and Jesus: Collected Essays (ed. A. J. M. Wedderburn;
JSNTSup 37; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1989) 51-80; Dale C. Allison, ‘‘The Pauline Epistles
and the Synoptic Gospels,’’ NTS 28 (1982) 1-32; E. K. C. Wong, ‘‘The Deradicalization of Jesus’
Ethical Sayings in 1 Corinthians,’’ NTS 48 (2002) 181-94; Seyoon Kim, ‘‘The Jesus Tradition in Paul,’’
in idem, Paul and the New Perspective: Second Thoughts on the Origin of Paul’s Gospel (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002) 259-92.
31
Two sayings similar to Matt 17:20 occur in the Coptic Gospel of Thomas (##48 and 106);
see Neirynck, ‘‘Sayings of Jesus,’’ 152. Note also that the seventeenth Coptic saying parallels 1 Cor
2:9 (see Collins, First Corinthians, 131).
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own possessions (pasin tois heautou hyparchousin) cannot be my disciple.’’ Simi-

lar teaching is given to the rich young ruler (Matt 19:21) and is also addressed
to a wider audience in Luke 12:33.
[Link] ean paradō to sōma mou (‘‘if I hand over my body’’): the vocabulary
is reminiscent of Paul’s description of Jesus’ paschal self-offering in his final meal
and his death.32 Earlier in 1 Corinthians, the Apostle refers to the tradition of the
Last Supper (11:23-24): ‘‘The Lord Jesus, on the night on which he was handed
over (paredideto), took bread, and having given thanks broke it and said: This is
my body (mou . . . to sōma) which is for you.’’ The Lucan parallel text in its long
form has to sōma mou (‘‘my body,’’ Luke 22:19) and paradidotai (‘‘he is handed
over,’’ Luke 22:22). Paul employs similar language about Jesus’ self-offering on
the cross in Gal 2:20 and Rom 4:25. There may also be an echo of LXX Isa 53:12
(see section II.C.1 above).
[Link] meizōn de toutōn hē agapē (‘‘but the greatest of these is love’’): in its
comparative sense, the exact phrase meizōn toutōn (‘‘greater than these’’) occurs
in Mark 12:31, where Jesus says of the two great commandments on love (Deut
6:4-5 and Lev 19:18), ‘‘No other command is greater than these.’’ If Mark 12:31
belongs to the early tradition of Jesus’ teaching on love (abbreviated in Matthew
and Luke), then Paul’s phrase meizōn toutōn may be an echo of the dominical
tradition. However, with rhetorical skill Paul plays on the meaning of the Greek
phrase, taking it in its superlative sense (‘‘the greatest of these’’).
If the canonical gospels accurately preserve an early version of the Jesus
tradition, then these four examples from Jesus’ sayings may well underlie Paul’s
teaching in 1 Corinthians 13, though admittedly the Apostle has adapted the
material to fit his present context.
3. Other features. Further unusual features can be variously explained from
the cultural context of Paul’s contact with the Corinthians.
[Link] chalkos ēchōn (‘‘a noisy gong/a sounding piece of bronze’’): despite
the uncertainty about the exact meaning of chalkos (gong, or sound reflector, or
bronze bell), its mention attests to the fame of Corinth’s bronzework.33

32
Handing over one’s body in 1 Cor 13:3 has been recognized as an allusion to Jesus’ action
at the Last Supper; see Collins, First Corinthians, 477; Petzer, ‘‘Contextual Evidence,’’ 242 n. 13. It
is appropriate that Jesus’ act of self-sacrifice serves as a background example at the climax of the
series of activities needing to be motivated by love (1 Cor 13:1-3).
33
The normal meaning of chalkos is ‘‘brass’’ or ‘‘bronze’’ (Rev 18:12), often in the sense of
‘‘copper money’’ (Matt 10:9; Mark 6:8; 12:41). In First Corinthians, the word may refer to a bronze
instrument such as a ‘‘gong’’ (so NRSV). Alternatively, the word may denote an ‘‘acoustic vase,’’
according to W. W. Klein, ‘‘Noisy Gong or Acoustic Vase? A Note on 1 Corinthians 13.1,’’ NTS 32
(1986) 286-89. The elder Pliny (Natural History 34.1.1) notes that first-century Corinth was famous
for its bronzework; see Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, St. Paul’s Corinth (3d ed.; Collegeville, MN:
Liturgical Press, 2002) 89 (see pp. 201-18); Victor Paul Furnish, II Corinthians: Translated with
introduction, notes, and commentary (AB 32A; Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1984) 9.
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AUTHORSHIP OF 1 CORINTHIANS 13 267

