Word Studies. B. If we are hazy or wrong in our understanding of word meanings we will misunderstand the meaning of a biblical passage.

Transcription

1 Word Studies I. The importance of accurately understanding the meaning of words. A. Words are the building block of language. B. If we are hazy or wrong in our understanding of word meanings we will misunderstand the meaning of a biblical passage. C. There often is not an exact equivalent in English for the original Greek or Hebrew word used. The goal is to understand the shades of meaning and implications of the words in the original language. D. Every word has a range of meanings, called its semantic domain. 1. E.g. "hand": a part of the body used for grasping, a set of playing cards held by a card player, the indicator of hours or minutes on a clock, etc. "Give them a hand" means either a command to an audience to applaud a performance or a command to help some people with a task. 2. A Greek or Hebrew word may have a range of meanings represented by several English words. Greek word English word 1 English word 2 English word 3 a. ðëçñüù (pleroo): "fill" (a cup), "fulfill" (prophecy), "complete" or "finish" b. ðßóôéò (pistis): "faith" in several senses: the doctrine of the gospel (Gal 1:23); belief in Jesus leading to salvation (Gal 2:16); confident assurance of what God can do (Matt. 1:22-23); etc. c. óüñî (sarx): a complex, multi-dimensional word: (1) Basic meaning is "flesh" (that which covers the bones) (2) Body (3) A person of flesh and blood (John 1:14) (4) Humankind collectively (Lk 3:6--"all flesh will see God's salvation") (5) The mortal human nature (6) The outward side of life visible to others (7) The sinful nature; inner part of a human being that urges us to sin 3. A Greek or Hebrew word may have different nuances or associations than the best equivalent English word. These are called the connotations of a word. a. êüóìïò (kosmos) can mean the physical world, all the people in the world, the universe, all nonanimal creatures (men and angels), the system of thought and values which are hostile to God, a woman's external adornment, etc. The English word "world" overlaps only part of the meaning of the Greek word. Greek: êüóìïò (kosmos) English: "world" Copyright 2013 Dr. Harry A. Hahne

2 Word Studies Page 2 b. The "first born" was more than merely the first child born. In ancient Jewish culture the first son received the largest portion of the inheritance and had other special privileges, honors and responsibilities. Thus the term "first born" could be used to refer to someone who was more honored and considered more excellent, even when birth order is not in view. In Ps. 89:27 God appointed the Davidic king of Israel as his "firstborn", the most exalted of the kings of the earth. In Col. 1:15, Christ is called the firstborn of all creation. This does not mean that He was created first, but that he is supreme above all created things. 4. If we assume North American English associations for words, it can lead to serious errors. a. Jews of Jesus day thought of the Pharisees as the greatest religious people of the time, not hypocrites. b. "Samaritans" were half Jew, half Gentile, whose Jewish ancestors had compromised and married forbidden Gentiles. To a Jew of this era, there was no such thing as a "good" Samaritan. In the story of the good Samaritan it is shocking that the hero is not the Jewish priest (the good guy), but the despised Samaritan (the bad guy). By contrast, in Western culture, the word Samaritan now has overtones of a helpful person who cares for strangers. E. The meaning of a word is always determined by its interaction with other words in the context. 1. Only one meaning is used in a context. Context determines which of the possible meanings of a word is intended. 2. The context includes both the syntax (arrangement of words in a sentence) and the larger context of several sentences and the purpose of the overall discourse. 3. When John 3:16 says "God so loved the world", the term "world" has a different meaning than in 1 John 2:15, "do not love the world nor the things of the world". Yet both of these statements where written by the same author. F. The goal of a word study is to determine how a word was used by the author in accordance with the normal usage of words in the author's time and culture. II. Determining the meaning of words A. Select the important words in your passage for the focus of word study: unfamiliar, central, repeated. B. Suggested word study procedure: 1. Determine the Greek word used. This is the focus of your study. 2. Look up the word in a Greek lexicon (a dictionary that lists words in one language and meanings in another). At this stage read to determine the range of possible meanings in the original language. 3. Use a concordance to find all biblical passages in which the Greek word is used. Look up all passages and study the usage there. Summarize with a list of possible word meanings. 4. Consult word study books, Bible dictionaries and lexicons to determine subtle shades of meaning. Compare your inductive findings to these secondary sources. NOTE: Study the word usage inductively first, so secondary sources will not color the way you understand the word. However, dictionaries and encyclopedias add important cultural, historical and linguistic information.

