Interpreting Interpreter: Through Dark Glass

This post is a summary of the article “Through a Glass Darkly: Was There a Twentieth-Century Corruption of 1 Corinthians 13:12?” by Charles Dike in Volume 64 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. All of the Interpreting Interpreter articles may be seen at https://interpreterfoundation.org/category/summaries/. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter series is available at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought/.

A video introduction to this Interpreter article is now available on all of our social media channels, including on YouTube at https://youtube.com/shorts/oDH34qrsVGc.

The Takeaway

Dike explores how Paul’s phrase “through a glass darkly” could refer to looking through darkened glass to view an eclipse, with just such an eclipse occurring in the Mediterranean a few years prior. As the Jews equated glass with the veil of the temple, this strengthens the idea that we will someday be able to comprehend the full brightness of God’s glory.

The Summary

In this article, Charles Dike continues his fascination with the spiritual implications of astral phenomena, examining Paul’s phrase “for now we see through a glass darkly” as a potential reference to viewing the sun through darkened glass. Just a few years before Paul’s annular, “ring of fire” eclipse swept through the eastern Mediterranean, and would’ve only been safe to observe through dark glass of the kind in common use during that era. These types of observations were common across ancient cultures and quite sophisticated, allowing them to track eclipse phases and even note sunspots.

The Jews of the time had a familiarity with glass, with traditions of Moses and others receiving prophecies and viewing the Divine through clear glass or crystal. The full context of Paul’s statement suggests that “observers need an object interposed between them and an intense light,” such as with the veil of the temple or with God hiding from sinners in a cloud. The fact that Paul was himself blinded following his revelatory experience with Christ further strengthens that image.

The meaning of “through a glass” has long been under debate, particularly in the late 1800s, where the idea that he was referring to looking at a flawed mirror eventually won out with most commentators, given that the underlying Greek word is used elsewhere in the New Testament in a reflective context. These commentators appear to have missed the ancient Greek and Jewish sources that would have made a glass-based interpretation much clearer, leading to several new translations of Paul’s statement that replace “glass” with “mirror.”

As Dike concludes:

“Paul being blinded on the road to Damascus left an imprint on his letters to the Corinthians. The Corinthians would have seen a partial eclipse and would have been aware of the ring of fire in 49 AD…Paul pulled from the traditions of the Jews in equating the glass to the veil in the temple. And so, his argument was that, for now, we cannot abide the full glory of God (or his complete knowledge), but that someday we will be able to see the Lord face to face and comprehend the full brightness of his glory.”

The Reflection

I remember where I was on August 21, 2017, during the eclipse that inspired Dike to write this article. I wasn’t lucky enough to be in the path of totality, but my family and I made a specific trip from Canada down to Oregon to get as close as we could. The surreal nature of even a near-eclipse, with the leaves on trees casting crescent-shaped shadows and the shadow-snakes of the corona running across the ground, was more than enough to induce awe. I can only imagine the impression that would have made on the people of the levant—certainly enough of one that even an oblique reference to it by Paul would’ve been an effective image.

And for me, the idea of seeing through a glass darkly is one that comes to mind with great frequency, especially as I consider the Restoration and the authenticity of the Book of Mormon. We can speak with confidence on a number of related topics, but there’s no way for us to transport ourselves into the mind of Mormon or Nephi or Joseph Smith, or of Christ himself. What knowledge we do have is filtered through the lens of our own preconception. I, like Paul, can look forward to the day where I can know even as I am known.

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