Hebrew & The Greek New Testament

The Old Testament Hebrew (or the New Testament Greek/Old Testament Septuagint for that matter), often uses several different means to describe/command the same thing.  This demonstrates emphasis and not necessarily a sequence of things to do or particularly look for. It may show sequence, but, in prophetic literature, such constructions are often used to magnify a particular point and not many.

For example, Isaiah uses a litany of phrases when he commands the people to repent in light of God's coming judgement, for he may use many lines to say the same thing about how wretched the people are as opposed to how righteous God is.  This is important because emphasis occurs not only with the repetition of the same word like Holy, Holy, Holy, but it is also brought out by using different words and phrases when describing a particular event or a command to do something.  For this reason, word studies are useful but must be used with caution because 1) the word can be very interchangeable and/or 2) the writer is simply using several different words or phrases in a close context to magnify the situation.

A further issue arises in the realm of eschatology because some expositors tend to take a prophetic passage (which uses a tremendous amount of allegorical and figurative language) and parcel it out into a whole list of things to note versus seeing the list as an extended metaphor for the magnitude of an event that will indeed come about. For example, if speaking of judgment, said judgment is real and inevitable, yet the descriptions are often there to bring attention to the gravity of a situation and not necessarily provide elaborate details. However, when the prophet explicitly explains what the figurative language represents in detail (like Daniel often does), then the passage is not simply magnifying a situation; rather, a detailed list is also in mind. When comparing prophetic or poetic literature with narratives, the situation is different.  For example, when God gave Joshua a sequential plan to take out Ai, He meant for Joshua to follow this sequence of events, though narratives can use repetition and emphasis to magnify a point. Context is key. 

How does this relate to the Greek New Testament?  Most of the writers were either Jewish/Semitic or were heavily influenced by Jewish/Semitic thinkers. For this reason, understanding Hebrew provides critical insight into the mind of a Jewish thinker who is writing in Greek. Though he is writing in Greek, he will still think like a Semitic/Hebrew minded person. For example, when I speak or write in Spanish, it will still have an English taste because I am most trained to think in English syntax and grammar.  My Spanish will be correct, but it will contain a strong flavor of American English thought.  Such was the case in the First Century with the Greek New Testament, and this language relationship is predicated upon the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament), which was translated into Greek from Hebrew just before the time of Christ.

Therefore, when I observe strong language, intentional repetition, or other Hebrew syntactical grammatical flavors in the Greek New Testament (which is usually hit upon in a well translated English version as well), I  take notice and become keenly aware of what the author intends to convey. That is when the hard work of linguistic study starts to pay off and become useful in exegesis, exposition, and ultimately application.

Kind vs Species

Noah's Ark has been a vessel of ridicule for quite some time. One popular caricature is the impossibility of Noah taking two of every species aboard the Ark.  This entire issue is laid to rest by simply reading the text. 

First of all, only the land animals were taken on the Ark. That solves most of the problems because much of the animal kingdom lives in the water. Besides, though many marine animals were buried in the Flood waters, a large number would have been able to survive and procreate, thus they would have not needed the Ark.

Second of all, the Bible doesn't use the word species; rather, it uses kind. To understand what that is, we have to go back to Genesis 1.  God created the kinds to multiply after themselves.  This implies a set order that then produces many variations from those original created kinds.  Created kinds would then best be understood at the genus or even family levels (ie dog/wolf kind, etc.).

As for dinosaurs, most were quite small, and Noah probably took juvenile representatives for the larger ones, which ensures longer procreation. However, because the climate was different after the Flood, their ability to multiply and adapt was likely limited.  Those that did survive for a time were probably hunted into extinction, while the rest died off because of the climate, disease, etc.

The real problem is not the Ark; it is rather a biased worldview that is exposed by the text itself. Man hates God and can only develop straw men, which only magnifies the holes in his arguments against the Bible.

Liberty To Raise Your Children: Fight For It!

Today, the religious elite in the Church of Nanny Statism has enacted a massive amount of legislation that is incredibly intrusive in all facets of life, especially in the raising of children.  These institutional churches are everywhere, and their priests are as the sand of the sea. They want nothing more than the heart, mind, soul, and strength of your child. 

Where are they?  They are everywhere.  You can run, but you can't hide. 

These churches are government schools, and her priests are the educators and administrators.  You will find them in urban centers and in the far reaches of America's grasslands, farms, and mountains.  Now you are sorely afraid, and you should be.  These statists will go to great lengths to set their will against the family like spending about $8,000/child each year to pay their priests and maintain this massively expensive infrastructure.

However, you must fight for your children, and you can begin by taking them out of government education. Join the mass exodus and raise your child with the liberty that God gave you.  Raise them in truth and righteousness instead of in the gang and drug infested cesspools that we call public schools.  There will be sacrifice and you will have to give up a times of leisure, but the sacrifice is worth it.  God has given you the ability and resource, His Word, to raise your children and educate them yourself. 

Praise Him, for He is The God of Liberty that entrusts families to raise children and not priests of the state. He is the Creator and knows the best means to raise children, and that is via Mom and Dad under the instruction of God's Word.

New Year Scripture Reading

With the beginning of the new calendar year, I especially encourage you to read the Scriptures regularly.  Instead of simply reading through the Bible, meditate on the texts that you are reading throughout the day, and apply them to your life.  Don't just read it and forget it. 

Also, take time to memorize scripture, for this is actually one of the best ways to meditate upon God's Word.  If you know it, you will be far more likely to apply it.  Memorize a whole chapter or several verses in context.  Not only does this prevent interpretation out of context, but it helps in gaining the full picture surrounding the punchline of a text.

To Him be the glory!