3 Word Studies Page 3 5. Summarize with a list of possible word meanings and all verse numbers where each usage appears. Try to distinguish subtle shades of meaning. Determine which meaning is used in themain passage you are studying inductively. C. Greek lexicons 1. A lexicon is a dictionary that lists words in one language and the meaning in another language. 2. Bauer, Arndt, Gingrich and Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early nd rd Christian Literature. It is abbreviated Bauer or BAGD (2 edition) or BDAG (3 edition). The standard authoritative Greek lexicon. Avoid Thayer s lexicon which is considerably out of date. 3. J. P. Louw and E.A. Nida, A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains. A useful supplement that groups words with a similar meaning (semantic domain) so you can see the differences. 4. Many Bible software programs include lexicons which are linked to the Bible text so you can find the word meaning by just clicking on the word. E.g. Logos includes Loew-Nida and optional Bauer. Loew-Nida is available for Bible Windows. NIV Study Bible (Zondervan) can link to New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology. Gramcord includes the short dictionary that is in the back of many UBS Greek New Testaments. 5. See Fee, New Testament Exegesis, p.p for an example of how to use Bauer s lexicon. D. Bible dictionaries and Bible encyclopedias. 1. These explain the word usage in the Bible, the theological significance of words, and cultural, historical and geographic background. 2. They may contrast the meanings of synonyms (words with similar meanings). 3. Suggestions for using Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias: a. There may not be an article title with the exact word you are interested in. (1) Look under generic categories: (see "weights and measures" to find talent ). (2) Look under related words. To find articles on "love", also look under "brotherly love", "ethics", "beloved", "hate", etc. (3) Sometimes the word will be listed under its King James or RSV translation. (4) Consult the index. b. Be careful not to read the meaning of one Greek or Hebrew word into another. c. Filter out irrelevant material. Not everything in the article will be applicable to your passage. 4. Recommended: a. J.D. Douglas, Illustrated Bible Dictionary (3 vols) or the 1 vol. New Bible Dictionary (same text but with not color pictures). A very helpful evangelical work. b. G.W. Bromiley, ed., International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (4 vols.) An outstanding encyclopedia that should be used by every Bible student. It is moderate theologically. c. See the annotated bibliography in Klein, Blomberg and Hubbard, Biblical Interpretation. d. Some of these are available on CD-ROM for use with your computer. Logos Scholar s Library includes New Bible Dictionary. Optional Anchor Bible Dictionary (Logos) is even better. E. Greek word study books. 1. Word study books have detailed articles on the meaning of the words in the original languages. They explain the nuances of meaning, the changes in meaning different periods of history and the different uses of various authors.

4 2. Consult the Scripture index to find articles pertaining to the passage you are studying. Word Studies Page 4 3. The best choices for careful Bible study: a. Colin Brown, ed., New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (3 vol.). (Also available on CD-ROM from Zondervan) The best word study book for the New Testament. Moderate to conservative theologically. More reliable, up to date and easier to use than TDNT (below). Words are grouped by English meaning. b. G. Kittel Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (TDNT). A exhaustive 10 volume word study book, from a moderate to neo-orthodox perspective. 4. Of some use, but dated and less reliable: a. Wuest, Word Studies in the Greek New Testament (4 vol). A somewhat dated, but very readable discussion of Greek word meanings for the English reader. Some views about Greek are no longer accepted by scholars. b. Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. Generally not recommended. It is out of date and based on assumptions about Greek that are not accepted by modern scholars. F. Use a concordance to compare how the word is used in various passages of the Bible. 1. Studying the usage of a word in context throughout the Bible will give you a better feel for the word than reading articles in dictionaries and lexicons. a. Find every occurrence of the word in the Bible, regardless of how it is translated. b. Then determine the meanings of the word and nuances in various contexts. c. This will show you the semantic domain or range of meanings of a word and help you determine the type of context that specifies various usages. 2. A concordance lists every verse in the Bible where various words are used. a. English: (1) An exhaustive concordance lists all occurrence of all words in the Bible, except little words like and, the, or. (a) The NASB concordance is best because it is based on a literal translation of the best early Greek texts. (b) Strong's and Young's are less useful because they are based on the KJV which used a (c) a less reliable later, medieval Greek text (the Textus Receptus ). Avoid the NIV concordance because it is not based on a literal translation and thus is so not as useful for word studies. (2) Many concordances include a numerical code ( Strong s number ) so you can identify Hebrew and Greek words and look them up in a word study book. b. Greek: (1) The best concordances index words by the dictionary form of the Greek word and list the verses in the original language. (a) (b) (c) H. Bachmann and H. Slaby, eds. Computer Concordance to the Novum Testamentum Graece. This is based on the NA26 Greek text. Kohlenberger, Gooderich, Swanson, Exhaustive Concordance to the Greek New Testament. (based on Greek text used by NIV) Moulton and Geden Concordance to the Greek New Testament. Older and not quite as useful since it was not based on the Greek text that modern scholars use. (2) Concordances are available that list the words in Greek and the verses in English. These are useful for those who do not know Greek or Hebrew but want to find all occurrences of a word. (a) (b) Words are usually identified by the Strong s word number, so you do not need to know the Greek or Hebrew script. You can find all occurrences of a word, regardless of how it is translated in context.