[Link] perpereuetai (‘‘is boastful’’): although this verb is a hapax legomenon

in the NT, not attested again until the emperor Marcus Aurelius (Medit. 5.5.4) in
the second century A.D., the cognate emperpereuomai (‘‘be boastful’’) occurs in
the first-century B.C. orator Cicero (Att. 1.14.4) and in the early second-century
A.D. author Epictetus (Diatr. 2.1.34). Both verbs derive from the noun perperos
(‘‘boaster’’), which occurs already in the second-century B.C. historian Polybius
(Hist. 32.2.5; 39.1.2). It seems that Paul preferred the shorter form of the verb
(without the prefix) because of alliteration with paroxynetai (‘‘is provoked’’).34
[Link] paroxynetai (‘‘is irritable/is provoked’’): within the NT, this verb
occurs only here and in Acts 17:16, while the cognate noun paroxysmos (‘‘provo-
cation’’) appears in the negative sense of ‘‘irritation’’ in Acts 15:39 (and also once
of a positive ‘‘incitement’’ in Heb 10:24). The two references in Acts suggest
Paul’s fiery nature, perhaps hinted at in 1 Cor 13:5.
[Link] di’ esoptrou (‘‘through a mirror’’): in the NT, the noun occurs only
here and in Jas 1:23.35 Here Paul combines the concept of the mirror with the idea
of Moses gazing upon God en ainigmati (‘‘in an enigma, in a riddle’’), a reference
to LXX Num 12:8 (see section II.C.1 above).36 Likewise in 2 Cor 3:12-18, Paul
uses the concept of the mirror in the context of Moses’ gazing on God, though
2 Cor 3:18 does not employ the noun ‘‘mirror’’ but rather the verb katoptri-
zomenoi (‘‘reflecting/beholding as in a mirror’’).37
Moreover, by employing this concept of a mirror, Paul may be alluding to
the thought of Philo (Leg. 3.100-103). This section of Philo’s teaching ends by
quoting Num 12:6-8, the same passage from which Paul has drawn the term
ainigma (‘‘riddle’’). After mentioning Moses’ request to see God in Exod 33:13,
Philo expresses Moses’ longing: ‘‘I would not that Thou shouldst be manifested
to me by means of heaven or earth or water or air or any created thing at all, nor
would I find the reflection (katoptrisaimēn) of Thy being in aught else than in
Thee Who art God’’ (Leg. 3.101).38 Philo immediately offers an explanation

