13:1–13 This chapter involves a shift of
perspective and a new point. All or part of the material may once have been
an independent piece in the style of Hellenistic eulogies of virtues, but it is
now integrated, by editing, into the context of 1 Corinthians 12–14 (cf.
the reference to tongues and prophecy) and into the letter as a whole (cf. the
references to knowledge and to behavior). The function of 1 Corinthians 13
within the discussion of spiritual gifts is to relativize all the charisms by
contrasting them with the more basic, pervasive, and enduring value that gives
them their purpose and their effectiveness. The rhetoric of this chapter is
striking. (Little Rock Catholic Study Bible, ed. Catherine
Upchurch, Irene Nowell, and Ronald D. Witherup [rev ed.; Little Rock, Ark.:
Little Rock Scripture Study, 2011], 2348)
