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Why study Hebrew and Greek?
How does a basic knowledge of the Greek and
Hebrew languages aid and enhance our understanding of Scripture?
What tools are available to study this
fascinating and fruitful topic?
About 40 people, over a span of more than 1,500
years, were inspired to write parts of God's word.
In the Old Testament, most books were written in
Hebrew, with some sections authored in Aramaic (parts of Ezra, Jeremiah,
Daniel, etc.).
The New Testament was authored in Koine (common
or unsophisticated) Greek, which was the everyday language spoken by people in
the marketplace.
Why it matters
Why not just read and study the Bible in any
English translation and not bother with the Greek or Hebrew behind it?
Throughout history those who have translated
God's word from one language (e.g. Greek) to another (e.g. English), skilled
though they may be, have made mistakes.
Translation itself is a difficult task, as words
and their meaning in one language do not usually possess an exact equivalent in
other ones.
Additions, deletions, and punctuation mistakes
can easily creep into any Bible version.
Translators sometimes have read in their own
doctrinal biases in the work they do.
Additionally, it is known some translators did
not do their work in a very honest fashion and succumbed to pressures placed
upon them to translate certain text to agree with already accepted doctrine.
One author stated the following regarding the
problems versions of God's word can possess.
"Numerous 'contemporary'
translations omit or add words - even whole verses. Some 'translators' have
boldly added entire books that were never part of the original, authentic
canon. And today’s 'higher criticism' has purported to expose so-called
'weaknesses' and 'discrepancies' in the authentic texts, undermining the faith
of many." (The Holy Bible in its Original Order, a Faithful Version,
second edition, page vii)
In order to arrive as close as possible to the
true meaning of any Scriptural verse, it is critical a basic study of the
verse's original language words and meanings is undertaken.
Delving into the Hebrew or Greek behind a
particular passage is one of the tried-and-true methods for digging out
God's truth.
Such research can mean the difference between
believing a FALSE doctrine and one that is TRUE.
Christians are told, by the apostle Paul, to
PROVE all things and hold fast to what is good (Romans 12:2, 1Thessalonians 5:21).
Doctrine DOES matter, as is borne out in the New
Testament with its many references to 'sound' or 'good' doctrine (1Timothy 1:10, 4:6, 6:3, 2Timothy 1:13, 4:3, Titus 1:9, 2:1, etc.) and to the faith (beliefs) first given the church (Jude 1:3).
An example
One of many examples of the difference a basic
research into the original language behind a passage can make (in this case
Greek) is in Acts 12:4.
Note the following verse from the King James
translation.
“And when he (Herod the Great)
had apprehended him (Peter), he put him in prison, and delivered him to four
quaternions of soldiers (most commentaries state this was a total of sixteen
soldiers) to keep him; intending after EASTER . . .” (Acts 12:4)
Taken literally, the above verse suggests that
the Easter holiday was at least known, if not celebrated, in the first century
A.D.
This assumption is not correct, however, when
one studies the Greek behind the English words.
A quick look up in a good concordance such as
Strong's shows that the word translated 'Easter' comes from the Greek
word pascha (Strong's Concordance #G3957).
This word refers to the Biblical (Hebrew) Holy
Day known as Passover, the same day Jesus kept before he died.
Further investigation shows that the same
word pascha is in Matthew 26:2, where the KJV
translates it correctly as Passover!
The reason why the word 'Easter' was erroneously
put in this verse is because the KJV translators read into the text their own
doctrinal biases due to pressure from an outside party.
The 47 scholars commissioned by King James of
England to produce an English translation of the Scriptures were ALL members of
the Church of England.
The Church, which came into existence in 1534 as
a split of the Roman Catholic Church, retained many of the teachings of
Catholicism that included keeping an Easter-type holiday and rejecting the
first century celebration of the Passover.
In regards to Acts 12:4, the translators
succumbed to their own biases and the pressure of King James (the official head
of the church) to translate the verse so that it agreed with already accepted
doctrines.
Suggested aids
A concordance is a listing of Biblical words
with the corresponding original language word (and its meaning) from which they
are translated.
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, which this site uses extensively, was published in 1890 (several
updates occurred since then).
We highly recommend purchasing a paper copy of
this classic tool or buying it as an add-on to your Bible software.
Other fine concordances include Cruden's Complete Concordance to the Old and New Testaments, Young's Analytical Concordance to the Bible, and The Englishman's Hebrew and Greek concordances.
The study of the Greek and Hebrew languages will
help you PROVE what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2).
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