34
This alliteration is noted by Smit (‘‘Genre,’’ 204), who observes that it belongs to epideictic
rhetoric to use conspicuous or rare words (p. 198).
35
To the elder Pliny’s list of bronze items for which first-century Corinth was famous (Nat.
Hist. 34.1.1) we can surely add mirrors made of the alloy; see Fee, First Epistle, 647-48. For illus-
trations of two Corinthian bronze mirrors displayed at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens,
see Nicos Papahatzis, Ancient Corinth (Athens: Ekdotike Athenon, 2000) 21. Bronze mirrors are also
mentioned in Exod 38:8 and 1QM 5:4-5. On the concept of mirror in Paul, see Norbert Hugedé, La
métaphore du miroir dans les épitres de saint Paul aux Corinthiens (Neuchâtel: Delachaux & Niestlé,
1957).
36
The idea of a ‘‘mirror’’ (13:12) may also derive from a midrashic interpretation of the
Hebrew word mr <h in Num 12:8, where the vocalization of the MT suggests the meaning ‘‘in a visible
form’’ (or ‘‘clearly,’’ NRSV); see Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians, 227; Thiselton, First Epistle, 1068-69.
37
The translation of this participle in 2 Cor 3:18 is disputed; see Furnish, II Corinthians, 202.
However, the connection of the verb with the idea of a mirror is clear from its origin in the noun
katoptron (‘‘mirror’’), which occurs once in the LXX (Exod 38:26[8]).
38
This quotation and the next from Philo are taken from F. H. Colson and G. H. Whitaker,
Philo, Vol. 1 (LCL; London: Heinemann, 1962) 369.
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(ibid.): ‘‘The reflections in created things are dissolved, but those in the Uncreate
will continue abiding and sure and eternal’’ (cf. 2 Cor 4:18). If perhaps Philo’s
thought had reached Corinth through the Alexandrian teacher Apollos (1 Cor 3:5;
Acts 18:24),39 then Paul could fittingly have employed the notion of a mirror as
providing temporary knowledge of God in contrast to the face-to-face vision of
God, such as Moses experienced according to Num 12:6-8.
In this section, we have seen that motifs such as the gong (1 Cor 13:1) and
the mirror (13:12) reflect the Corinthian production of bronzework, while mention
of being provoked (13:5) may possibly allude to Paul’s own character, if the Acts
of the Apostles offers a true reminiscence here. Even the apparent neologism per-
pereuomai (‘‘boast’’) in 13:4 is a variant of the cognate word emperpereuomai,
found in the vocabulary of Cicero, who wrote a hundred years before First Corin-
thians. Thus, these four expressions are by no means inconsistent with Pauline
authorship of 1 Corinthians 13.

III. Content and Ideas

Walker also asserts that 1 Corinthians 13 exhibits ideas that are uncharacter-
istic of the Apostle Paul, though in many cases similar features are observable
elsewhere in the undisputed Pauline letters.40

A. Absence of Christology
Walker notes that the chapter has a complete absence of christology, at least
in Paul’s explicit statements.41 However, a lack of christology does not in itself
make a passage un-Pauline. In fact, where Paul is discussing other topics, he
sometimes writes passages that have no explicit reference to Jesus (e.g., Rom
9:6-33; 11:1-24). Moreover, apart from Rom 2:16, there is no mention of Jesus
in the whole of Rom 1:18–3:20.
Nevertheless, I suggest that there is an implicit reference to Jesus in this
passage. Some scholars have seen Jesus’ loving behavior as illustrating the mes-
sage of the whole chapter.42 More specifically (as mentioned above in the discus-
sions of 1 Cor 13:3 in sections II.C.1-2), the notion of ‘‘handing over one’s body’’

39
So Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, Paul: A Critical Life (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996)
275. Murphy-O’Connor refers to another passage in the third book of Philo’s Legum allegoriae
(3.69-74) as reflecting the views of Paul’s opponents at Corinth (ibid., 281).
40
Here I respond to the points raised in Walker, Interpolations, 157-61, mostly dependent on
Titus, ‘‘Did Paul Write I Corinthians 13?’’ 300-302.
41
So Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians, 220.
42
See James D. G. Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998)
596, commenting on 1 Cor 13:4-7: ‘‘It is hard to doubt that Paul in thus describing love had in mind
the love of God in Christ, and Jesus’ own summary of the law in the command to love the neighbour.’’
Compare p. 433, where Dunn regards 1 Corinthians 13 as providing a ‘‘character sketch’’ of Christ.
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AUTHORSHIP OF 1 CORINTHIANS 13 269

is a verbal link to the traditions of Jesus’ actions at the Last Supper (1 Cor
11:23-24) and at the crucifixion (Gal 2:20). The verbal connection is clear from
the wording of Gal [Link] ‘‘I live by faith in [or: the faithfulness of] God’s Son,
the one who loved me (tou agapēsantos me) and handed himself over (paradontos
heauton) for me’’ (cf. Eph 5:2, 25).

