First Corinthians

Q. Did Paul write 1 Corinthians 13? Its hymn-like quality, in contrast to the chapters that frame it, seems cause for suspicion.

A. The questioner makes an astute observation. Undoubtedly, there is a contrast between the rhetorically elevated description of love in chapter 13 and the prosaic exhortations and arguments regarding spiritual gifts in chapters 12 and 14. And chapter 13 does transition from second person to first person speech with the speaker apparently setting himself forth as a model of love. The text moves smoothly, furthermore, from 1Cor 12:31-14:1 thereby making some think that chapter 13 is either an interpolation or was penned by someone else.

Few, however, find these observations strong enough to convince that chapter 13 was written by someone other than Paul. Paul is more than capable of speaking in different voices, can use different generic and rhetorical conventions, and can engage in rhetorically elevated speech (e.g., Rom 7:7-25; 2Cor 10-13). Paul has, furthermore, done something quite similar in 1Cor 8-10 where in chapter 9, in an apparent digression, he appeals to his own example of renouncing rights as a model for how the strong in Corinth should respond to the weak.

So here in chapter 13, love and regard for the other is the interpretive key for exercising spiritual gifts in the community. Finally, 1Cor 13 is tightly integrated into Paul’s broader argument. Love is set forth as the antidote to the Corinthian divisions and the competitive dispositions that lead to the factions. What is claimed for love, then, is the necessary antidote to the Corinthians’ boasting (1Cor 1:29-31; 1Cor 3:21; 1Cor 4:7; 1Cor 5:6), arrogance (1Cor 4:6; 1Cor 4:18-19; 1Cor 5:2; 1Cor 8:1), jealousies (1Cor 3:3), and self-seeking (1Cor 10:24, 1Cor 10:33). For these reasons, claims that 1Cor 13 was not written by Paul have not convinced many.