March 5, 2008...9:30 am
It’s All Greek to Me! (Should I Study Greek?)
When I started my first class in koine Greek (the type of Greek the New Testament is written in) my professor gave us a marvelous example to describe the benefit of knowing and understanding Greek.
He asked us to imagine if reading the bible were like watching TV (a stretch for me!). Then he explained that reading the bible in English is like watching TV in black and white; you can still see the picture, you get all of the content and storyline, but its lacks the vibrancy and definition of color television. He then went on to say that reading and studying the New Testament in Greek is like watching color television. In Greek you can see the vibrancy and lovely subtleties.
It’s been about five years since then and my Greek knowledge has increased by leaps and bounds since then (mostly due to a ridiculous amount of hours parsing Greek verbs!). However, I have come to two conclusions on this issue.
First, knowing Greek is actually more like the difference between black and white television, and High-Definition Television! The satisfaction of gaining a deeper understanding of a passage after truly understanding it in its intended language is something I would never trade. I felt as though I had gained a sliver of the very mind of God (probably a little over-dramatic).
Second, knowing Greek is absolutely unnecessary to be an effective and deep teacher of the word of God! The truth is most of my deepest insights into God’s perfect word have come from personal application and viewing them in context with the whole scripture not from reading them in Greek.
My Greek professors are rolling in their classrooms right now! The truth is technology has made Greek insight available to anyone. Any person, pastor, Sunday school teacher, youth leader, lay leader, deacon, or new believer has the tools at their disposal to study a passage in Greek and gain insight from it.
The best tool out there right now that is absolutely free is a program called e-sword. It is a totally free bible software tool that allows you to look at passages in several languages, look at free commentaries from some of the classic theologians as well as study passages in their original languages. If you would like a short crash course on how to use this simple and free tool to study passages in Greek click HERE to download
Another tool that is much better is Libronix. Libronix is literally a library worth of books packed into one program. Libronix does cost money, but it is worth every penny! Libronix allows you to study a passage and look at every passage in each of the hundreds of books it comes with, that applies to the passage you’re studying, a keyword, or a key topic. Libronix also offers dozens of Greek and Hebrew dictionaries as well as commentaries and more.
The truth is anyone can study the bible in Greek and get some insight from it as long as you have the right tools. While knowing Greek does allow you to see some things you wouldn’t normally it isn’t necessary for those without the time. In my own experience my time has been better spent seeking personal application and biblical context for passages these studies always seem to reveal God’s heart to me in a passage, and what I need to work on!
Brandon Collins
Lindsey
Ray Deck III
Ben Bacon
Tyler Collins
Nathan
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