B. Faith
Walker suggests that the concept of faith is un-Pauline, since faith is here
subjected to love; however, Gal 5:6 speaks of ‘‘faith working through love,’’ and
Gal 5:22 places ‘‘love’’ (agapē) first in the list of the Spirit’s fruit, ahead of
‘‘faithfulness/faith’’ (pistis). Walker also finds problematic the reference to a kind
of faith that enables one to remove mountains (13:2); but, as noted above (II.C.2),
this hyperbolic phrase alludes to the tradition of Jesus’ sayings (preserved in Matt
17:20 and 21:21).43

C. ‘‘In a mirror darkly’’

Walker proposes that the concept of shadowy reflections in 1 Cor 13:12
differs from the idea of walking in the light in 2 Cor 4:6. Although 2 Cor 4:6 states
that God’s light has offered believers knowledge of God’s glory seen in the face
of Christ, even this vision is incomplete, because 2 Cor 3:18 employs terminology
from the use of mirrors: ‘‘And we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror
the splendor of the Lord. . . .’’44 In this perspective, 2 Cor 3:18 agrees with 1 Cor
13:12 that our vision of God is indirect, as if through a mirror, rather than face
to face.

D. Eschatology
Walker wonders if 1 Cor 13:8-12 expresses Pauline eschatology. Elsewhere
in the letter, Paul expects that God will be all in all after the glorious return of
Christ (1 Cor 15:28). That will occur when what is teleios comes—both what is
‘‘complete’’ (13:10) and what is ‘‘mature’’ (13:11).45 The expression of escha-
tology in 13:8-12, perhaps responding to the views of Philo conveyed by Apollos,

43
Most likely, the mention of faith that can move mountains—which probably does not refer
to the common gift of Christian faith—is a rhetorical reference to the special charism of faith listed
in 1 Cor 12:9; so Fee, First Epistle, 632, and Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians, 222.
44
The rendering here of 2 Cor 3:18 comes from Furnish, II Corinthians, 202. A similar concept
is suggested by 2 Cor [Link] ‘‘We conduct ourselves according to faith, not according to appearance’’
(ibid., 253). Other Pauline texts presume the incompleteness of our present seeing (Rom 8:24-25;
2 Cor 4:18).
45
On teleios in Paul, see Gerhard Delling, ‘‘telos ktl.,’’ TDNT, 8. 49-87, esp. 75-77. Delling
notes that in 13:10 the meaning ‘‘whole’’ (or ‘‘complete’’) is suggested by the antithesis, though the
context (13:11; 14:20) suggests a further nuance of ‘‘full-grown’’ (pp. 75-76).
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differs from passages like 1 Thess 4:13–5:11, but there is no necessary contra-
diction. Indeed, the phrase ‘‘we shall always be with the Lord’’ (1 Thess 4:17) is
consonant with the idea of seeing God face to face in 1 Cor 13:12.
E. Spiritual Gifts
Walker observes that, while chap. 13 minimizes the value of spiritual gifts
(in comparison with love), chaps. 12 and 14 express the importance of these
charisms when they are rightly used. In fact, a similar contrast occurs in 1 Cor
14:17-19, where the Apostle thanks God that he can speak in tongues more than
any of the Corinthians, although he would rather say five words of instruction so
that people could be built up and edified. Despite Paul’s use of hyperbole to
express the essential role of love (13:1-3), he does not actually deny the value of
the charismatic gifts mentioned in 13:1-2, just as Gal 2:10 shows that he does not
deny the value of giving to the poor (mentioned in 1 Cor 13:3).
In 1 Cor 13:1-2 (cf. 13:8), Paul speaks of the superiority of love over the
things the Corinthians valued so highly—prophecy, tongues, and knowledge.
Paul’s phrase ‘‘If I speak in the tongues of human beings or of angels’’ (13:1)
anticipates the discussion of tongues in the next chapter (14:6-19). Likewise, ‘‘if
I have prophecy’’ (13:2) prepares for the mention of prophecy in 14:1-5. More-
over, ‘‘if I understand all the mysteries and all knowledge’’ (13:2) echoes the
previous treatment of knowing the divine mystery in 2:7-8 and of the role of
knowledge in 8:1-3 (compare 1:5 and 14:2). In fact, the comparison of love with
prophecy and tongues and knowledge (13:1-2) would be out of place elsewhere
in the NT, but here it fits the context perfectly.46
F. Martyrdom
Walker regards 13:3 as possibly making a premature and anachronistic refer-
ence to martyrdom, though (as noted in section II.A above) the manuscripts differ
on the reading (‘‘in order that I may boast’’ or ‘‘in order that I shall be burned’’).
If the latter reading (found in later MSS such as C D F G L) is preferred, Paul could
be referring to the fiery trial of the three young men in Dan 3:19-20 (cf. 1 Macc
2:59), or to the martyrdom by fire of some of the Maccabean martyrs in 2 Macc
7:5 (cf. 2 Macc 7:37; 4 Macc 6:24-26; 7:12). There is no need to presuppose
Nero’s fiery persecutions (Tacitus Ann. 15.44), which occurred a decade after
Paul had composed First Corinthians.
However, as observed in section II.A above, the four earliest textual wit-
nesses (P46 S A B) have the better reading: ‘‘in order that I may boast.’’ Paul’s

