A few years ago one of my NT professors told me secretly that he did not believe knowing Greek and Hebrew was really all that important for most pastors. He argued most would never achieve the level of expertise required to make an informed decision on the many linguistic difficulties of a text and would rely on commentaries for advice. Furthermore, he argued that there are so many different English translations now original language knowledge is far less important. I disagreed and went on to do Hebrew and Greek.
I have recently been thinking about what this professor of mine said and wondering why we think pastors should know Greek and Hebrew. Is it really that important for preaching? Is it possible to determine from four or five good English translations what might be a faithful understanding of what the text says? Personally I rarely focus any part of my sermon on a word study, so do I need to start with the Greek or Hebrew when preparing a sermon. Am I better served in fact by beginning in my native tongue?
I have my own opinion on this and will share it at a later time. I do think langauges are important for pastors but my reasons maybe different to others. Therefore, I am wondering what you think. Are Greek and Hebrew important for pastors and if so, why? Why did you learn Greek and Hebrew and why did or didn’t you keep it up?
More anon…
April 14, 2011 at 6:01 pm
im not getting sucked into this ridiculous question that raises its ugly head every now and again. asking it is akin to asking if an MD needs to know anatomy or physiology or basic chemistry. you go on and go to a doctor who doesn’t know your spleen from your brain. im sure everything will be just fine.
similarly, if the pastors job is to proclaim scripture, if he is utterly ignorant of it and only ever comes to it through the paltry mediation of a translation… well okie dokie.
but for my part, the truth of scripture and its clear communication is more important than getting over a cold or the flu.
in other words, we expect other people to know their stuff but pastors can be bags of idiotic drool – and even be defended in it!!!!! – and even glory in their ignorance!!!!! – and it’s ok. ridiculous.
but such attitudes really do go a long way in explaining why the church is in the disreputable condition it presently is. it’s chief advocates think that it’s ok to be ignorant.
frankly, i confess, it sickens me.
April 14, 2011 at 6:02 pm
Its not meant to be an argument. I believe they are important. I want to know people’s reasons as to why they think it is important (or not)
April 14, 2011 at 6:15 pm
Not only do I agree, but I will take it further and submit that an understanding of the cultural context is equally as important. In my Classical Studies program at Iowa State University I have gleaned an incredible understanding of the meaning of the text in classes that most people would think have absolutely nothing to do with the Bible, but in reality have everything to do with the Bible. Only when you understand the minds of the original writers can you truly understand what it is they were saying.
April 14, 2011 at 6:21 pm
As the A.T. Robertson tweet said this morning, “Any man today can learn to read the Greek New Testament if he wants to.” Robertson wrote that decades ago, and it’s even more true today with all the books, grammars, software, flashcards, etc.
April 14, 2011 at 6:22 pm
That is very true and I would say that historical context has been one of the best things I have added to my repertoire for preaching!
April 14, 2011 at 7:04 pm
Original languages are important because they help us get to the text. They help us see idioms that we might not otherwise see, I think. They also help the honest preacher be more honest, as he will be compelled to use the Scripture as the original presents it rather than how his favorite translation presents it.
That being said, I come from an anti-intellectual tradition and am just trying to teach myself Greek at 39. I’ve a long way to go, but I am finding it profitable.
April 14, 2011 at 7:15 pm
Jason, what are you using to learn Greek?
I have heard Dave Black’s Greek DVDs are exceptional. He sells them for $200!
April 14, 2011 at 7:22 pm
First I will say I’m not in seminary but will be applying next year after graduation. Learning these language is actually one of the primary reasons why I am going. I am a musician also. I state this because I will use a simple phrase used constantly by serious musicians. “Learn your craft.” Do I think that having Biblical linguistic skills will help me reach Joe Blow on the street? No. Do I think this will help me unlock the mysteries of hidden knowledge that lay in scripture? No. Will it help me minister better? No. Of course these are just my simple laymens’ opinion, but I have been active in Christian ministry on many levels for the last 14 years so I am not a total novice here.
