Were the Rabbis Riffing on Corinthians?

Why is a phrase from a tractate in the Talmud so similar to one in Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians?

Cole Aronson writes:

Do you know what the story is with the phrase “through a glass darkly” from Paul’s Epistle to the Corinthians in the New Testament? I ask because in the Talmud, in the tractate of Y’vamot 49b, the phrase aspaklaria she’einah me’irah, “a mirror that is not bright” is used in a similar way. Could this just have been a common expression? Presumably, the rabbis were not riffing on Corinthians.

The resemblance between the two passages is indeed striking, both for how they do and how they do not resemble one another. Here, in the King James Bible’s translation from the Greek, are Paul’s words in the first of his two letters to the Christians of Corinth:

Subscribe to Continue Reading

Get the best Jewish ideas and conversations. Subscribe to Tikvah Ideas All Access for $10/month

Already subscribed? Sign in

Cole Aronson writes:

Do you know what the story is with the phrase “through a glass darkly” from Paul’s Epistle to the Corinthians in the New Testament? I ask because in the Talmud, in the tractate of Y’vamot 49b, the phrase aspaklaria she’einah me’irah, “a mirror that is not bright” is used in a similar way. Could this just have been a common expression? Presumably, the rabbis were not riffing on Corinthians.

Save Save Gift Gift