An Introduction to the language of the New Testament

 


One of the most important ways for any of us to understand the New Testament is to be fluent in Biblical languages. Many times, we read the New Testament every day from an English Bible translation. However, how accurate are our translations? Although many people will tell you their opinion of what Bible translation is the best, one cannot honestly know which one is the best unless they know Greek or Hebrew (or perhaps even Aramaic). While the topic of Bible translations is for another time and another place, to me, anyone who does not know Greek or Hebrew should be less dogmatic as to the meaning of translations based on original texts. 

It is always important for us to read a text as it was understood when written. To do this, however, we must be familiar with the historical context of the work of literature. In many cases, knowledge of its language may also be required. The problem with fundamentalist interpretations of the scriptures, as Bishop Wright has rightly noted, is that they see the Bible as a book that fell from heaven. Because of this wrong understanding, many fundamentalists remain ignorant as to the transmission of texts. Likewise, many of them see no importance in understanding the culture of the first century as well as being fluent in the Biblical languages behind the New Testament's texts. To them, after all, God will simply reveal the meaning of scripture to their interpretations no matter how ignorant those interpretations be from Biblical languages and historical context. 

The purpose of my next post will be to address an area of debate between Biblical scholars. In what language was the New Testament written? The majority of Biblical scholars believe that it was written in Koine Greek. However, others believe that it was written in Aramaic or Hebrew. Hopefully, if we study this together, we will gain good insight from both the ancient fathers and current scholars on this. 


References: 

Wright, N. T. (1992).  The New Testament and the People of God. Fortress Press. 


Comments

  1. UnknownApril 24, 2022 at 1:02 PM

    thoughtful good points, Josh. sherry

    ReplyDelete
  2. AshleyApril 24, 2022 at 1:02 PM

    I’m excited!

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownApril 24, 2022 at 1:02 PM

    well researched. thank u for the information! whitney

    ReplyDelete
  4. Allen DotsonApril 24, 2022 at 3:18 PM

    I agree that knowledge of Greek and Hebrew would be helpful but we must be careful not to rely so much on fallible man instead of what the Bible speaks so much of....faith in our God to keep His Word pure and true.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. awriterslife96April 24, 2022 at 3:49 PM

      Which is why we should learn Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek! If we do not know the Biblical languages, we are still relying upon someone else's interpretation.

      Delete
  5. PeterApril 24, 2022 at 4:30 PM

    Serious biblical scholarship can only be done with a working knowledge of Greek and Aramaic. Some modern translations in contemporary language does serious error to the original meaning of scripture.

    ReplyDelete

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