Why then am I learning then? Back to that simple phrase I stated early. A musician can play without reading/knowing music theory and function as a musician without this knowledge. Many great musicians do and have. Jimi Hendrix, Jaco Pastorious (early years), many of the great old school blues guitarist. The example is true of ministers there are phenomenal Pastors, laymen, and etc. that are great without knowing these languages. What happens when you do learn it music theory? You have a better understanding of the bigger picture in music. The nuances of chordal movement, the why things progress as they do. You gain a certain maturity in your listening, hearing, critical thinking and are able to get somewhat into the mind of the composer for his given choices. I believe me learning these languages will provide this and help ME learn my craft better. Isn’t that what we try to do with theology get into the mind of God and have that change us for His glory?
April 14, 2011 at 7:46 pm
Learning Hebrew and Greek are key to being able to properly examine Scripture, but I think understanding the cultural background is as important, if not more, than the languages. Anyone pursuing ordination or Pastoral leadership education will inevitably experience biblical language courses where they will learn the basics of Hebrew, Greek, maybe even Aramaic. I give a resounding congratulations to those who can translate the gospels from Greek to English, but I am not impressed. You can tell me that Yeshua called individuals white-washed tombs, snakes, and demon…but tell me why he did that and what significance that has to the text.
So while I think that learning Hebrew and Greek are key, they are not foundational. Anyone can get a Bible software that will do the work of translators, but it takes real study and digging to get to the nitty-gritty of Scripture.
Just my thoughts.
April 14, 2011 at 7:56 pm
Mark,
Your professor is correct, given the different levels of learning the biblical languages. The average will probably never attained to exactly what your professor said.
Learning to read Hebrew, learning to read Greek, are not the same as what your professor had in mind. I’m with your prof. on this one.
April 14, 2011 at 8:16 pm
I read someone who said if you can’t take 8 years of study in an ancient language you are never going to learn it well enough to make a significant difference. I don’t know if this is true, but he argument, IIRC, was that with a couple years of Hebrew you are still going to be dependent on lots of interpreters and guides and other supports to get the meaning.
April 14, 2011 at 9:18 pm
I think pastors should know enough of the original languages so that when someone in the church says, “Well Bro. So-and-so on TV said the original Greek means…” they at least have the tools to check it out and confirm or refute it. Because your run-of-the-mill church member is going to think the person claiming their position from the original language has more knowledge of the issue than their local pastor who doesn’t read the languages.
April 14, 2011 at 11:54 pm
I’m liking the diversity of comments so far.
Three of the four pastors at my church haven’t studied Greek or Hebrew that extensively and the fourth guy has taken a few intro-level classes. I could be blind, but I think it’s safe to say that we’ve done well enough thus far. However, I absolutely find the value in studying the ancient languages because I believe they would only benefit our church body.
In my personal studies, though, I think I naturally gravitate towards the context of what’s going on at the time these texts were composed. It gets me a strong sense of the battle at ground zero and how the authors found brilliant ways to counter act their surrounding influences with God’s ways. With as much as I love studying historical backgrounds to these texts (and hopefully one day Greek and Hebrew), I would have to say that it all depends on how deep one wants to go. Just because I find so much value in studying these things doesn’t mean the worship leader or the Sunday school teacher will also; they might find sufficiency with their favorite English translation.
It all depends on who you are, what you do, and where your passions/interests are. From there God does the leading.
April 15, 2011 at 1:50 am
1. It makes you read more slowly
2. It turns the text from black and white to colour
3. It is the only way to really get to grips with the rhetoric and in particular the metaphors that are in the text, both of which are key for preaching.
4. As someone has already said, to resolve questions about the text
April 15, 2011 at 3:37 am
I wish I had taken more Greek and at least one year of Hebrew. I did not. Now, I’m disqualified as a capable minister by Pope Jim. This week just gets better and better.
April 15, 2011 at 5:15 am
Learning the original languages is not important:
1. As a mere academic exercise.
2. To give a person “bragging rights.”
3. To misuse the word of God.
4. To lose the desire for simplicity in expressing truth.
5. To make people think one is an “authority.”
The original languages are important:
1. In order to understand the details of the original text.
2. To effeciently use the best Hebrew and Greek lexicons.
3. To accurately use the other technical resources of biblical research.
4. To correctly evaluate translations of the scriptures.
5. To glorify God and not onself by teaching the truth.
April 15, 2011 at 6:32 am
Well, I am in the middle of this right now. I’m towards the end of an M.Div. at Southern Seminary and put off the languages until now. I’m taking Elementary Greek and Elementary Hebrew at the same time. I covet thy prayers…. although they won’t do my homework for me.
