Introduction
Since the Bible was written in the Hebrew (and Aramaic) and Greek languages, the modern reader finds herself or himself at some distance from the fullness of meaning that was understood by the first readers. However, we need to be careful even here. The principal message of the Bible is available to the modern reader through standard translations. That which we describe in this paper has to do with nuance, with subtleties, with precision. Not only do we live in different historical, geographical and cultural contexts than the original readers of a Bible passage, we also speak a language that is far removed from the languages of the Hebrew people through time. One of the ways we may use to develop a more accurate sense of the meaning of Scripture is to do careful study of selected words of the original languages.
We should begin this type of study with a few givens in mind. First, the English language is perhaps the most expressive language in the history of human speech. Its vocabulary is indescribably rich and its usage in the early twenty-first century is truly global. Sometimes one may get the idea from a sermon that one has heard that our language is rather impoverished when compared to Hebrew, the language of ancient Israel, or to (Koine) Greek, the language of the New Testament. This is simply untrue. English is remarkably vibrant and its vocabulary is boundless. What is true is that English works differently than both Hebrew and Greek. Thus, it is quite an art to translate texts from an ancient world, written in Hebrew and Greek, into modern English (or any other language).
Second, when it comes to standard translations of the Bible into English, we are embarrassed by riches. Never in the history of the church has there been such a remarkable situation as we have as English readers. While there are still many, many languages and dialects in which the Bible has yet to be translated in the whole or in the part, we have so many options in translation as English readers that it should not be surprising that many people are quite confused about what choice to make.
Here are two guidelines: (1) Generally speaking, a translation done by a committee is to be preferred over a private translation or paraphrase; that is, “standard translations” have gate-keepers that help to level out idiosyncratic elements in translation. (2) Every translation should be judged in terms of the guidelines used by the committee and the goals they set for themselves; some translations were designed to be very “literal” (such as the NASB) and others have “readability” as a primary goal (such as the NIV), others are more modest in their goals, in wanting to update a classic tradition for a modern generation of readers (such as the NKJV).
With these caveats in mind, we may now move to the process of doing a word study from Hebrew and Greek texts. In the section that follows, there is first a sense of perspective given and then the actual steps that should be used in your own study.
Hebrew Word Study
The study of the meaning and usage of a Hebrew word may be undertaken by one who has not developed actual reading skills in this language, but this student needs to proceed with considerable caution and humility.
- Remember you are trying to study the meaning of a Hebrew word, not an English word. This means that one seeks to determine the meaning of the actual Hebrew word, not a translation of the word
- The English (and other language) translation(s) of the word may be of some help in understanding the meaning. But the very reason for doing a word study is to attempt to get beyond the veil of the translation to the “real thing.” So a survey of several English renderings is only suggestive, never definitive.
- Words really only have “meaning” in linguistic context—a phrase, a clause, a sentence, a paragraph. The same word may have widely different meanings in different settings, and subtly deviating shadings of meaning, even in the same context.
- Hebrew writers are celebrated for their enjoyment of paronomasia, plays on words, puns—for using the same term again in the same clause with subtle differences of meaning. One of the enjoyable parts in doing word studies is in seeing personalities come out.
- A common feature in Hebrew words is a pictorial, tangible, graphic nature; this gives vibrance to the Hebrew terms.
- Biblical Hebrew words tend to be less specific, less “tightly woven” than similar terms in Greek texts. Often interpreters attempt to make these words bear a greater burden than these words should carry.
- The study of a word is done best when it is done with reference to its semantic field, synonyms and antonyms must be a part of the inductive process. Parallelism, the mechanical structure of Hebrew poetry, impacted Hebrew prose as well; pairs of words were so common in usage that they became almost intuitive among native speakers.
One other note to make related to studies of New Testament words, but may be stated here. When a New Testament (Greek) word is used to translate a Hebrew term, the meaning of the Hebrew term must take precedence over the meaning of the translation. After all, in these cases, the Greek term may just be another translation, having no more importance than a different rendering. There are occasions, however, when the Greek term may “direct” a meaning more meaningfully than the Hebrew word it translates. This may well be evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit in the word choice of the New Testament writer.
Greek Word Study
Speaking of Greek, the same basic steps may be used in doing a Greek word study that were done in doing the Hebrew word study. Again, one may work with two types of evidence; the first is etymology. In Greek words, scholars study the use of the term in writers that pre-date biblical writings and in those that may be contemporary with biblical usage. The etymology of Greek words may be important at times, but sometimes it may be misleading or not very helpful. The history of a Greek word may be complex as it moved from one dialect to another, from one genre to another, and from one writer to another. Beginners like me, need to depend on the work of professional scholars here, and must proceed with caution. The principal tool for discovering the results of scholarly studies on etymology is termed “BAG.” This is the standard Greek Lexicon (dictionary) that is based on the pioneering work of W. Bauer (done in German), and then was translated and greatly expanded by W. F. Arndt and F. W. Gingrich (hence, B-A-G). This work has gone through several editions.
As in the case of looking at Hebrew words, the student will find it very valuable to begin to learn to recognize the Greek letters. All of the larger concordance reference works have charts of Greek-English letters, as do most Bible reference works such as major commentaries and dictionaries. If you are both adventurous and patient, you will be able to find words in our standard dictionary, so long as you have the non-inflected form (which you will find in the concordance).
An example of the information one may find on the etymology and extrabiblical uses of a Greek word is found in the term diákonos (‘deacon’). BAG (4b ed., p. 185) indicates that this term was used by Greek tragedy writers, Herodotus and others; that it was found in inscriptions, papyri, the LXX, and in Philo and Josephus. A survey of the page with entry also shows related terms. One is the verb meaning “to wait on someone,” “to serve,” “to Care for,” “to help,” “to act as a deacon.” Another is the feminine noun meaning “service,” “meal preparation,” “service” of the office of certain officials, and the like.
As with Hebrew words, the most significant issue in a word study of a Greek term is usage in biblical texts, Here is where our concordances give us help before we find the word in the lexicon and see the development there. As with the study of the Hebrew word, one will wish to develop a semantic field (a comparison with related words, and with antonyms). It is in connection with similar words and their opposites that one really begins to develop a sense of the word being studied.