Greek, ebrew and Aramiac

[Natsumi Lam]

Hi Family,

I have been told by one of the CFers that Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic are dead languages and they should never be used to provide more meaning to a verse because the KJV is the only real verson that does not need clarification.

I was also told that they did not want to communicate if i was going to use Greek words to explain verses because no one in this day and age knows what these words mean.

Have you come across this mindset? How did you address it?

Are they dead and ineffectual languages?

Can you think or a word in English that means one thing and means something different in any of those languages?

For example...possession in English means to own but in Greek it means to be inhabited by when it comes to demonization.

~Natsumi

 

[HTacianas]

Hi Family,

I have been told by one of the CFers that Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic are dead languages and they should never be used to provide more meaning to a verse because the KJV is the only real verson that does not need clarification.

I was also told that they did not want to communicate if i was going to use Greek words to explain verses because no one in this day and age knows what these words mean.

Have you come accross this mindset? How did you address it?

Are they dead and ineffectual languages?

Can you think or a word in English that means one thing and means something different in any of those languages?

For example...possession in English means to own but in Greek it means to be inhabited by when it comes to demonization.

~Natsumi

I've met a few rabbis and a couple of Greek priests who would disagree.

You've stumbled across a "KJV only-er", that rare breed of near brainwashed fifth generation protestant who thinks Jesus was an American and the apostles spoke english.

 

[eleos1954]

Hi Family,

I have been told by one of the CFers that Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic are dead languages and they should never be used to provide more meaning to a verse because the KJV is the only real verson that does not need clarification.

I was also told that they did not want to communicate if i was going to use Greek words to explain verses because no one in this day and age knows what these words mean.

Have you come accross this mindset? How did you address it?

Are they dead and ineffectual languages?

Can you think or a word in English that means one thing and means something different in any of those languages?

For example...possession in English means to own but in Greek it means to be inhabited by when it comes to demonization.

~Natsumi

Looking into the Greek, Hebrew - can provide important insight. Here's an interesting one:

English Definition Soul:
the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal.

Hebrew Definition Soul:
nephesh: a soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

Greek Definition Soul:
psuché: breath, the soul

Definition: breath, the soul
Usage: (a) the vital breath, breath of life, (b) the human soul, (c) the soul as the seat of affections and will, (d) the self, (e) a human person, an individual.

One can get to the Hebrew and Greek very easily if interested.
www.biblehub.com

I look at the original languages often, very often

 

[icxn]

Ἀλώπηξ λιμώττουσα, ὡς ἐθεάσατο ἀπό τινος ἀναδενδράδος βότρυας κρεμαμένους, ἠβουλήθη αὐτῶν περιγενέσθαι καὶ οὐκ ἠδύνατο. Ἀπαλλαττομένη δὲ πρὸς ἑαυτὴν εἶπεν· "Ὄμφακές εἰσιν." Οὕτω καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἔνιοι τῶν πραγμάτων ἐφικέσθαι μὴ δυνάμενοι δι' ἀσθένειαν τοὺς καιροὺς αἰτιῶνται.

 

[Ken Rank]

Hi Family,

I have been told by one of the CFers that Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic are dead languages and they should never be used to provide more meaning to a verse because the KJV is the only real verson that does not need clarification.

I was also told that they did not want to communicate if i was going to use Greek words to explain verses because no one in this day and age knows what these words mean.

Have you come accross this mindset? How did you address it?

Are they dead and ineffectual languages?

Can you think or a word in English that means one thing and means something different in any of those languages?

For example...possession in English means to own but in Greek it means to be inhabited by when it comes to demonization.

~Natsumi

Dead or not, whatever the words in those languages mean is what they mean and when we take them into English we are simply doing our best to find equivalent meanings in our words. We are not always successful.

The Hebrew word b'rit means a sworn agreement between two or more (usually a greater and lesser) that is sealed in blood. The closest word we have in English is covenant but a covenant doesn't REQUIRE blood, a b'rit does. So the b'rit we are now part of includes blood... but we call it a covenant or testament removing the concept of blood which does take from the point of the original word.

Here is another example, and there are many examples.

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Gen 1:1 בְּרֵאשִׁיתH7225 בָּרָאH1254 אֱלֹהִיםH430 אֵתH853 הַשָּׁמַיִםH8064 וְאֵתH853 הָאָרֶץH776

Above is the Hebrew... I have written it left to right to keep it easy. The first word is b'resheit, then bara, then Elohim, then et. The word et is NOT represented in English because we don't have a word to represent it.

