Posted on 08/18/2015 11:36:30 AM PDT by LearsFool
Is the ability to read Greek necessary to understanding the Bible? Or is access to Greek scholarship necessary for avoiding the pitfalls of the translations from men?
No doubt reading Chekov or Baudelaire or Julius Caesar in their original tongues adds a richness otherwise missed. And understanding the "Hebraisms" and Hebrew poetic devices found in the Scriptures enhance our enjoyment. As the saying goes, there's often something lost in the translation. But what is it? Can TRUTH be lost in the translation of the Scriptures?
God did not leave us at the mercy of Greek scholars and "experts" for our understanding of His revelation to us. Just as He was able to preserve His Word despite attempts to destroy it physically, He is able to preserve its meaning despite attempts to twist it by mistranslation. Let's look at a couple of examples, beginning with Matt. 16:19, which varies in translation:
KJV: "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
NASB: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”
A bit of research will explain why the NASB has the present perfect tense "shall have been bound" instead of the future-tense-sounding "shall be bound". But we needn't worry too much about all that. Because, again, we're not dependant on the translators for our understanding of what Jesus meant. All we need to do is have patience and let God teach us through His Word, and He'll correct any mistaken preconceptions and assumptions we've acquired.
So how does this binding and loosing work then? If we don't know Greek, how can we ever understand it?
As we read on in the Bible, we find Jesus in Matt. 18:18 saying the very same thing to the disciples that He had said to Peter, and in John 20:20 saying something very similar. Then, beginning in Acts 2, we find the keys of the kingdom of heaven being wielded, as Christ's apostles announce the conditions of entry into the kingdom. We find that they spoke as inspired by the Spirit, as Jesus had promised them (in John 16, Matt. 10, etc.), binding and loosing on earth the things revealed from heaven by that Spirit. We find them declaring God's conditions for the forgiveness of sins, and consequently the conditions for the retention (non-forgiveness) of sins.
If we didn't know what Jesus meant when we first read Matt. 16:19, we're beginning to understand, aren't we, after seeing the story unfold?
Let's look briefly at one more example: baptism. If we didn't know what baptism was, if (for instance) our copy of the Bible had a inaccurate translation of the word, or if we had been taught it was but a sprinkling of water on the forehead, or if we were confused about its purpose, would all be lost? Would there be no way to ever remedy our ignorance and correct our error?
The Bible tells us what the form and the function of baptism are, so that in every passage addressing it, we learn more about it. The result is that no matter how much the translator or teacher has tried to disguise the truth about baptism, with each encounter we peer a bit deeper through that disguise, and God's truth shines through. So if we didn't know what baptism was all about when we first encountered it, our understanding grows as we read through the Bible.
No, knowing Greek is not necessary. God's Word will correct all our misunderstandings. But it will do so only if we're willing to set aside our preconceptions and be taught by Him. A few are able to do this. Are you one of them?
Thank you! :-)
But the Bible does interpret itself for us. For instance, when we read the story of the man caught picking up sticks on the Sabbath, and God’s command to the Israelites to stone him to death, doesn’t that help us understand what He means by “Thou shalt not kill”?
I agree with your last statement in the article, although, I also know I have learned so much more from Scripture when I have studied the Greek and re-read the passages with the additional vocabulary.
Think about this way.
We are all condemned before we are saved. We all have souls after we are born, given to us by God. We have a regenerated human spirit created after we exercise faith in Christ upon understanding the Gospel and turn to God, confessing our sins through faith in Christ and what He provided on the Cross.
We now go through life, still with a soul, but now also with a human spirit, where God the Holy Spirit indwells in this age.
He sanctifies our thinking in our souls as we intake His Word and understand it.
Our souls are still scarred, though, from years of learning independent of faith in Christ. If we aren’t in fellowship with Him as we study His Word, we easily fall into old sinful methods of worldly problem solving, instead of living through faith in Him.
If we read His Word, and are thinking what He intended, then God the Holy Spirit processes that into our soul, cleaning our thinking processes so that we are slowly purified and sanctified in our thinking.
