Tommy Keene has a fabulous piece at his blog entitled “How do I do good exegesis if I don’t know Hebrew or Greek?” Perhaps you’ve been plagued by this question, wondering how far English translations can really take you.
This uncertainty causes some people to question any conclusion drawn from a Bible translation whatsoever. And it causes others to do foolish things when they use original language tools without knowledge of those original languages (for an example, see my post on how a little Greek can be a big distraction).
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Keene proposes an utterly sensible way forward. Here’s a taste:
Let’s say that you want to do some serious exegetical work on a passage of Scripture–perhaps you need to write an exegetical paper, or you’re running this week’s Bible Study, or counseling a client through a trauma, or answering your friend’s very specific and theological questions in a coffee shop–but you don’t know the original languages and therefore feel some lack of confidence when it comes to explaining what the biblical text really means.
Can you deeply and analytically study and reflect on a text of Scripture without making use of the original languages, and if so, how?
The question is particularly important if you’ve already been convinced, as I’ve argued previously, that you shouldn’t make definitive conclusions based on the original languages if you don’t possess a working knowledge of them. The present post began as a kind-of appendix to that argument, but on further reflection deserves a series itself.
“So I shouldn’t come to definitive exegetical conclusions from the Hebrew and Greek if I don’t know the original languages?” one might respond. “If that’s the case, is it still possible for me to mount an exegetical case for my position, and if so, how do I do that?”
The short answer: yes it’s very much possible, but it is vitally important that you account for the limitations of working with the text “in translation.” If you want to properly exegete a passage without the evidence provided by the Hebrew and Greek, you need to (1) trust a native language translation while simultaneously (2) being perpetually aware of its limitations.
The rest of this piece is well worth your time.
With all the arguments presented on this issue from all quarters, one cannot help but think that God has presented us with a huge problem making it extremely difficult for us to straighten out. Was this His plan all along? I don’t think so. For better or for worse, I’ll stay with my KJV and Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and leave it at that. I find it too wearisome and discouraging to take the study of God’s Word to every meticulous detail. We all only know in part anyway, as Paul states and we all err in many ways as James mentions. Don’t try to create a yoke that most of us can’t bear.