46
So Thiselton, First Epistle, 1028-29; Mitchell, Paul and the Rhetoric of Reconciliation, 58;
Fee, First Epistle, 626. The comparison in 13:8 (cf. 13:1-2) arises fittingly out of the list of charisms
in 12:8-10 (including ‘‘utterance of knowledge . . . prophecy . . . kinds of tongues’’). All three terms
(knowledge, prophecy, tongues) come in 1 Cor [Link] ‘‘If I come to you speaking in tongues, how will
I benefit you unless I speak to you either with a revelation or with knowledge or with prophecy or
with teaching?’’
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AUTHORSHIP OF 1 CORINTHIANS 13 271

point is that even the highest act of self-giving may be spoiled by an arrogant
attitude, which is the opposite of love. For the Apostle, the supreme example of
‘‘handing over one’s body’’ was Jesus’ action at the Last Supper (1 Cor 11:23-24)
and at the crucifixion (Gal 2:20). Indeed, Christ’s saving martyrdom is the foun-
dation of the Corinthians’ faith (1 Cor 1:18).

G. Faith, Hope, and Love

Walker regards this triad as a commonplace in early Christianity rather than
as a distinctly Pauline feature. Nevertheless, the first two instances of the triad are
in Paul’s earliest preserved letter. In 1 Thess 1:3, the Apostle refers to ‘‘the work
of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope,’’ while in 1 Thess 5:8 he speaks
of being ‘‘clothed with the breastplate of faith and love, and with the hope of
salvation as a helmet.’’ The triad appears again twice in the Apostle’s undisputed
letters (Gal 5:5-6; Rom 5:1-5). To be sure, it also occurs in the deutero-Pauline
epistles (Col 1:4-5; Eph 4:2-5) as well as in Hebrews (Heb 6:10-12; 10:22-24),
and it further appears in some early patristic texts (Let. Barn. 1:4; 11:8; Pol. Phil.
3:2-3). Nevertheless, since the five earliest occurrences of the triad are found in
the undisputed Pauline letters, all written before A.D. 60, it may be considered
characteristic of Paul, whether or not he invented the formula. It is perhaps not
surprising that this succinct formulation was taken up elsewhere in early Christian
writings.47

H. Knowledge
Walker proposes a mystical interpretation of Paul’s references to knowledge
in chap. 13. However, when the Apostle speaks of knowledge that will ultimately
come to completion, most scholars fittingly assume that Paul is here thinking in
eschatological terms (compare 1 Cor 15:51-55).48 Hence, there is no need to adopt
a mystical interpretation here.
Our consideration of these eight topics has shown that, far from casting
doubt on the Pauline authorship of 1 Corinthians 13, none of them contradicts it,
and many of them support it.

IV. Stylistic Features

Walker claims that 1 Corinthians 13 exhibits some stylistic features that
indicate that the chapter is a non-Pauline interpolation, but his evidence is weak.