5 Word Studies Page 5 (c) (d) Kohlenberger, Gooderick and Swanson. Greek-English Concordance of the New Testament with the NIV (Zondervan). Best available. Uses the Greek texts used by NIV. G.K. Gillespie, The New Englishman's Greek Concordance of the New Testament; Ralph Winter, Word Study Concordance; P. Clapp, Analytical Concordance to the New Testament. Based on less reliable Greek texts. 3. A Bible software program is an interactive concordance that lets you search a Bible text for various words and phrases. a. Advantages compared to a concordance: (1) Can view passages in context, rather than part of a verse. (2) Faster to find passages. (3) Quicker to browse through passages. (4) Find phrases as well as combinations of words in the same verse. (5) Compare various translations side by side. (6) Can do a search for words in Greek or Hebrew and display the results in English. (7) Can search the best scholarly Greek text. (8) Advanced programs can search for grammatical features, such as all future tense uses of a certain verb, or all commands in a book. b. Some programs also include dictionaries, lexicons and commentaries linked to the Bible text so you can click on a word with the mouse and find an article on the word. c. Better ones link Greek and English texts so you can learn about the Greek words while studying the English Bible. (e.g. Logos, NIV Study Bible) d. Windows: Logos, NIV Study Bible, Bible Works, Gramcord; Macintosh: Accordance. 4. How to do a word study with a concordance. a. Look up all the places where the word occurs in the original language text (1) With an English concordance: (a) Look for the English word in the concordance and determine the Greek or Hebrew word used in that verse. (b) In the back of the lexicon, find all the ways the word is translated in your Bible version. (c) Look up all occurrences of each English translation and separate verse with your particular Greek or Hebrew word. (2) With a Greek or Hebrew concordance: (a) Find the Greek or Hebrew word from an English concordance, commentary, interlinear Bible, word study Bible (with word numbers) or Bible software program. (b) Look up the Greek or Hebrew word. (3) With a Bible software program, use one of these alternative approaches: (a) Find the Greek or Hebrew word as above and enter it in the search command. (b) Using the interlinear display of the original language text, find the appropriate word and click on it to do a search for the word. (c) Find the Strong s number of the word and search on it. (d) Logos lets you click on the NASV and find the Greek word used in that location. Then click on the Greek word to find other occurrences of the word. (e) Warning: You must search for the lemma (dictionary form) of the Greek or Hebrew word, not the form that may appear in a particular verse. E.g. if the English word is "man s" and you search on the corresponding Greek word, you only find possessive singular forms, not forms such as "men" or "man". b. Write a brief definition of how the word is used in the context of each verse. Try to capture the nuances of slightly different meanings. c. Summarize the possible word usages and list all verses with each word meaning. Note if a particular usage is favored by a certain author.