But I’m really enjoying it. I agree with what Ian Paul said, it is like going from black and white to color. Furthermore, it slows you down. It forces you to wade out deep into the text rather than just getting your feet wet. And it gives you a feel and texture of the Scriptures in the original and allows you to hear them more in their own voice. The nuances that are realized by such study and reading of the text can often cause the text to leap from a 2D picture to a 3D experience, or least that’s been my experience. This may be more important than doing every sermon text with original language exegesis.
In other words, the ability to read in the original languages might be used to regularly read in the Greek and Hebrew bible casually and this may lead to inspiration for preaching and great sermon ideas rather than always reading in the English text and only turning to the Greek/Hebrew when required for exegeting the already-chosen text.
Bottom line, I find it difficult to understand why someone claiming that their life’s passion and interest is teach and preach the Bible but also don’t have a passion to learn as much as they can about that book. I don’t think there are any sufficient excuses to avoid such study particularly given all the great resources and reference tools available today. It may be hard, difficult, and take a long time of habitual study to get there, but who said it had to be easy?
My personal goal is to read a passage daily from my Greek or Hebrew bible to keep the learning going. We’ll see how that goes!
Grace and peace,
Chad
April 15, 2011 at 6:48 am
I agree with a lot of the comments out there and I’ll throw out one more thought. You need Greek and Hebrew to get the most out of the best commentaries (I only know Greek at this point – and I’m far from an expert – and I get much more utility out of NT commentaries than OT commentaries).
As to one of the other questions – I do start my study in English to try to grasp the structure and big ideas of the passage, but after that I do translate the text from Greek. This is a helpful exercise. I recently did this with Philippians 2:1-4 and the repetitiveness of the text is more obvious in Greek than it is in English. Those types of observations can only help you preach.
I guess in the end I agree with the arguments you professor makes (which I’ve also heard from my pastor), but it doesn’t warrant his conclusion.
April 15, 2011 at 7:04 am
A Few thoughts,
In part I agree with your professor. I hear it and see it time and time again, students who either avoid the languages, see them only as required classes they have to get out of the way, or have forgotten them 6 monthes after studying. As has been said, a little Greek/Hebrew is dangerous. Exegetical fallacies are spewed with great frequency from the mouthes of those who haven’t taken the languages seriously,and this is more damaging than helpful.
On the other hand, just a little bit of languages does allow you to use more critical commentaries that help to actually understand the text rather than use some guys opinions from a shallow commentary.
But I think there is one main advantage that makes the langauges essential for all who have the oppertunity. You just cannot clearly see the discourse structure without the origional languages. This is also something that software will only give you in part; it helps to know the vocab, but really understanding the grammatical and syntactical use of the language will grant the reader a much clearer look at the structure of the book/letter/passage. This is not to mention seeing where the english translations have made choices in more ambiguous situations or textual criticism.
Having said all that, the origional languages are not magical, it is possible to faithfully proclaim and teach God’s Word without them. But if you have the oppertunity to learn them (and as the brother above has shown, you can learn them on your own), and choose not to you are being nothing else than lazy with the Word of God. God has entrusted his Church with the Scriptures, not the acadamy, if anyone should be devoted to studying them to furthest of their abilities it is the elders of the Church.
April 15, 2011 at 7:24 am
Yes, I do believe pastors should know the original languages. However, one caveat is crucial. It is important to define what one means by “knowing” these languages. If a person is solely able to recognize noun case endings, parse verbs, and give English glosses and that is essentially the extent of their translation work; then I think that person should be extra careful in telling others what Greekor Hebrew word or phrase means. These languages demand much time and effort and the less time and effort pastors spend, the less they should speak publicly about Greek or Hebrew in their preaching and teaching. Yes, learn the langauges, but seek to truly understand the languages so you can exegete to the glory of God and not just deceitfully impress others that you know Greek or Hebrew!
April 15, 2011 at 9:49 am
some people look at thing or situation and say “why?” Others look at a thing or situation and say “why not?” I think this is the difference between mediocracy and greatness for most people – those who say “why?” most of time (like “why learn the biblical languages?” “why go to seminary?” “why get a PhD?” etc, are usually not among the greats…..
and of course this depends on the situation thing being considered.