47
On this triad, see T. Söding, Die Trias Glaube, Hoffnung, Liebe bei Paulus (SBS 150; Stutt-
gart: Katholisches Bibelwerk, 1992); cf. Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians, 229-31. The Pauline origin of
the triad is proposed by Söding (Die Trias, 40) and Wischmeyer (Der höchste Weg, 147-58), though
Conzelmann (1 Corinthians, 229) and Fee (First Epistle, 650) believe that the triad predated Paul.
Distant echoes of the triad appear in Eph 1:15-18 and 1 Pet 1:3-9.
48
Collins, First Corinthians, 486; Thiselton, First Epistle, 1065; Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians,
226; Fee, First Epistle, 644. The incompleteness of our present knowledge is implied in Rom 11:34.
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A. Transitions
Walker considers the transitions at the start and end of the chapter to be
‘‘ragged,’’49 though others regard them as appropriate for the context. Whereas
Paul speaks of being ‘‘zealous for the greatest [or: greater] charisms’’ in 12:31a,
in 14:1 he advises: ‘‘Be zealous for the spiritual gifts.’’ In fact, 12:31a and 14:1
form a kind of frame or inclusio around 12:31b-13:13, with the notion of zeal for
the spiritual gifts being repeated.50 A further inclusio appears in the word ‘‘greatest
[or: greater]’’ in 12:31a and 13:13. While in 12:31a Paul speaks of having zeal
for ‘‘the greatest [or: greater] charisms (ta charismata ta meizona),’’ in 13:13 he
declares that, whereas faith and hope and love all remain, ‘‘the greatest of these
is love (meizōn de toutōn hē agapē).’’51

B. Literary style
Walker regards as uncharacteristic of Paul the predominance of first-person
verbs (especially singular) in the chapter and the absence of verbs in the impera-
tive.52 In fact, a predominance of first-person verbs occurs in other Pauline pas-
sages (e.g., Rom 7:14-23; 1 Cor 2:1-3; 4:9-13; 9:19-23; 15:9-11; 16:5-8; 2 Cor
12:6-11; Gal 2:15-21). Indeed, while Mitchell has observed ‘‘how much Paul
talks about himself ’’ in chap. 13, she also notes ‘‘Paul’s use of himself as the
example of proper behavior’’ elsewhere in the letter (4:16; 11:1).53

49
Walker, Interpolations, 153, echoing Conzelmann, 1 Corinthians, 217.
50
Collins, First Corinthians, 442. Most translations take zēloute in 12:31a as an imperative
(‘‘be zealous’’), but as Collins notes (ibid., 471), it would be possible also to take it as an indicative:
‘‘You are zealous for the greatest [or: greater] charisms—and I am going to show you a more
extraordinary way.’’ Having then explained the way of love in a digression, Paul resumes the topic
in 14:1 with a double imperative, linking spiritual gifts and love: ‘‘Pursue love, and be zealous for the
spiritual gifts, but even more that you may prophesy.’’ Accordingly, Paul’s message is that love is the
right attitude with which to exercise the spiritual gifts. The indicative in 12:31a is proposed by G. Iber,
‘‘Zum Verständnis von 1 Kor. 12,31,’’ ZNW 54 (1963) 43-52; cf. Talbert, Reading Corinthians, 85.
However, in the view of Smit (‘‘Two Puzzles,’’ 255), the verb in 12:31a is unmistakably imperative.
On the whole verse, see also W. C. van Unnik, ‘‘The Meaning of 1 Corinthians 12.31,’’ NovT 35 (1993)
142-59.
51
Whereas most MSS of 12:31a (including P46 S A B) read meizona (‘‘greater/greatest’’), some
later MSS (such as D F G K L) have kreittona or kreissona (‘‘better/best’’). Though Walker regards this
variant as significant (Interpolations, 154), the late manuscript attestation makes it unlikely that Paul
wrote ‘‘better/best’’ in 12:31a. The latter reading may have entered the scribal tradition in response
to the interpretation of John Chrysostom (Hom. in I Cor. 32.3 [PG 61. 267]): ouk eipe, ta meizona,
alla, ta kreittona (‘‘do not say, the greater/greatest, but, the better/best’’); cf. Mitchell, Paul and the
Rhetoric of Reconciliation, 273 n. 491.
52
Walker, Interpolations, 151 (n. 19 acknowledges the possible exception of zēloute, ‘‘be
zealous,’’ in 12:31a and 14:1). Verbs in the imperative would not be expected to predominate in a piece
of epideictic rhetoric.
53
Mitchell, Paul and the Rhetoric of Reconciliation, 58 and 49. Likewise, Murphy-O’Connor
declares: ‘‘1 Corinthians is a first-person singular letter’’ (Paul: A Critical Life, 309).
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AUTHORSHIP OF 1 CORINTHIANS 13 273

