The Meaning of 1 Corinthians 14:10 Explained

1 Corinthians 14:10

KJV: There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.

YLT: There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is unmeaning,

Darby: There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of undistinguishable sound.

ASV: There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and no kind is without signification.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

<1487> There are,  it may be,  so many  kinds  of voices  in  the world,  and  none of them  [is] without signification. 

What does 1 Corinthians 14:10 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Corinthians 14:1-12 - The Gift Of "prophesying"
The word prophesy is used here, as so largely in Scripture, not in the limited sense of foretelling the future, but of pouring forth heaven-given speech. There was a strong tendency at Corinth to magnify the use of tongues; that is, forms of utterance which the assembly could not understand. The Apostle rebukes this, and says that it is far better to be able to speak to the edification of the hearers. Indeed, he directs that speech in an unknown tongue should be withheld, unless someone were present who could explain and interpret it.
The gift of tongues was a special sign intended for the convincing of that age, but it was not a necessary accompaniment of the filling of the Holy Spirit, and is certainly of inferior value. A mere blare of a trumpet, without note or modulation, conveys no meaning to the waiting ranks of soldiers; and the mere sound of an unknown tongue startles without teaching. Do not be content merely to make a sound; say something. Seek to do actual service to others is one of the three directions suggested in 1 Corinthians 14:3. Edification is the building up of the soul in truth. Comfort is for the distressed and weary. Consolation is the heartening of the soul to fresh enterprise. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Corinthians 14

1  Prophecy is commended,
2  and preferred before speaking in tongues,
6  by a comparison drawn from musical instruments
12  Both must be referred to edification,
22  as to their true and proper end
26  The true use of each is taught,
27  and the abuse rebuked
34  Women in the churches

Greek Commentary for 1 Corinthians 14:10

It may be [ει τυχοι]
Condition of fourth class (ει — ei and aorist optative of τυγχανω — tugchanō), if it should happen. Common enough idiom. Cf. τυχον — tuchon in 1 Corinthians 16:6. [source]
Without signification [απωνον]
Old adjective Without the faculty of speech (1 Corinthians 12:2; Acts 8:32; 2 Peter 2:16). [source]
Voices - without signification [φωνῶν - ἄφωνων]
The translation loses the word-play. So many kinds of voices, and no kind is voiceless. By voices are meant languages. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for 1 Corinthians 14:10

Acts 2:6 When this sound was heard [γενομενης της πωνης ταυτης]
Genitive absolute with aorist middle participle. Note πωνη — phōnē this time, not ηχο — ēcho as in Acts 2:1. Πωνη — Phōnē originally meant sound as of the wind (John 3:8) or an instrument (1 Corinthians 14:7, 1 Corinthians 14:8, 1 Corinthians 14:10), then voice of men. The meaning seems to be that the excited “other tongues” of Acts 2:4 were so loud that the noise drew the crowd together. The house where the 120 were may have been (Hackett) on one of the avenues leading to the temple. [source]
1 Corinthians 15:37 It may chance [ει τυχοι]
Fourth class condition as in 1 Corinthians 14:10 which see. Paul is rich in metaphors here, though usually not so (Howson, Metaphors of St. Paul). Paul was a city man. We sow seeds, not plants (bodies). The butterfly comes out of the dying worm. [source]

What do the individual words in 1 Corinthians 14:10 mean?

So many if it may be kinds of languages there are in [the] world and none without meaning
Τοσαῦτα εἰ τύχοι γένη φωνῶν εἰσιν ἐν κόσμῳ καὶ οὐδὲν ἄφωνον

Τοσαῦτα  So  many 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Nominative Neuter Plural
Root: τοσοῦτος  
Sense: of quantity: so great, so many.
τύχοι  it  may  be 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Optative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: τυγχάνω  
Sense: to hit the mark.
γένη  kinds 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Neuter Plural
Root: γένος  
Sense: race.
φωνῶν  of  languages 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Plural
Root: φωνή  
Sense: a sound, a tone.
εἰσιν  there  are 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
κόσμῳ  [the]  world 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: κόσμος  
Sense: an apt and harmonious arrangement or constitution, order, government.
οὐδὲν  none 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root: οὐδείς 
Sense: no one, nothing.
ἄφωνον  without  meaning 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root: ἄφωνος 
Sense: voiceless, dumb.

What are the major concepts related to 1 Corinthians 14:10?

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