Divine Madness? Speaking in Tongues in 1 Corinthians 14.23

The response of the hypothetical outsider in 1 Cor. 14.23 to hearing uninterpreted tongues is usually understood as one of alienation. This fits an exegetical consensus that takes tongues as a sign of divine judgment on unbelievers. Yet the exclamationmai/nesqe may, in fact, be positive. If it is a social categorization by the outsider of tongues as parallel to the phenomenon of divinely gifted madness within Graeco-Roman religion, the response is very likely not one of alienation. Uninterpreted tongues are a positive sign to the outsider of divine activity among the Corinthian believers, but are inadequate from Paul’s perspective as they fail to communicate the gospel. This article defends the plausibility both of the outsider drawing such a parallel and of its positive sense. Its argument counters a tendency among recent commentators to note the parallel but to uphold the exegetical consensus that the response is one of alienation.