The use of a triad of nouns in 13:13 is a Pauline feature found elsewhere,

as in 2 Cor 13:13.54 Stylistically, the triad of verbs in 13:11 (joined with ‘‘like a
child’’) recalls the series of three verbs in 1 Cor 6:11. Furthermore, in 1 Cor 13:8
Paul uses a threefold series eite . . . eite . . . eite . . . (‘‘whether . . . or . . . or . . .’’),
followed in each case by the name of a spiritual gift, just as at the start of 3:22
he employs a similar threefold series with eite followed in each case by the name
of an apostle.
The use of alliteration in chap. 13 is evident in phrases such as pasan tēn
pistin (‘‘all faith’’ [twofold p]) in 13:2, prosōpon pros prosōpon (‘‘face to face’’
[fivefold p]) in 13:12, and ta tria tauta (‘‘these three things’’ [fourfold t]) in 13:13.
Further alliteration occurs in the introductory clause in [Link] kai eti kath’ hyper-
bolēn hodon hymin deiknymi (‘‘and I am going to show you a more extraordinary
way’’ [threefold k and threefold aspirated h]). Alliteration, in fact, occurs else-
where in the epistle; for instance, three of the last eight words of 15:58 begin with
k (kopos . . . kenos . . . kyriōÄ , ‘‘labor . . . futile . . . Lord’’). There is also assonance
in [Link] eite glōssai . . . eite gnōsis (‘‘whether tongues . . . or knowledge’’). Indeed,
assonance occurs elsewhere in the epistle, for instance, in a similar phrase in 3:22
(as part of a longer series): eite kēphas, eite kosmos (‘‘whether Cephas, or the
world’’).55 Thus, the literary devices in 1 Corinthians 13 match what we find else-
where in Paul’s undisputed letters.

V. Use in Christian Texts Prior to A.D. 150

Walker states: ‘‘With one possible exception, . . . I can find no reference to
1 Corinthians 13 prior to the latter part of the second century.’’56 The exception
is 1 Clem. 49:2–50:2 (dated around A.D. 95 or 96).57 Indeed, 1 Clem. 49:5 echoes
1 Cor 13:4-7 in its message that love ‘‘is patient’’ (makrothymei, 13:4), bears all

