Love as a Verb (1 Cor 13:4–8a)

Abstract

1 Corinthians 13:4–8a uses sixteen verbs (active in meaning and in the present tense) to express positive and negative characteristics of agapē (love). This choice of verbs sets Paul’s hymn to love apart from other passages where he presents characteristics of love but not through an exclusive use of verbs (e.g., Rom 12:9–21). Some commentators (e.g., Joseph Fitzmyer and Anthony Thiselton) note the apostle’s use of verbs in 1 Corinthians 13:4–8a, without discussing reasons for the choice. Other commentators, including Wolfgang Schrage, do not even observe the presence of sixteen verbs. With help from Daniel Wallace’s work on Greek grammar, this article argues that for Paul love consists not so much in a set of habitual characteristics but in doing (or refraining from doing) certain things. One might even say that love exists in action or it does not exist at all.