9. Some beautiful comparisons occur. "An evil tongue is a sharp sword" (Psa. Ivii, 4) ; " the tongue of the wise is health" (Prov. xii, 18) ; " like choice silver" (x, 20), i. e. his words are solid, valuable, sincere.
10. The vires of the tongue are specified in great va- riety : flattery (Psa. v, 9; Prov. xxviii. 33); backbiting (Psa. XV, 3), literally "run about with the tongue" (Prov. xxv, 23) ; deceit (Psa. 1, 19); unrestrained speech
TONGUE
463 TONGUES, CONFUSION OF
0xxiii,9); h-ing (cix, 2) ; " a lying tongue liateth those that are atHicted by it" (l^rov. xxvi,'JS ; eoriip. Tacit. A;ir. 42, "Proprium humant ingenii est,(»lisse qiiem kvseris"). " They have taught tiieir tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity" (.ler.ix. 5) — words which beautifully illustrate the fact that falsehood and vice are not natural, but are a restraint and conipulsion upon nat- ure: "double-tongued" (1 rim.iii,fS),J(A<)yo<., saying one thing to this man and another to that (comp. Ecclus. v, 9, 14; xxviii, 13). The retribution of evil-speakers is represented as brought on themselves (Psa. Ixiv, 8).
11. The virtuous uses of the tongue are specified: "keeping the tongue" (Psa. xxxiv, 13; 1 Pet. iii, 10; Prov. xxi, 23): "ruling the tongue" (Ecclus. xix, 6 ; James i,2ti); the origin of the right and wrong use of the tongue traced to the heart (Matt, xii, 34).
12. jNlistranslations : as "holding the tongue;" the Hebrews had no such idiom (Psa. xxxix,2; Ecclus. xx, 1,7; comp. the Bible ami Prayer-book version of Hab. i. 13). In Ezra iv, 7, "the Syrian tongue," literally "in Syriac" (Ksth. vii, 4). Our mistranslation of Prov. xvi, 1 has misled many: " The preparations of the heart ill man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord ;" literally, " Of man are the dispositions of the heart, but a hearing of the tongtie is of the Loril."
13. The miraculous <iifi oftou(/iin'. as well as its cor- responding gift of interpretation, has been the subject of two opinions. It was promised by Ciirist to believ- ers : they shall speak yAwfTdaic," Ktiti'alc (Jlark xvi, 17); and fulfilled at Pentecost, when the apostles and their companions "began to speak trepaic yAanro-afg" (Acts ii, 4,11; comp. Acts X, 4(5; xix, 6; lCor.xii,oO; xiv,2.39). In the last passage we have " to pray in a tongue" (ver. 14), "to speak words in a tongue" (ver. 19), "tongues" (1 Cor. xii, 10, 28; xiii, 8; xiv, 22, 2(i). The obvious explanation of most of the.se passages is, to speak in other liriiif/ languages, the supernatural acquisition of which demonstrated the truth of the Gospel, and was a means of diffusing it. Some verses in 1 Cor. xiv, how- ever, have given rise to the notion of a strange, ^c&tAiic, inspired, unearthly language; but these all admit of a different solution. In ver. 2, "lie who .«peaketh in a tongue" evidently meatus, he who speaks some foreign living language; the supplied word " uid^nown" in the A. V. is neeiUess, and misleads the English reader. It is further said that "he editieth himself" (which, as Macknight justly plea<ls, re(piired that lie should un- derstand himself), and editieth the Church also if an in- terpreter were present (ver. 28). The apfistle says (ver. 14), "If I pray in a tongue, my s])irit prayeth, but my nnderstanding is unfruitful," which wortis in English seem to intimate that the speaker might not understand himself; but the words 6 Si voi<Q juon' signify "my meaning'" (comp. ii, IG; Yulg. "sensuin Domini"), or, as Hammond and Schleusner say, " my faculty of think- ing upon and explaining to others the meaning of what I utter" (comp. ver. 15, 19), though in ver. 15 some take Tip voi as a datirus commodi, and render " that others may understand." The key to the difheidties of this subject is the supposed absence of an inspired interpret- er (ver. 28), in which case the gift would not he profita- ble to the hearers. Tlie gift of tongues was to cease (1 Cor. xiii, 8). Iren.Tiis testifies (v, (>) that it subsisted in the Church in his time. When Paid says, that though he should speak with the tongue of men anil of angels, it would be nothing without charity, he uses a sup- posed hyperbole; as when we say, angelical beauty, an- gelical voice, etc., e. g. " I would have every one set a due value on the gift of tongues; but though a man possessed the most exquisite eloquence, this inestimable gift would be of little use to him, as to salvation, if he be without charity." See Macknight, Xates on 1 Cor, xiv ; Olshaiisen, Comment, on Arts ii, 4; Neander, Hist, of the Apostolic Age, and in hibl. liepos. iv, 249, etc.; Stosch, ^-1 'rc/i(eoL (Ficon. N. T. p. 93 ; Gataker, ad M. Anton, p. 120; and Ernesti, Lex. Techn. Gr. R/iet. p. 62. — Kitto. See Spiuitual Gifts.
Tongues, Confusiox of. The Biblical account of this is given in the usual anthropomorphic style of Scripture in (ieu. xi, 1-9, and has been the occasion of much discussion and speculation. To inquire into the date of this part of Genesis would lead us into a long discussion : it may be siitHcient to express an opinion that tlie indications of x, 12 perhaps (strangely ignored by most writers), and ver. 18 certainly, seem to point to an age much before that of jMoses. See below. We propose under the present head to treat the subject un- der two aspects, the historical and tiie linguistic, using for that purpose whatever material we find appropriate in the dictionaries of Kitto and Smith.