One of my greatest frustrations as a Professor of New Testament Greek is watching students learn Greek reasonably well and then head off to post-graduation “language apostasy.” Most of these students do not want to abandon Greek, but the busyness of ministry crowds out long-term goals.
Aleph and Omega — Inspiring Quotes: Studying the Greek New Testament
By Rob Plummer
In his book on fasting and prayer, John Piper includes an extensive appendix of inspiring quotes. He writes, “Sometimes just a passing comment can have as much impact on us as a whole chapter of a book. It may be that God would use one of these brief statements to awaken in someone A Hunger for God.” Similarly, we, the authors of this Going Deeper with New Testament Greek, hope the quotes below might awaken in you, the reader, a hunger for reading the Greek New Testament. We commend you to the Lord’s grace as you strive to become workers who need not to be ashamed because you are making every effort to handle God’s word of truth accurately and with care. [Read more…]
Aleph and Omega: The Devil’s Lie (Acts 16:16-18) by Chuck Quarles
Have you ever wondered why Paul cast the demon out of the slave girl in Philippi? Doesn’t her message actually seem helpful? “These men are the slaves of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” Or so most English translations read. At first glance, the girl’s words appear to be a puzzling confirmation of the missionary team and their message. It almost sounds like she is assisting the missionary team by vouching for Paul and Silas to her own townspeople. A closer look, however, suggests otherwise. [Read more…]
Aleph and Omega – Staying with Greek for the Long Haul
By Andreas J. Köstenberger, Benjamin L. Merkle, and Rob Plummer
We (Andreas, Ben, and Rob) are on a lifetime journey to read, study, and teach the Greek New Testament (GNT). We hope you will join us. Below are a few suggestions to help make this journey a success: [Read more…]
Aleph and Omega – Putting Greek Word Studies in Proper Perspective
By Andreas J. Köstenberger, Benjamin L. Merkle, and Rob Plummer
Never in the history of the world has there been less need for Greek word studies than in 21st century English-speaking North America. Many excellent Bible translations exist in the English language, ranging from the more functionally equivalent (NLT) to the more formally equivalent (NASB, ESV), with plenty of translations in between (e.g. HCSB, NIV). Wise Christians will employ this wealth of resources by comparing biblical passages in various translations. [Read more…]
Aleph and Omega – David Croteau discusses Urban Legends of the New Testament
I’m currently working on a project called Urban Legends of the New Testament. The basic goal of this project is to look at commonly misunderstood passages in the New Testament. I’ve worked carefully through about twenty-six of these Legends and I’ve found that three issues are involved in the creation of an urban legend. Identifying these issues can help us teach biblical interpretation better, which is really the underlying goal of this book. [Read more…]
Aleph and Omega – Jason S. DeRouchie discusses Four Reasons to Use the Biblical Languages
“Now Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the LORD, obey it, and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:10, HCSB).
While every believer must seek to know God, not everyone needs to know the biblical languages. Indeed, the Lord has graciously made his Word translatable so that those “from every tribe and language and people and nation” may hear of and believe in the Savior (Revelation 5:9; see Nehemiah 8:7–8; Acts 2:6). Furthermore, grasping the fundamentals of Hebrew and Greek neither ensures correct interpretation of Scripture nor removes all interpretive challenges. It does not automatically make one a good exegete of texts or an articulate, winsome proclaimer of God’s truth to a needy world. Linguistic skill also does not necessarily result in deeper levels of holiness or in greater knowledge of God. Why then do we need some in the church in every generation who can skillfully use the biblical languages? [Read more…]
Aleph and Omega – Biblical Word vs. Theological Concept: Avoiding a Common Word-Study Fallacy
Biblical Word vs. Theological Concept: Avoiding a Common Word-Study Fallacy
Christopher W. Cowan
For the student of the Bible—whether scholar, pastor, seminary student, or layperson—word studies are often a principal means of investigating the biblical text. To understand what a passage means, one must understand what specific words mean in context. Unfortunately, though, there are erroneous ways to study biblical words that can lead Bible interpreters astray. One particular word-study fallacy is the confusion of a word with a concept. [Read more…]
Aleph and Omega: Scott Kellum offers six suggestions for improving one’s use of the biblical languages
I believe that great expositors of Scripture are good grammarians. That is, one does not have to be the second coming of A.T. Robertson to be a great expositor. The great preacher, however, will be comfortable enough in the languages to read competently both the original texts and the secondary literature discussing the text in light of the original languages. I think most would agree with me. However, the reality is that it takes some work to keep our Greek and Hebrew fresh and growing. So for you who aspire to be great expositors I have six suggestions for improving our use of the biblical languages. [Read more…]
Aleph and Omega: From Philology to Theology by Charles Quarles
From Philology to Theology By Charles L. Quarles Study of the Greek text of the New Testament sometimes reveals rich theology not easily discovered in English translations. The great Greek scholar A. T. Robertson was fond of quoting A. M. Fairbairn’s statement: “No man can be a theologian who is not a philologian. He who is no grammarian is no divine.” To illustrate the insightfulness of that statement, one need look no further than the first four words of the New Testament. [Read more…]
Aleph and Omega: Greek Tenses and Challenging New Testament Texts
by Köstenberger, Merkle, and Plummer
Greek Tenses and Challenging NT Texts
At times an English translation of the Bible may seem to run contrary to other passages in the Bible. For example, 1 John 3:6 reads, “Everyone who remains in Him does not sin (οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει); everyone who sins has not seen Him or known Him.” The immediate difficulty with this verse is that it seems to contradict both experience (if we are honest with ourselves) and other passages of Scripture. John himself previously stated, “If we say, ‘We have no sin,’ we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8; see also v. 10). [Read more…]
Aleph and Omega: Ray Clendenen Discusses the Hebrew of Habakkuk 2:4
Many scholars, including some evangelicals, believe the apostle Paul violated the original meaning when he quoted Hab 2:4 as “the just shall live by faith” in Rom 1:17 and Gal 3:11. Several modern English translations render ’ĕmûnāh in Hab 2:4 as “faithful(ness), fidelity”: JPS, REB, TEV, GW, NLT, NIV (2011), NET. Some interpret Habakkuk as even saying the opposite of what Paul says, that righteousness comes through keeping the law. Does ’ĕmûnāh in Hab 2:4 mean “faith” or “faithfulness”? [Read more…]
