Encore Post: The Bible, it’s stories, phrases, poetry and images are so woven into our culture we don’t even notice it. Even more so, it is a part of our worship, prayers and teaching that it is a natural part of our faith. So it is easy to forget that God’s word was not originally spoken and written in English, but in two or three eras of the Hebrew language, Aramaic, and the everyday Greek of the Roman empire. The King James Version was so well done that it had a staying power of nearly 500 years and influences all of our modern translations. Yet even it loses some of the meaning moving across languages, culture and time period. That is why Lutheran pastors have been traditionally taught to read the Hebrew and Greek of the original texts.
One way to see that is to try to translate from English to English. Think of the word “Excellent.” What word would you use in its place if you could not use the word “Excellent?” Does the word you picked mean exactly “excellent?” Not really. Some shades of meaning are lost — like when you see a picture in black-and-white instead of color.
So, when you are trying to understand a passage, consider the original language. If you never learned them, there are tools you can use to get at the original. With the advice of your pastor, select two to four different translations for your study. Pick ones that are somewhat different in approach. When you study, read them together. If they say virtually the same thing, you know the original is not difficult to translate. If they are very different, check the notes of a study Bible or ask your pastor what is going on behind the translations.
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“To be able, with a little effort, to move one step closer to the Good Shepherd, and not take that step? To be able, with a little effort, to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd more distinctly and more fully, and not make the effort? That is nonsense; and for one who is to be a shepherd of the flock of God, to feed the sheep of Christ–for a man with that privilege and that responsibility not to take the trouble to hear the Chief Shepherd in His own tongue–what shall we call it but ingratitude to the God who has given us both the languages and the means of mastering them? The languages are not a burden; they are a gift and a privilege” – Martin H. Franzman, Toward a More Excellent Ministry (St. Louis: CPH, 1964) 85.
How neat that you quote Franzman in his promotional text published the year I was on my seminary internship (/a.k.a./ “vicarage”) year! I remember a classmate quitting Maywood sem my first year precisely because we were expected to have a smattering of Koiné Greek, and he thought it a silly triviality. After all, Lutheran people who want to study languages already exist, so, why not trust them?
OTOH, my supervising pastor, The Rev’d. Robert Shenck (also spelled Scheneck) and his colleague\associate The Rev’d. Dr. Walter Hebron (also spelled Herborn) –a dear former Roman Church monastic & a sharp scholarly fellow, who became a Lutheran upon leaving Germany for the U.S. the year I was born, (took his written colloquy exam in Latin – tricky reading when I got back to sem)– both of whom “took me under their wing” and helped convince me @ Holy Trinity, Elgin, Illinois, that I had *something* to contribute to spreading the Gospel.
They allowed me to preach two sermons that year. I remember well that one of them was on the (new to my personal acquaintance with ‘The Common Service’ of 1917) expanded SBH, setting #2 version of the Kyrie. Dr. Herborn had me hunting up all the “Kyrie eleison” texts in the four Gospels in my Nestle’s. I didn’t have a decent concordance at that time, so it was a tedious, tedious, tedious experience.
Yes. I learned that year “respect” for the original languages in which the Law and the Gospel were declared and written. OTOH, I’d taken a six week summer immersion course @ U. of Chicago in classical Greek to help me be ready for the seminary. Prof. Vööbus had kindly warned me that I really lacked that key admission expectation. I’d been at the ‘prelim exam’ stage working for a PhD in Philos. of Science @ Chicago when I was asking silly questions no one in my field seemed inclined to answer. I inquired whether I could come and listen, read, and ask questions. It turned out that the sem administrators preferred I ought come and fit into their bureaucratic framework for being a student.
HA!
That single year’s side-step to answer some questions turned out to be a strange, painful, learning experience, that was an exciting, forty year plus, adventure in five different Lutheran parishes with amazing people. So, yes, I know some Greek, Latin, Hebrew –but I work even harder to think in English. My children tell me I “overthink” everything and am far too, too literal minded — also /verbose/ in written style. . . , as you perhaps perceive?
I have enjoyed learning to read the languages not for a grade but for the love of language and my love for Jesus. There is so much out there that helps in this area. Daily Dose of Greek, Daily Does of Hebrew and Daily Dose of Latin. One should enjoy the language at set aside the idea that your just learning to get a grade.