Skip to main content

Primary sourceBookc. AD 53-57

1 Corinthians 13

Paul the Apostle · c. AD 53-57

Paul's famous passage on love, written as part of his letter to the church at Corinth, one of the most widely quoted texts in the New Testament.

Paul composed this passage himself as part of a letter correcting his converts, showing his views on love as central to Christian life.

Ask Saint Paul about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Scan of a fragmentary papyrus leaf with faded brown Greek uncial-style text in columns, with torn and missing sections. It is a manuscript of 1 Corinthians 7:33-8:4, not chapter 13.
1 Corinthians 13, attributed to Paul the Apostle, mid-50s AD. Manuscript image shows a different passage from the same epistle (7:33-8:4).

About this source

What it is

This chapter was written by Paul the Apostle, probably from Ephesus in the mid-50s AD, as part of his First Epistle to the Corinthians. It sits within a longer discussion about spiritual gifts and argues that love matters more than any impressive ability. The image shown is a fragment of an ancient papyrus manuscript, but of a different passage from the same letter, not chapter 13 itself.

Why it matters

The chapter has shaped Christian ethics and worship for centuries and remains one of the most quoted passages from any of Paul's writings, used widely in literature, music and public life. Scholars debate whether its elevated language makes it a

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Saint Paul on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Saint Paul sources

Meet the AI Saint Paul →
Scan of a manuscript page with about twenty lines of handwritten Latin in a medieval-style hand, with a small decorative heading at the top. Some lines have large initial letters and flourishes.Letter

Primary source

Epistle to the Romans

Paul the Apostle · c. AD 57

Engraving of an elderly bearded man with a halo, wearing a draped robe and holding an open book, standing beside a wall with a sword at his feet. Dated 1514 with the AD monogram. Black and white.Painting

Secondary source

Saint Paul

Albrecht Dürer · 1514

Page 300 of the 1848 Prekmurian New Testament, headed 'Szvétoga Pavla Apostola I. K Korinthusánczom Piszani Liszt' with two columns of Prekmurian Slovene text, chapter 1 verses 1 to 13.Letter

Secondary source

First Epistle to the Corinthians

Paul the Apostle · c. 54 AD

Colored 1879 map titled 'Map Illustrating the Travels of St. Paul' by H.H. Hardesty, showing the Mediterranean, Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, Egypt and the Holy Land with routes marked in lines and numbered journeys.Document

Secondary source

Map Illustrating the Travels of St. Paul

H.H. Hardesty · 1879

Photograph of a fragmentary papyrus leaf with dark ink Greek uncial-style text in columns on a black background. A section ends with a heading reading Pros Galatas, then continues with the opening lines of the letter.Letter

Primary source

Epistle to the Galatians

Paul the Apostle · c. AD 48

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Saint Paul now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions