Commentary on the Epistles to the Corinthians John Calvin
John Calvin one way or another, the manners of a state. To speak into the air is to beat the air (1 Corinthians 9:26) to no purpose. "Thy voice will not reach either God or man, but will vanish into air."
10. None of them dumb 820 He now speaks in a more general way, for he now takes in the natural voices of animals. He uses the term dumb here, to mean confused — as opposed to an articulate voice; for the barking of dogs differs from the neighing of horses, and the roaring of lions from the braying of asses. Every kind of bird, too, has its own particular way of singing and chirping. The whole order of nature, therefore, as appointed by God, invites us to observe a distinction. 821
11. I shall be to him that speaketh a barbarian 822 The tongue ought to be an index of the mind — not merely in the sense of the proverb, but in the sense that is explained by Aristotle in the commencement of his book — "On Interpretation." 823 How foolish then it is and preposterous in a man, to utter in an assembly a voice of which the hearer understands nothing — in which he perceives no token from which he may learn what the person means! It is not without good reason, therefore, that Paul views it as the height of absurdity, that a man should be a barbarian to the hearers, by chattering in an unknown tongue, and at the same time he elegantly treats with derision the foolish ambition of the Corinthians, who were eager to obtain praise and fame by this means. "This reward," says he, "you will earn — that you will be a barbarian." For the term barbarian, whether it be an artificial one, (as Strabo thinks, 824 ) or derived from some other origin, is taken in a bad sense.
820"That in this passage," says Dr. Henderson, "{φωνὴ}, which properly signifies sound, then voice, must be taken in the sense of language or dialect, is evident: for it would not be true, that there are no sounds or voices in the world ({ἄφωνων}) without signification, according as these terms are usually understood. The meaning is --- every language is intelligible to some nation or other; and it is only to persons who are ignorant of it, that its words are destitute of signification. This the Apostle illustrates in a very forcible manner: `Therefore, if I know not the, meaning of the voice, ({τὢς} {φωνὢς}, of the language,) I shall be to him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian unto me.' We shall be like two foreigners, who do not understand each other's tongue. The very use of the term interpret and interpretation, as applied to this subject, also proves that he could only have intelligent language in view: it being a contradiction in terms to speak of interpreting that which has no meaning.'' Henderson on Inspiration. --- Ed
821"C'est a dire, nous monstre aucunement qu'il faut parler en sorte que nous soyons entendus;" — "That is to say, it shows us, in a manner, that we must speak so as to be understood."
822"The Greeks, after the custom of the Egyptians, mentioned by; Herodotus, (lib. 2,) called all those barbarians who did not speak their language. In process of time, however, the Romans having subdued the Greeks, delivered themselves by the force of arms from that opprobrious appellation; and joined the Greeks in calling all barbarians who did not speak either the Greek or the Latin language. Afterwards, barbarian signified any one who spoke a language which another did not understand. Thus the Scythian philosopher, Anacharsis, said, that among the Athenians the Scythians were barbarians; and among the Scythians the Athenians were barbarians. In like manner Ovid. Trist. 5. 10, 'Barbarus hic ego sum, quia non intelligor ulli;' — 'I am a barbarian here, because I am not understood by any one.' This is the sense which the Apostle affixes to the word barbarian, in the present passage. McKnight. — Ed.
823"La langue doit estre comme vn image, pour expimer et representer ce qui est en l'entendement;" — "The tongue should be like an image, to express and represent what is in the understanding."
824He considers the term {βάρβαρος}, (barbarian,) to be a term constructed in imitation of the sense --- to convey the idea of one that speaks with difficulty and harshness. See Strabo, Book 14. Bloomfield considers