54
According to Söding (Die Trias, 40 n. 14), Paul often employs triadic formulae in 1 Thessa-
lonians (1 Thess 2:3, 10, 12, 19; 4:16). The threefold patterning that recurs in 1 Corinthians 13 (noted
by Smit, ‘‘Genre,’’ 204) may possibly hint at Paul’s belief in the trinitarian God (1 Cor 12:4-6; 2 Cor
13:13).
55
A. Robertson and A. Plummer, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the First Epistle
of St Paul to the Corinthians (ICC; 2d ed.; Edinburgh: Clark, 1914) 73. They observe (p. 370) an
instance of rhyming assonance in the series in 1 Cor [Link] allē de sarx ktēnōn, allē de sarx ptēnōn
(‘‘but another the flesh of animals, but another the flesh of birds’’). Moreover, in 1 Cor 7:34 memeristai
(‘‘he has been divided’’) exhibits assonance with merimnaÄ (‘‘he is concerned’’); see Collins, First
Corinthians, 296. Note also the alliteration of paraklēsin kai paramythian (‘‘exhortation and encour-
agement’’) in 14:3 (ibid., 491). In addition, Rom 11:33 euphoniously links the adjectives anexeraunēta
(‘‘unsearchable’’) and anexichniastoi (‘‘unfathomable’’).
56
Walker, Interpolations, 162.
57
The dating follows The Apostolic Fathers (ed. and rev. M. W. Holmes; 2d ed.; trans. J. B.
Lightfoot and J. R. Harmer; Grand Rapids: Baker, 1989) 25. The translations of extracts from First
Clement are mine. For an analysis of the use of 1 Corinthians 13 in 1 Clement 49, see B. E. Bowe,
‘‘The Rhetoric of Love in Corinth: From Paul to Clement of Rome,’’ in Common Life in the Early
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things (object panta, 13:7, with different verb), and is not arrogant (13:4, different
verb).
In fact, further echoes of 1 Corinthians 13 may be detected elsewhere in First
Clement. The verb chrēsteuomai (‘‘to be kind’’), a NT hapax legomenon in 1 Cor
13:4, occurs in 1 Clem. 13:2 and 14:3, while the verb psōmizō (‘‘to dole out’’),
only in the NT in 1 Cor 13:3 and Rom 12:20, occurs in a reference to generosity
in 1 Clem. 55:2. Moreover, 1 Clem. 55:5 may echo 1 Cor 13:3 in its mention of
Judith as someone ‘‘handing herself over’’ (paradousa . . . heautēn) to danger
‘‘out of love’’ (di’ agapēn) for her people. A reminiscence of 1 Cor 13:3 and
11:23-24 may be present in the reference to the love shown in Jesus’ self-giving:
‘‘On account of the love (dia tēn agapēn) that he had toward us, he gave (edōken)
his blood for us . . . and his flesh’’ (1 Clem. 49:6). In addition, 1 Clem. 49:1
mentions ‘‘the one who has love’’ (ho echōn agapēn), which reverses the thrice-
repeated phrase in 1 Cor 13:1-3, ‘‘but I have not love’’ (agapēn de mē echō).
A potential reminiscence of 1 Corinthians 13 exists in another Christian text
written before A.D. 150. It is possible that an expression in a letter of Ignatius of
Antioch (ca. A.D. 110) echoes 1 Cor 12:31b, since in Ign. Eph. 9:1 he calls love
(agapē) the way (hodos) leading up to God.58

VI. Conclusion
This study has attempted to show that Pauline authorship of 1 Cor 12:31b–
13:13 is indicated by several factors. First, there is no text-critical evidence that
this chapter was ever missing from the epistle in early times. Moreover, the
chapter abounds in Pauline vocabulary, as well as in expressions from the LXX
and from the tradition of Jesus’ teaching that Paul might well have known. Many
of the themes here occur elsewhere in the epistle or in other undisputed Pauline
letters. The content of the chapter fits appropriately within the Apostle’s argument
in 1 Corinthians 12–14, while the chapter’s style is suitable for a piece of epi-
deictic rhetoric. Far from being ragged, the transitions at 12:31 and 14:1 point to
a Pauline digression, similar to those occurring elsewhere in the epistle. There are
also echoes of 1 Corinthians 13 in an early apostolic father, Clement of Rome, and
perhaps in Ignatius of Antioch. The cumulative value of this evidence suggests
that, in accordance with the opinion of the majority of commentators, we have in
1 Cor 12:31b–13:13 a characteristic piece of Paul’s writing.

Church: Essays Honoring Graydon F. Snyder (ed. J. V. Hills et al.; Harrisburg: Trinity, 1998) 244-57.
Unlike Bowe (pp. 255-56), Walker (Interpolations, 163) regards the links between 1 Clem. 49:5 and
1 Corinthians 13 as too distant to establish any dependence.
58
If we accept the Pauline origin of the triad of faith and hope and love, further reminiscences
of 1 Corinthians 13 may be seen in Polycarp and Barnabas. As noted in section III.G above, this triad
appears in a letter of Polycarp (Phil. 3:2-3), around A.D. 110, as well as twice in the Letter of Barnabas
(Let. Barn. 1:4; 11:8), around A.D. 130.