Gift Of Tongues
Charles Buck Theological Dictionary [1]
An ability given to the apostles of readily and intelligibly speaking a variety of languages which they had never learnt. This was a most glorious and important attestation to the Gospel, as well as a suitable, and indeed, in their circumstances, a necessary furniture for the mission for which the apostles and their assistants were designed. Nor is there any reason, with Dr. Middleton, to understand it as merely an occasional gift, so that a person might speak a language most fluently one hour, and be entirely ignorant of it in the next; which neither agrees with what is said of the abuse of it, nor would have been sufficient to answer the end proposed.
See Acts 2:1-47 :
See Gill and Henry in Loc.; Jortin's Remarks, vol. 1: p. 15-21; Essay on the Gift of Tongues; Middleton's Miscel. Works, vol. 2: p. 379; Doddridge's Lect. lec. 141.
Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary [2]
an ability given to the Apostles and others of readily and intelligibly speaking a variety of languages which they had never learned. This was a glorious and decisive attestation to the Gospel, as well as a suitable, and, indeed, in their circumstances, a necessary qualification for the mission for which the Apostles and their coadjutors were designed. Nor is there any reason, with Dr. Middleton, to understand it as merely an occasional gift, so that a person might speak a language most fluently one hour, and be entirely ignorant of it the next; which neither agrees with what is said of the abuse of it, nor would it have been sufficient to answer the end proposed, Acts 2. Some appear to have been gifted with one tongue, others with more. To St. Paul this endowment was vouchsafed in a more liberal degree, than to many others; for, as to the Corinthians, who had received the gift of tongues, he says, "that he spake with tongues more than they all."
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia [3]
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [4]
(See Gift Of Tongues).