H853
BDB Definition:
1) sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative

To assume that we have captured in any language outside of the one it was penned in, EVERYTHING perfectly is just a linguistic error that stems from a lack of understanding how languages work. If anything, a dead language (like Latin) helps us because it wouldn't be changing and once we understood it, the work in that sense would be done.

By the way, who said biblical Hebrew and Greek are a dead language? They have evolved just as English has evolved but they aren't "dead."

Blessings.
Ken

 

[Natsumi Lam]

Ἀλώπηξ λιμώττουσα, ὡς ἐθεάσατο ἀπό τινος ἀναδενδράδος βότρυας κρεμαμένους, ἠβουλήθη αὐτῶν περιγενέσθαι καὶ οὐκ ἠδύνατο. Ἀπαλλαττομένη δὲ πρὸς ἑαυτὴν εἶπεν· "Ὄμφακές εἰσιν." Οὕτω καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἔνιοι τῶν πραγμάτων ἐφικέσθαι μὴ δυνάμενοι δι' ἀσθένειαν τοὺς καιροὺς αἰτιῶνται.

Translation please.

 

[Tolworth John]

he KJV is the only real verson that does not need clarification.

Pay no attention to these closed minded idiots.
They are so closed minded that they are unable to see that they have created a religous language different from everyday speach.

 

[tampasteve]

Ah, these are the KJV Onlyists (KJV-O or KJB-O). Their position is not supportable via scripture, or even the KJV translators themselves. They are living a lie and cannot see to their error, attempting to drag others down with them and rarely admitting the faults in the argument when shown them.

Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic are not dead. The original languages are almost always the best to look to for clarification on passages.

 

[icxn]

Translation please.

A hungry fox seeing a cluster of grapes hanging from a vine attempted to have them but couldn't (they were out of her reach). Giving up, she said to herself, "they are unripe." Such are the people who find blame in times and circumstances and not their own incompetence. - Aesop fables

 

[paul1149]

Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic are dead languages and they should never be used to provide more meaning to a verse because the KJV is the only real verson that does not need clarification.

It always is critically important to ascertain what a writer or speaker meant by his words. When different languages are involved, that is the task of the translator. This is why we continue to go to the original languages, even reconstructed ones such as Hebrew. Scholarship is increasing, and we probably know more now about the languages than ever before. The problem with KJV-only-ers is that they think God guided the translators of that Bible version, once for all time, and so the matter is settled.

 

[Dave-W]

I have been told by one of the CFers that Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic are dead languages and they should never be used to provide more meaning to a verse because the KJV is the only real verson that does not need clarification.

I was also told that they did not want to communicate if i was going to use Greek words to explain verses because no one in this day and age knows what these words mean.

That is a King James Only person. They have an idolatrous worship of a particular TRANSLATION of the text, and they are too lazy to actually learn the original languages and the original cultural contexts of the scriptures.

The Italians have a phrase that goes something like this: Traduttore traditore; The translator is a traitor. IOW, no matter how good any translation is, it is insufficient to convey the meaning of the original text.

As to being "dead," all 3 languages are in spoken usage today.

IMO, God was very wise in NOT using English to transmit his word.

 

[hopperace]

Language maters, and while it's true God chose to communicate with us in the written languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek originally, it isn't as though those languages are in and of themselves holy, perfect languages without a variety of meanings (as shown above), and we are reliant too on God the Spirit for clarity of effectual understanding, and even then God has seen fit to give the variety of His children a variety of perspective on His Word.

One of those perspectives includes our brothers and sisters locked into an exclusive use of a particular edition of the KJV. Yes, it's a hard-pressed perspective when one considers all the variables involved, and yes, it's sad when one encounters some KJV-onlyers who sincerely think that's what Jesus and the Disciples used, but there indeed are a few worthy points favouring the KJV. Just in terms of English usage, one values the progression of dominance in language usage among God's children - from Hebrew originally, to Aramaic & Greek, to Latin, to English. And so in our age there are more Bibles printed and used in English than any other language.

The KJV was not the first English Bible, but by and large it came to English in a time when English had fewer dialects and variety of nuance than today and what we see with the plethora of modern English translations. Yes, even with the KJV, many words used in those days have dramatically changed meaning to today's English usage, even as much as being opposite in meaning, but there too there is a reverence of tradition and style that often accompanies use of the KJV.

One of the prime reasons behind even constructing the KJV in committee and royal tweaking was to translate the Scriptures toward popular language access, so more of God's children could read the Scriptures for themselves. For those finding the KJV reliable, I wouldn't fault them for choosing it as their prime or even sole source of God's Written Word.