April 15, 2011 at 9:52 am
Mark,
I just got in to my office to reply to your question. My mind works differently that most, I guess. I read through Black’s first Greek book. I am now working through Mounce’s Basics of Biblical Greek. I try to do some reading on my own in my readers Greek NT as I go. I shall probably never get as far as I need to, considering all that I have to do, but I find great advantage with each step I take.
I plan to move from Mounce to Wallace’s Beyond the Basics.
April 15, 2011 at 4:50 pm
The harder and longer I work in the original languages the more I appreciate how valuable they are for interpreting Scripture. I don’t know of a single pastor who has had three years of Greek and three years of Hebrew (three years of language study is generally considered the minimum necessary to achieve competence for reading a second language by organizations such as the National Endowment for the Humanities) who thinks that such skill isn’t extraordinarily valuable in rightly interpreting God’s word. Why would we let those who have not obtained this level of skill sit in judgment over its value? The professor you mentioned apparently wasn’t arguing against this point but was simply acknowledging that the current system of training pastors is miserably failing to produce this desired outcome. I grant that the current system is a dreadful failure but I am arguing that it can and should be changed.
The reasons could be multiplied into a long journal article, but here are three points to get started with:
1. Let me make what might seem to be a radical claim: “Genuine competence in original language exegesis of the Scriptures is essential to maintaining the Protestant doctrine of Sola Scriptura.” The reason why this assertion can seem radical is because your professor is correct: Most pastors never achieve that level of competence. I would add that most pastors are simply passing along the tradition of their denomination or views of their favorite celebrity preachers. Sola Scriptura has virtually become a dead slogan within North American evangelicalism. For the sake of Christ’s Church, let us hope that the spirit of that slogan will be recovered soon.
2. Languages are not mere codes. As wonderful as modern translations can be, there are many aspects to language that cannot be brought out in translation but can be brought out in teaching. Does God bless teaching from translations by those with no knowledge of the Scriptures in the original languages? Of course! But why would we want to pursue a second best course by design?
3. Knowing the Biblical languages actually saves time in preparing individual Bible studies and sermons. This may seem counter-intuitive to the student struggling through his second or third semester of Greek when translating even simple passages can be painfully slow. If that student presses on to actually being able to read the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic; he will discover that this direct contact with the text will actually help him grasp the structure and key thrust of a text with both greater speed and confidence then he could in translation. The serious student of Biblical languages is able to access and use lexicons, technical commentaries, and the various fruits of competent scholars with not only greater understanding but also greater speed than someone who is limited to comparing English translations of Scripture.
Best wishes,
David
April 15, 2011 at 5:35 pm
To live in a place, culture, and time in which I have the luxury of studying the Bible in its original languages is too precious a gift to casually neglect, or to disregard simply for pragmatic (“who really needs them anyway”) reasons. Repeated readings of the sermon text aloud in the original is beneficial, as is writing my own copy of it each week, because it forces me to slow…down…and (truly) consider every…single…letter…of…the text, and also forces me to determine my own convictions about the text, based on my personal study of it in its original language. Diagramming the text (the Greek, anyway) accomplishes the same. So, if it really came down to it, I’d give up my commentaries and dictionaries before giving up my lexicons and grammers.
April 15, 2011 at 5:36 pm
…grammars, too.
April 16, 2011 at 5:27 am
WOW, I have really enjoyed reading everyone’s comments! I’ll post more soon. It is bedtime here in Aus!
April 17, 2011 at 9:51 am
I think the original languages are important as well, but it is not necessary for everyone. Most of these replies seem to be from an academic perspective, and not a Christian perspective. There are really two aspects of preaching, the first is gaining the interest of new ones to become Christians, or to convert them from another religion, Christian or otherwise. This will usually cover just the basics of the Christian religion or a specific Christian denomination. Once they join the church or congregation, that is where they will be taught the deeper things of God and his word, and that is where the preacher will need knowledge of the original language, so he can feed God’s flock from his word.
However, there is something more important then the original languages, and that is God’s holy spirit. This spirit is what guides one into the truth. You can have all the original language knowledge in the world, but if you do not possess God’s spirit, you will not have the truth. For example, there are Mormon scholars and Catholic scholars that know the original languages, but they do not teach or believe in the same truth.
However, for those that consider the Bible and its languages to be merely an academic exercise, then ignore what I just said.
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