6 Word Studies Page 6 d. For a thorough word study, repeat the process with cognate words, i.e. words that come from the same root (e.g. full, fill, fullness ). e. From the context of the Bible passage you are studying, determine the one meaning that best fits that passage. 5. Abridged word study example: "make disciples" in Matt. 28:19 a. This study required looking up the verb ( make disciples, ìáíèüíù (manthano), and the noun ( disciple, ìáèçôþò (mathetes)). b. English Dictionary meaning of disciple : (1) A pupil, follower, adherent of a teacher or school of religion. (2) An early follower of Jesus, especially the 12 apostles. c. Greek dictionary, Bible dictionary: ìáèçôþò (mathetes): (1) A taught one or trained one, a learner. (2) Those who accept the teachings of others (e.g. John the Baptist or Jesus). (3) those who confess Jesus. (4) An apostle in the gospels and Acts. d. Concordance (only representative passages listed here; you should list all): (1) Usages in Reference to Christ: (a) Any follower of Jesus during his earthly ministry (e.g. John 6:66). (b) Anyone who believes in Jesus (e.g. Acts 6:1). (c) One of the 12 apostles (e.g. Matt. 11:1). (d) "True" disciples, denoting believers who lover other believers (John 13:35), hold to Christ's teachings (John 8:31) and bear spiritual fruit (John 15:8). (2) References to John the Baptist (not listed here) e. Conclusion on Matt. 28:19: (1) The context suggests that the usage refers to "true" disciples, due to the command to obey all that Christ commanded (v. 20). We are not simply to encourage people to believe in Jesus, but to teach them to live their lives in accordance with his will. III. Common errors in determining word meanings A. Assuming that all possible word meanings apply in a given passage ("illegitimate totality transfer") 1. A word may mean many things, but the author has only one meaning in mind in a given sentence. This is the error of the Amplified Bible. 2. A concordance or lexicon study shows you the possibilities. You must choose the appropriate usage based on the context. 3. E.g. êêëçóßá (ekklesia) (church) may mean a local assembly or the entire collection of Christians throughout the ages, but not both at the same time. B. Assuming all occurrences of a word must have the same meaning. ("one meaning fallacy") 1. A word may be translated different ways in different passages. (see on óüñî (sarx) above) C. Assuming word meaning can be determined from the root of the word. ("root fallacy") 1. The meaning of "greenhouse" could not be determined from the meaning of its parts "green" and "house". 2. This is very common in older word study books, such a Thayer's Lexicon, Vines Word Studies and Wuest's Word Studies. 3. Ýêêëçóßá (ekklesia): It is often said to mean that believers are "called out" based on the root, but it is never used this way in Greek literature. D. Misusing the etymology of a word ("etymological fallacy") 1. Etymology means the words from which the word was historically derived. This is related to the root fallacy.

7 Word Studies Page 7 2. "Hussy" is derived from "housewife", but the meaning is hardly the same. 3. "Nice" is derived from the Latin nescius, "ignorant" E. Applying modern English word meaning to ancient words (see discussion above). F. Assuming the word meaning is related to an English word derived from the word. 1. äýíáìéò (dunamis) (power) has nothing to do with dynamite 2. In "God loves a cheerful giver", the Greek word ëáñüò (hilaros) has nothing to do with being "hilarious". G. Applying a word meaning from another time period. 1. Words change meaning significantly over time, sometimes very quickly. In 1611 when the KJV was translated, "prevent" meant the same as the modern word "precede" (1 Th. 4:15, "those who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not prevent those who have fallen asleep") 2. Two types of word studies: a. Diachronic word study traces the changes in word meanings over the centuries. b. Synchronic study looks at word meanings in other literature from the same time period. nd 3. Anachronism: reading a later usage of a word back. E.g. reading the 2 century idea of bishop as a leader responsible for several churches back into the NT use of the term. In the NT it means an overseer of a church. This is roughly like a pastor, except it stresses his leadership role, whereas pastor stresses the spiritual nurture side of the position. 4. Obsolescence: reading an outdated meaning into a word. E.g. êåöáëþ (kefale), "head", is not used with the meaning "source" or "origin" in the NT era, so it cannot be used that way in 1 Cor 11. That was a rare classical Greek usage from the 5th century B.C., not a Hellenistic usage. (See Carson, pp ) 5. Be careful not to read NT meanings into the OT. H. Assuming that synonyms must express different concepts. 1. The 2 words for love, ãáðüù (agapao) and öéëýù (fileo), overlap in meaning more than many people realize. Even the Pharisees love with ãáðç (agape): Lk 11:43, they love the front seats in synagogue and the respectful greetings of men. Only an author's usage habits and the meaning in context can determine if the author intends any distinction in meaning. I. Misuse of parallel passages 1. Be careful to consider all parallel passages, not just the ones that support your theory 2. Be sure the parallel passages deal with the word or subject in the same way as your passage. J. Recommended reading: Moises Silva, Biblical Words and Their Meaning and Donald Carson, Exegetical Fallacies.