# Translation: "rather than" a tinkling symbol



## Afterthought (Dec 7, 2013)

1 Corinthians 13 reads "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal."

I have heard that this is translated incorrectly: it should say "rather than" a tinkling cymbal. The reason is that the Greek word could mean "or" just as well as "rather than" and so context must determine the meaning. In this context, (1) it wouldn't make sense for Paul to make an unfavorable comparison to a sounding brass twice in a row (since the cymbal is made out of brass; so the comparison would be effectively read "sounding brass or tinkling brass"). (2) The tinkling cymbal is an OT instrument of worship and is always seen in a favorable light, so it wouldn't make sense for Paul to make an unfavorable comparison to something that should be looked on favorably.


For myself, I consulted commentaries and translations. They make no mention of this possibility for a translation, and they all translate it uniformly as "or." In looking at a Greek dictionary, it appears the word their could indeed mean "rather than" or "or," but I am not entirely sure since there can always be complexities that one ignorant of the language might not be aware of. But so far as a contextual argument goes, the above proposed translation seems to miss the point, especially in light of 1 Corinthians 14 mentioning the lifeless instruments: the point being that tongues are just making sounds into the air if done without charity, and also (especially?) so if the tongues are not translated for those who don't know the language (which is an uncharitable use of the gift?). To translate it as "rather than" would mean tongues used with charity are still unintelligible sounds that are made into the air and that such unintelligibility is the ideal use of the gift.

And further, "sounding brass" and "tinkling cymbal" are not so identical as for it to sound strange for the use of "or"; not to mention that "repetition" is common in the OT and NT, and especially in poetic portions. And further still, it seems to me the above reasons are rather speculative, though I wonder whether the argument for "or" is any less so.


So my questions...

(1) Are my own thoughts on the right track? Am I incorrect on something?

(2) Are there any other reasons for rejecting the proposed translation and keeping the old translation? (if indeed the old translation is correct; if not, are there better reasons for a different translation?)

(3) Are translation choices really that speculative, or are there harder reasons given for translating something when the word could go either way? Because if the above reasons are the sort usually used in translating, it sure doesn't give one much confidence, since such reasons seem quite speculative indeed and seem to leave even one who knows Greek wondering what was actually said.

(4) An aside question: when consulting the commentaries, most would say "tinkling" is better translated as "clanging." Agree/disagree and why?


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## CharlieJ (Dec 7, 2013)

That's not really possible, for two reasons:

First, it needlessly complicates the flow of thought. If it really said "rather than," we would have to sit down and wonder why a person without love would be like one instrument rather than another. It is much simpler and more fitting to realize the contrast is between a human voice that can convey meaning and an instrument that makes sound but does not convey a message.

But the best answer is just that the grammar won't work. The word in question only vary rarely means "than" when not used with some other comparative word (more than, less than) or an adjective that implies comparison or some verb that implies comparison (I desire X rather than Y; I choose X rather than Y).


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## Afterthought (Dec 23, 2013)

Thank you, that is helpful.

That seems to me to cover it, but just in case, any further thoughts from others?


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