It is also possible to read the Bible, without thinking His Word. This can cause a range of scarred thinking and arrogance problems ranging from legalism to lasciviousness.
While the Greek isn’t required to learn His Word, it sometimes helps some believers to grow a new vocabulary and might introduce some scarred souls back to the original intent of His Word, which we have unwittingly been reading into for many years.
You’re too nice! I wouldn’t approve anyone’s program to dismiss language learning. That act of translation is next to salvation.
What an excellent post!!!
Don't think Greek would help with that one, unless you were using the Septuagint.
Perhaps we’ve misunderstood one another.
I’m not disparaging studying Greek. (I study it myself, and make use of lexicons, interlinears, etc. from time to time.)
What I’m discouraging is depending on Greek fluency (which sometimes really means, Greek “experts”) for truth, when the Bible itself will teach us truth and correct any errors. So then all we need to do is keep studying the Bible, and we’ll study our way out of our mistakes. No Greek required. :-)
“Yes, it’s interesting to note the wide academic interest in Greek culture and language - even among those who care nothing about the Bible. God surely knew what He was doing in having the Scriptures written in and translated into Koine Greek, so that His Word would forever be readable.”
God’s naughtiest and yet His favorite children are the Jews and the Greeks. The OT is in Hebrew and the NT in Greek so we have every advantage and no excuses.... Trust me on this one!
I see. You want to have Greek without learning Greek. And to that I say, all gold is hard to find.
Msgr. Pope points out how we can be misunderstanding certain things because of translation of the language.
Yes, I saw that. Having mulled this subject over for a couple weeks, that post made me decide to write what I did, lest anyone be led away from a reliance on the Scriptures to a reliance upon Greek scholars.
The KJB is the perfect translation of the Greek and Hebrew into English.
Increased depth of study is like the forming of relationships.
We are initially attracted to other people for a variety of reasons: appearance, personality, character, common interests, ease of communication and so forth.
Deeper relationships develop naturally when we desire to learn more. We become more comfortable in communicating with another person as the increased knowledge increases our trust and understanding. This lights up the fire to keep learning more.
It’s not that delving into the original languages is a requirement for its own sake, but it should indicate a certain *natural* and compelling desire to search deeper, at whatever level we are able.
To say that it is *not* a requirement is like saying it is not necessary to get to know our friends and spouses. The pursuit [of further knowledge] is not a goal per se, it’s an automatic inclination.
Who wouldn’t be drawn in by mutual deep eye contact? It goes right to the level of souls. It’s a world that asks to be explored, not blocked out. Out come the maps, navigation equipment, and other supplies needed for the journey. No specific destination needs to be in mind, but who’s going to be deciding at the outset, “Oh, I won’t need that map.”? Heck we load up for the trip with as much as we can carry ‘cause ya never know... :)
(Not knocking your post in any way; I am merely trying to draw out a subtle but dramatic difference in perspective.)
Perfect? Are you sure about that? How so?
Then these Greek scholars must surely love God much more than the uneducated cleaning lady who merely reads her hand-me-down KJV Bible on her lunch break and evenings before bedtime.
Right?
;-)
There are those who will pursue *false* relationships for whatever the motivations stir their dark hearts.
I was writing of those of honest minds, *no matter their station in life*, who desire to love with all their hearts and souls.
It's a natural inclination to be together with their beloved, whether that means extra time spent holding hands at lunchtime, or in discussing mutual scholarly interests.
Greek is your specific topic, but the idea of *setting a limit* on pursuing further knowledge is alien to the greater subject matter.
God knows the heart of the scholar and also the cleaning lady. He knows who is "all" in.
Matthew 22:36-40
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Except if you're reading a translation, you're reading a translation of the Bible and not the Bible itself, so the Bible is unable to "correct" anything.
I take it you're one of those "the KJV is divinely inspired (and the British peoples are true Israel but I don't want to say that out loud)" types.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.