An all-too-common myth in Bible study is that there is a “true” or “deeper” meaning in the original languages that doesn’t come across in English. Not only is this idea almost always untrue, it is also normally damaging to careful Bible study.
I’m not saying that Greek and Hebrew are worthless. They matter, and pastors and Bible teachers will benefit from studying the languages. But we must study them as languages, not as secret codes. It’s far more useful to learn how language works than to learn how to reference Strong’s numbers and identify Hebrew and Greek word roots.
For example, “agape” means very little on its own. It finds meaning only when it’s used in a sentence. Matthew, Luke, Paul, and John may have very different things in mind when they use the same word. We benefit much more from examining the sentences than by scrutinizing the exact vocabulary. And normally we can do this just fine in English.
Justin Dillehay walks through 3 common errors committed by those who dabble in Greek vocabulary in their Bible study. We do well to take notice!
- Usage trumps etymology: Avoid the root fallacy. The origins of a word have very little to do with that word’s later usage.
- Scholars are necessary: Avoid the cult of the amateur. Praise God for those members of the body who dedicate their lives to rich understanding of Greek and Hebrew. Perhaps we ought to be slow to suggest how a certain passage “should” be translated.
- Context is king: Avoid the overload fallacy. When a writer uses a certain word, he’s not normally tapping into every other use of that word in prior literature. Therefore, Dillehay writes, “An ounce of good contextual analysis is worth a pound of poorly done Greek word studies.”
Dillehay’s full article is well worth reading. Check it out!
