Strive to study the Bible in its original languages!

For those who had been reading and interacting with my blog posts ardently since the inception of this blog in 2014, forgive my lengthy, unannounced hiatus. The Lord allowed for life to press me hard. He took away so much of what he had given, and he had given very much. Blessed be His name (Cf. Job 1:21)! But that's a story for another day. Let's dive right into the topic at hand and why you came today.

Lately, I have been studying Hebrew (for my on and off MDiv program at SBTS)* and teaching Greek (privately to anyone around me who is interested). It is hard work. This blog post reveals some of my motivation to continue striving through the hard work of dealing in detail with the technical grammatical studies of these two languages. Why am I striving so hard to parse verbs and break these grammar studies all the way down to the level of the morphemes and phonemes of biblical Hebrew and biblical Greek?

Why am I building up my grasp of the language from the ABCs of phonology and morphology to the complexities of the various shades of participial uses and such nuanced functions of grammatical cases like the ablative genitive? Following is a blog-post-friendly variation of a spiel which I generally give to my students after the first few introductory lessons of biblical or Koine Greek:

We should not work hard in the original languages simply so as to boast or to show ourselves smarter than others, but we should labor in Greek and Hebrew because doing so lends a foundational grasp of the texts to our hermeneutics in a manner that nothing else can. 

Our study of the original languages is a means to an end. The end is doxological. We are aiming to see and savor our Savior in the fullness of His beauty or glory! If that is not the focus of our involved and involving studies in the complex nuances of these languages, we have missed the mark, and we will end up no better than knowledgeable fools. Let us be warned: "knowledge puffs up" (1 Corinthians 8:1) and those who are puffed up are always abased by the Lord.

In John Piper's book titled Brothers, we are not professionals, he concludes the chapter titled Brothers, Bitzer was a banker like this: “‘As dear as the the gospel is to us all, let us as hard contend with its language.’ Bitzer did. And Bitzer was a banker”

The chapter extols us to follow Heinrich Bitzer’s example instead of the common practice of abandoning original-language studies to oft-spiritually-dry halls of academic institutions. Yes, these studies are challenging, but we should not use their difficulty as an excuse to be lazy. If "wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her" (Proverbs 8:11 cf. 2:1-15), then we have to be willing to sweat for wisdom more than the miners who dig deep into the belly of the earth are willing to sweat for precious stones.

Miners sweat profusely in sweltering temperatures and repeatedly endure aching muscles in as the descend dangerously into the earth because they are in the pursuit of precious stones. They value gold, diamonds, copper, and manganese so much so that they are risk and endure much in their search. Shouldn’t students of the Scriptures do more? Don’t we treasure the wisdom of God more than gold? We may claim that, to us, all the gold in this world does not compare to the wisdom of God, but, if that is true, what makes us less ardent as we dig into the Scriptures than a miner digging for gold?

Jason DeRouchie, author of How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament, argues that “the biblical languages give us direct access to God’s written Word,” and they help us study it, practice it, and teach it (pages 12-13). What more incentive do we want than direct access to God's words?

One particular wing of wider Christendom pursues the craze of seeking visions, dreams, and other forms of special revelation from God, why don't we pursue the "direct access to God's written Word" with even more vigor? Dreams, visions etc. mean nothing in this New Testament era because God has spoken to us fully and finally through His written Word which culminates in the revelation of His one and only Son (cf. Hebrews 1:1-2).

Furthermore, how can we purport to teach the very words of God if we are averse to the very language that God used to reveal those words? Teachers must be readers. Teachers must be both learners and leaders in their own pursuit of the wisdom and voice of God in the face of the incarnate Word of God revealed in the written Word of God.

DeRouchie cautions that the grasp of original languages doesn’t always make an interpreter right "nor" does it "set all interpretive challenges aside." He’s right, of course; understanding the grammar of a text is not sufficient for the Bible interpreter.

To counterbalance DeRouchie's caution, nevertheless, I would insist that the original languages position us better for hermeneutics than anything else can. No doubt, nothing can make an interpreter always right in their interpretations of Scripture (or any other literature for that matter), however, a firsthand grasp of the unadulterated portion of Scripture availed by original language studies puts the Bible student and interpreter at an unparalleled advantage. While understanding the grammar of the text is not sufficient, no one can interpret the text rightly who does not grasp its grammar first.

As I have built on the basics that were entrusted to me in Bible college a decade ago to drive myself deeper into the grasp of the original languages, a constant caution to myself lies in the reminder that "to whom much is given much more is required" (Luke 12:48). This caution forces me to approach the original texts with a view to be deeply changed—not just informed.

Allow me to add one final caveat as I conclude: Refusal to engage the original languages doesn’t exempt anyone from the category “to whom much is given.” The lazy thought may cross our minds that: If studying the original languages puts me in a position where God views me as one "to whom much is given," then I can simply dodge all the Greek and Hebrew classes so that much is not required of me.

This is silly, and it is a response akin to the onetaken by the foolish servant who buries the master's treasure rather than risk losing it in investment (Matthew 25:14-30). Because the studies in original languages are more widely available in this 21st century than ever before in history, we’ve all been given much. No excuses! Be encouraged to pursue a serious study of the original languages because there is no reason not to. Even better, be encouraged to pursue a serious study of the original languages of the biblical text because there is every reason to do so. What’s your excuse?

As one hymn writer said:

Holy Words long preserved / For our walk in this life. They resound with God’s own heart. / Oh, let the ancient words impart.

Ancient words ever true / Changing me and changing you / We have come with open hearts. / Oh, let the ancient words impart.

*I am studying the SBTS MDiv on and off because of financial constraints. Keep praying for provision to be able to hunker down and complete my Master's program in the pursuit of the academic credentials which are apparently necessary for the next and final phase in my ministry endeavors.