{"id":18510,"date":"2008-04-17T19:38:00","date_gmt":"2008-04-18T00:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=18510"},"modified":"2020-01-17T19:50:18","modified_gmt":"2020-01-18T01:50:18","slug":"its-greek-to-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/its-greek-to-me\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s Greek To Me"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\tby Roger Blackwelder\n

Some questions were raised recently about the value of having a knowledge of New Testament Greek.\u00a0 Some have used arguments based on the translations of words to authorize immorality that the Bible clearly condemns.\u00a0 This usage of Greek is disturbing; it casts a shadow on an otherwise beneficial field of study.\u00a0 I want to suggest to you that knowledge of New Testament Greek is actually helpful for a couple of reasons:<\/p>\n

A knowledge of Greek is useful in refuting error.<\/h3>\n

A few years ago, I was asked by my mother-in-law to listen to a series of audiotapes that were made during a series on Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage at her congregation.\u00a0 The speaker twisted clear texts, sometimes with illogical arguments based on human wisdom, sometimes with arguments based on the Greek.\u00a0 He argued that what was being taught at Florida College, that the present tense denotes continual action, is not truly the case.\u00a0 He argued that one who commits adultery does not abide in an adulterous relationship; adultery is committed only at the time of divorce; once repented of, the sin is forgiven, allowing a couple to remain together regardless of the number of or reasons for previous divorces.\u00a0\u00a0 In this instant, I was glad that I only took one year of Greek at Florida College but two more years of Greek at the University of South Florida.\u00a0 Even in that bastion of liberalism, the present tense of Greek denotes continual action.<\/p>\n

The illustration above deals with false teaching among brethren.\u00a0 Of course, Greek has been used quite effectively for years to refute false teaching by denominational and sect\/cult teachers. \u00a0A knowledge of Greek is not necessary to learn the truth; it isn\u2019t even necessary to refute error, but it can be helpful.<\/p>\n

Additionally, a knowledge of Greek is useful to provide insights.<\/h3>\n

\"\"The nature of the New Testament Greek is, in and of itself, an interesting study.\u00a0 It is called \u201cNew Testament Greek\u201d because it is distinctly different from the Classical Greek written by Socrates and the philosophers who came after him.\u00a0 The introductions of most Greek textbooks provide a detailed account of what I mention here in brief.\u00a0 Up until the beginning of the 20th century, the Greek of the New Testament was a mystery; no one knew quite what to make of it.\u00a0 Skeptics argued that the difference between the Greek of the Bible and Classical Greek was evidence that the Bible was in some way inauthentic, contrived.\u00a0 Then, at the turn of the century, a discovery was made in Egypt:\u00a0 Archeologists discovered a selection of \u201cnon-literary papyri\u201d\u2014wills, receipts, contracts, and personal letters.\u00a0 To their astonishment, they discovered that the language of these common documents was the same form of Greek used in the New Testament.\u00a0 Classical Greek was still being read and written by the scholars during New Testament times, but God did not choose to record His word in the language of scholars; he recorded the Bible in the common language of the day, a language called \u201cKoine,\u201d common Greek.\u00a0 By itself, this fact is insightful.\u00a0 God wrote to the common man, in the language of the common man.<\/p>\n

I mention this to clarify another issue as well.\u00a0 It has been asked if preachers today think they know more than the people who originally translated the Bible.\u00a0 Well, as a matter of fact, many of them do.\u00a0 Having taken only three years of Greek, years I have sadly allowed to fade into obscurity, I am hardly a scholar myself, but those who truly dedicate themselves to the study of Greek today often do gain a greater understanding of the language than the King James translators.\u00a0 This statement may surprise you, but the King James translators had only the Bible text itself to work with.\u00a0 The scholars of today also have the \u201cnon-literary papyri\u201d discovered in Egypt.\u00a0 The \u201cnon-literary papyri\u201d gives a context to many New Testament words, helping us to better understand what the terms meant to the original audience.<\/p>\n

Like anything else, Greek can be overused or poorly used, but it has the potential to add insight and interest in sermons and studies. \u00a0But note:\u00a0 Greek provides some insights, but beware the wolf who hinges doctrinal truth upon a matter of translation.<\/p>\n

Do I think that everyone needs to know Greek?\u00a0 Certainly not.\u00a0 I find it helpful but hardly essential.\u00a0 And I would echo for you a statement I heard frequently during the year I took Greek at Florida College:\u00a0 \u201cA little Greek is a dangerous thing.\u201d\u00a0 Peter warned of \u201cuntaught and unstable people<\/em>\u201d who \u201ctwist\u201d the Scriptures to their own destruction (II Peter 3:16).\u00a0 English or Greek, the Scriptures have always been subject to twisting.\u00a0 God forbid that in our ignorance we become counted among those about whom Peter warned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Roger Blackwelder Some questions were raised recently about the value of having a knowledge of New Testament Greek.\u00a0 Some have used arguments based on the translations of words to authorize immorality that the Bible clearly condemns.\u00a0 This usage of Greek is disturbing; it casts a shadow on an otherwise beneficial field of study.\u00a0 I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1574,190],"class_list":["post-18510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-greek-language","tag-translation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18506,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/greek-how-should-a-knowledge-of-it-be-viewed\/","url_meta":{"origin":18510,"position":0},"title":"Greek, How Should a Knowledge of It be Viewed?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 17, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Don Martin We do not have the original New Testament today, but manuscripts that have come down to us, copies of the original writings. What we have today is a translation or, to be more precise, about seventy extant English translations of the Greek texts. Some preachers and Christians\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/01\/Greek-Letters.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":65092,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/its-in-the-greek\/","url_meta":{"origin":18510,"position":1},"title":"It’s in the Greek","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Greg Gwin As we study and discuss the New Testament there is sometimes a reference made to things that are contained in the original language. Someone will mention that \"the Greek says\" this or that. It's not a bad thing to try to understand something about the meaning of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28480,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-the-new-testament-written-in-greek-or-aramaic\/","url_meta":{"origin":18510,"position":2},"title":"Was the New Testament written in Greek or Aramaic?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 17, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In what language was the New Testament written: Greek or Aramaic? Answer: The New Testament was written in Greek. All the earliest manuscripts are in Greek. The style of writing is in the Greek style, though some of the writers, such as Matthew, wrote with a Hebrew \"accent,\" if\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50187,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-not-a-scholar-but\/","url_meta":{"origin":18510,"position":3},"title":"I’m Not a Scholar, But …","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 21, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer It's interesting to me how we sometimes couch our arguments with disclaimers that may end up casting doubt upon the very arguments we are trying to make. I tend to get a little suspicious of the argument when someone starts that way (including my own). Now that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39665,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-language-was-the-new-testament-written-in\/","url_meta":{"origin":18510,"position":4},"title":"What language was the New Testament written in?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 11, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is the real Greek of the New Testament? Koine Greek or Aramaic? Wikipedia says suggests it is Aramaic Greek, but I was taught it was Koine Greek but you can find many websites that say it was Koine Greek, this has become very confusing to me. Which is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14214,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-new-testament-was-written-in-hebrew-not-greek\/","url_meta":{"origin":18510,"position":5},"title":"The New Testament was written in Hebrew, not Greek!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 18, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: You seem to teach that the original New Testament was originally written in Greek. I hate to differ with you. Nowhere is that fact proven. I believe that Luke may have written his manuscript in Greek, since he was of Syrian descent and also perhaps the books of Acts,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/John-Rylands-Fragment-300x169.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18510\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}