Is studying hebrew and greek necessary?

[bderbider]

Wanted to ask if you think reading the Bible in hebrew and greek is necessary to be a serious student of the Bible. We've been doing bible study with emphasis on clarity and not needing to rely on translation but on the true meaning and intent behind the verses. I wanted to hear your thoughts. I've done bible study so far with some big names, like lifeway, biblestudyforall.org, some recommended by biblegateway.comm... it's been quite a journey. What has been your experience or what's been the advice you've been given? 

[Omegaman 3.0]

Hi bderbider

Well, I had some great mentors in my early Christian walk, all three of them were not ignorant of the original languages. One of them taught Koine Greek, and I was privileged to sit under that instruction for a while. I have continued to study Greek under Bill Mounce online, and I think that is a great place to learn, as it is fairly comprehensive, while geared for lay people. However, I am afraid that my mind leaks, it seems like I forget things faster than I learn them these days, and I have forgotten most of what I once knew. If you do not use you tend to lose it.

I cannot speak to Hebrew at all, I know almost nothing about it, but it appears to me to be much more difficult. One thing I remember one of my early mentors telling me, and it has stuck with me for 40ish years, is that just because you know a little bit of Greek, vocab and grammer you should not think that you can do a better job of translating than the experts who do translations. He pointed out that once what has 20 years are consistent study in an original language, maybe then you can consider yourself up to the task.

I compare this to studying martial arts (I have a black-belt in a Korean Form of Karate).  Some people who are new to martial arts, maybe take a YMCA class, or a semester of some martial art is college, and think they are better equipped to defend themselves. I think the reality is, that they know just enough to have unwarranted confidence, that will get them into trouble. Most of the time, the best self defense for these people would have been to train to outrun and attacker, just my opinion.

So it is with the Koine Greek (at least) language. You can find people here on the forums, are perhaps at your local church, who pretend to know something about Greek, but mostly they know how to cut and paste from some online resource. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with using online tools like that, and you can discover some possible nuances. I will give you and example.

King James, Luke 21:36

Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Now, as a point of fact, that "worthy to escape" clause could just as legitimately been saying to pray that you have the "strength to flee"! Somtimes, the context can help us understand what is being said, but here the context mentions how difficult it will be for pregant women and nursing moms, and instructs people to make haste in leaving. In fact, it's get out of town message is quite pointed:

Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. 

Which is the better understanding, I am not prepared nor qualified to say, but either is a possibility. Often, this is a good reason to check multiple translations of the Bible, and read the footnotes in them, as well as some good commentaries about passages under study.

I think for most people knowing the Bible itself (become very familiar with it) is far better use of time and effort (and do not forget to add prayer to the mix) for most people than attempting to learn to read Hebrew and / or Greek!

I think for most people knowing the Bible itself (become very familiar with it) is far better use of time and effort (and do not forget to add prayer to the mix) for most people than attempting to learn to read Hebrew and / or Greek!

Getting some Greek tool in book form, or downloadable text, or readable online (I love Biblehub). Now things like Vine's An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words and Strong's Concordance,  are great tools, but they are limited, not as good as they could be, for studying Greek vocabulary. The BAG (Bauer, Arndt, Gingrich) and the BDAG (Bauer, Arndt, Gingrich & Danker) lexicons are better, but for them it is best if you are already comfortable with Greek, as you look up the words in Greek, not in English! I good compromise in my opinion, is Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, that way you get decent help in Hebrew and in Greek, that is good enough for serious study by the layperson (like me).

Also, there are some resources here that you might find helpful. Hopefully it is not too outdated.

I hope that this has been somewhat helpful, the basic answer to you question is "It depends!"

[steve morrow]

NECESSARY ??

PSALM 19:1  the heavens declare the glory of  GOD  and the firmament showeth  HIS  handiwork  --19:2-- day unto day uttereth speech and night unto night showeth knowledge 

--19:3--  THERE  IS  NO  SPEECH  OR  LANGUAGE  WHERE  THEIR  VOICE  IS  NOT  HEARD 

--19:4-- their line is gone out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world in them hath  HE  set a tabernacle for the sun 

**********************************************************************************************************

--19:9-- the fear of  THE  LORD  is clean enduring forever the judgements of  THE  LORD  are true and righteous altogether  --19:10-- more to be desired are they than gold yea than much fine gold sweeter than honey and the honeycomb

 

--19:11-- MOREOVER  BY  THEM  IS  THY  SERVANT  WARNED  AND  IN  KEEPING  OF  THEM  THERE  IS  GREAT  REWARD 

 

--19:12-- who can understand his errors cleanse thou me from secret faults  --19:13-- keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins let them not have dominion over me then shall I be upright and I shall be innocent from the great transgressions 

 

--19:14--  LET  THE  WORDS  OF  MY  MOUTH  AND  THE  MEDITATION  OF  MY  HEART  BE  ACCEPTABLE  IN  THY  SIGHT  O LORD  MY  STRENGTH  AND  MY  REDEEMER

**********************************************************************************************************

--19:5-- which is a bridegroom coming out of his chamber and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race  --19:6-- his going forth is from the end of the heaven and his circuit into the ends of it and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof 

--19:7-- the law of  THE  LORD  is perfect converting the soul the testimony of  THE  LORD  is sure  making wise the simple 

--19:8-- that statutes of  THE  LORD  are right rejoicing the heart the commandment of  THE  LORD  is pure enlightening the eyes 

 

 

LOVING  THE  LORD  JESUS  CHRIST

[NotAllThere]

No, it's not necessary, but it's fascinating. At least learn enough to understand how the languages works. But all the really important stuff has been properly translated - sufficient for salvation anyway! 

[CaptWalker]

Well not sure exactly how the previously mentioned self-defense/martial arts analogy is related to learning languages, but maybe i missed something there? Either way, it's always good to have access to either a book concordance or online, in case there is a word you want to know the original meaning of, as there were many errors that even the KJV translators made, such as EASTER being used in Acts-12:4, when the Greek word is "Paschal" or Passover. And Easter was a Pagan spring festival celebrated right around the same time as Passover. There were other bad translations as well that basically causes more confusion than it does lead people into false doctrines, so if you are someone who likes to debate Bible topics or doctrines then you would probably need this knowledge at some point. But having the gift of being a "linguist" is something you either have or don't, and i have personally always been terrible even remembering the basic words in other languages such as Spanish, if it makes you feel any better. 

[Deborah_]

11 hours ago, bderbider said:

Wanted to ask if you think reading the Bible in hebrew and greek is necessary to be a serious student of the Bible. We've been doing bible study with emphasis on clarity and not needing to rely on translation but on the true meaning and intent behind the verses. I wanted to hear your thoughts. I've done bible study so far with some big names, like lifeway, biblestudyforall.org, some recommended by biblegateway.comm... it's been quite a journey. What has been your experience or what's been the advice you've been given? 

I've taught myself NT Greek - that was hard. I'm now in the middle of teaching myself Hebrew - which is very hard. So it's not something to be undertaken lightly.

Is it necessary? No. We have a number of excellent modern English translations of the Bible (just pick the one you prefer, either more 'literal' or more 'readable'). Don't be put off by the fact that translations differ amongst themselves - there are often several different possible ways of translating a sentence from one language into another. You can increase your understanding by comparing them.

Is it useful? Can be. Learning the languages has given me great respect for the professional translators. They really have done a good job - and you can trust them! 

It has also given me the necessary understanding to see through a lot of the claims that people make on the Internet (and even in Christian forums). There are people who think that, just armed with Strong's Concordance, they can do a better job of translating the Greek or Hebrew than a professional who has studied the language for decades. But a lot of what they say is actually rubbish. You do need to know the grammar, not just the vocabulary.

And there are some things that are virtually impossible to translate - for example, the Hebrew text contains a lot of puns and other forms of wordplay that just don't work in translation.

[missmuffet]

12 hours ago, bderbider said:

Wanted to ask if you think reading the Bible in hebrew and greek is necessary to be a serious student of the Bible. We've been doing bible study with emphasis on clarity and not needing to rely on translation but on the true meaning and intent behind the verses. I wanted to hear your thoughts. I've done bible study so far with some big names, like lifeway, biblestudyforall.org, some recommended by biblegateway.comm... it's been quite a journey. What has been your experience or what's been the advice you've been given? 

No, reading the Bible in Hebrew and Greek is not a salvation issue. It is not required to be a true Christian. 

[johnthebaptist]

16 hours ago, bderbider said:

Wanted to ask if you think reading the Bible in hebrew and greek is necessary to be a serious student of the Bible. We've been doing bible study with emphasis on clarity and not needing to rely on translation but on the true meaning and intent behind the verses. I wanted to hear your thoughts. I've done bible study so far with some big names, like lifeway, biblestudyforall.org, some recommended by biblegateway.comm... it's been quite a journey. What has been your experience or what's been the advice you've been given? 

I think the best student of the Bible is the one who obeys the Lord's commands, so unless those commands have been mistranslated, I don't think knowing Greek or Hebrew is a requirement.

[NotAllThere]

But what if they have been mistranslated?

Then we have to trust the Holy Spirit to lead us into Truth.

[Wesley L]

On 8/19/2020 at 6:42 AM, bderbider said:

Wanted to ask if you think reading the Bible in hebrew and greek is necessary to be a serious student of the Bible. We've been doing bible study with emphasis on clarity and not needing to rely on translation but on the true meaning and intent behind the verses. I wanted to hear your thoughts. I've done bible study so far with some big names, like lifeway, biblestudyforall.org, some recommended by biblegateway.comm... it's been quite a journey. What has been your experience or what's been the advice you've been given? 

If you have the passion, time and opportunity to learn those languages, go for it!
But in the end, we have to rely on the Holy Spirit to know the true meaning and intent behind God's words.