NOTES ON OLD TESTAMENT HEBREW AND NEW TESTAMENT GREEK

Notes Collected During Bible Study That Help With The Original Languages. This is a growing collection.

(By Marvin Ganote)

Hebrew Comments

Greek Comments

Which Bible to Use?

What is God's Name and Why is God's Name Important?

(Exo 3:14-15 RSV) "God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" {15} God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you': this is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations." The same Hebrew word translated "I AM WHO I AM", "I AM" and "LORD" is YHWH.

A major problem is our English translations from the KJV on. Ancient Hebrew used no vowels. Since the Jews sinfully chose to not make and keep a personal relationship with God, the actual pronunciation of YHWH was quickly lost. When the Masoretes in late medieval times decided to make the Hebrew more readable by adding vowels, they had a major problem with YHWH. They made two major decisions and errors. (1) They changed YHWH to JHVH. (2) They used the vowels they assigned to Adonai. Thus they created "Jehovah" to be used in place of YHWH even though JHVH is not in the Hebrew manuscripts available to us. Since we need vowels to pronounce a word, "Yahweh" is the best we can get to the original way to say YHWH. You may argue that may not be correct, but it is far more correct than Jehovah. Even Strong is wrong in his Exhaustive Concordance when he says YHWH is 3068. Yehovah, yeh-ho-vaw'; from H1961; (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jeho-vah, Jewish national name of God:--Jehovah, the Lord. Comp. H3050, H3069. His different base word is YHVH, which is also not in the Hebrew. Even the Hobbs Commentary (Oct-Dec 96) says Jehovah equals Yahweh. NOT SO!

Note: All Greek in the lessons comes from the KJV Greek Textus Receptus and Strong's Concordance.

• The Greek condition of first class expresses a condition assumed as being true. (H.H. Hobbs)
• Words sequence is in important. The opening word of a sentence is thus emphatic.
• Further, in the Greek text the greater emphasis opens a sentence; the secondary emphasis closes it.
• "All" without the definite article means every single part of the whole.
• "All" with the definite article means the whole item and the specific item and nothing else.
• Aorist - It has a "punctiliar" action meaning it regards action as a point. The aorist signifies nothing as to completeness, but simply presents the action as attained. It states the fact of the action or event without regard to its duration.
• The Present tense has a generally linear action.
• The Perfect denotes what has begun in the past and still continues. Thus the present and aorist are the basic tenses of Greek.
• Active voice is something the subject of the verb is doing.
• Passive voice is something that is being done to the subject of the verb.
• Aorist infinitive - The infinitive is strictly a verbal noun and not a mood.
• To the Greek, "mind" denotes the total person, much like we use the word "heart."
• The Greek dunatoi means strong. By adding an a the word becomes just the opposite, which is adunation meaning weak.
• The Greek word for "believe" (pisteuo) also means to trust in and commit to Christ Jesus. (H.H. Hobbs) Thus the Greek for belief (faith) means to believe with the mind, trust with the heart and commit with the life. All three must be present or it is not Biblical belief.
• The an negates the meaning of the base word. Example: anypokritos. It is means "not hypocritical."
• Knowing (know - eido) eidotes means meaning to fully know or with perception.

The Greek word eis has numerous meanings of a wide range. The meaning must be selected carefully by full context. 1519. eis, ice; a prim. prep.; to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (fig.) purpose (result, etc.); also in adv. phrases:--[abundant-] ly, against, among, as, at, [back-] ward, before, by, concerning, + continual, + far more exceeding, for [intent, purpose], fore, + forth, in (among, at unto, -so much that, -to), to the intent that, + of one mind, + never, of, (up-) on, + perish, + set at one again, (so) that, therefore (-unto), throughout, till, to (be, the end, -ward), (here-) until (-to), . . . ward, [where-] fore, with. Often used in composition with the same general import, but only with verbs (etc.) expressing motion (lit. or fig.).

• There are two Greek words for wrath or anger:

1. Orge, or-gay'; from G3713; it means an abiding long lasting anger, a universal opposition to evil. This is the usual word for God's anger against sin.
2. Thumos, thoo-mos'; from G2380; it means a flash anger like a quick fire of dry grass which is for the moment and does not last.

In the earliest manuscripts there were no spaces between the individual words so that the words all ran together. (H.H. Hobbs) This meant that copy error was possible and can be found in some copies. Only the original is infallible and error free. God never promised to keep copies error free. Many disagree with this. Below is a brief introduction on this timeless debate.

The Textus Receptus is not the best Greek text known today but many still say it is and use the primary translation from it: the King James Version. What is not usually said is the first KJV document is different from the current KJV in many ways. And the KJV is not even error free as to Greek-to-English translation. First example: 1 John 5:18 KJV) "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not." With this KJV reading, Christians never sin because God keeps them from sinning. Yet the KVJ reads (1 John 1:10 KJV) "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." What is going on? The answer is the Greek in 1 John 5:18 reads "whosoever is born of God does not make a habit of sinning…" This is what KJV preachers will say this verse means and not "sinneth not." Why should we have to translate English into English meaning? Another example is (Mat 16:19 KJV) "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." ." With this KJV reading, Christians control what heaven will do. But the Greek really reads "whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall have been already bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall have been already loosed in heaven." Quite the opposite meaning from the KJV: Heaven controls the Christian!

God never promised that translators, commentators, preachers, and teachers would be error free. Hearer and reader beware!

The KJV New Testament (and all editions since Tyndale) was compiled primarily from the Byzantine family of manuscripts (A.D. 500 - 1000) frequently referred to as the Textus Receptus. But many of the newer translations were produced using a composite of later discoveries of other manuscripts and fragments dating from an earlier period. Among such are The "Alexandrian Family" manuscripts (A.D. 200-400) which include the three oldest: The Codex Alexandrius, the Codex Vaticanus and the Codex Sinaiticus, all which were major contributors to most Bible versions after the King James version. Other important codices come from The Western Family, (of the Western Mediterranean areas), and the Caesarean Family of manuscripts (A.D. 200). (A codex is a manuscript bound together like a book instead of rolled into a scroll. Codices is plural for codex.) Many scholars feel that the older manuscripts have been somewhat more accurate and important to the refinement of the newer translations. However, this has been disputed by others, especially since the older copies make up a tiny portion of the large quantity of manuscripts available. At least 90% of the 5,400 existing Greek manuscripts come from the Byzantine family (the basis for the Textus Receptus), and due to the overwhelming numbers of copies with which to compare and verify for accuracy, some scholars feel that the small handful of older texts should not be used to overrule the credibility of the majority. Although textual criticism shows only slight differences between the manuscript families, in those passages where the older text differs with the newer, the modern translators usually deferred to the older, primarily from the Alexandrian Family manuscripts - Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Vaticanus.Why So Many Translations?

One example for the Textus Receptus is (1 John 5:7 RSV) "And the Spirit is the witness, because the Spirit is the truth." versus (1 John 5:7 KJV) "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." Reference Myths about the King James Bible

One can find such word error in every translation because none seem to primarily translate ideas between languages as they should. Thus what we have to say to the question "Now which one [translation] is right? The answer must be that all of them are helpful. What does this do, then, to our doctrine of inspiration? The answer is that God did not promise to inspire those who translate or copy the Bible." Further: "It is almost impossible to put into a single translation the entire meaning contained in any part of the Bible." [Quotes from Binkley, Orlin T., How to Study the Bible, Nashville, Convention Press, 1969, page 33.] This is because it would be so big few would ever read it. Not many read what is there now. What we can say is most, not all, translations will get you to the basic truths and principles of God. Some will do it better than others. But none can be taken as infallible as the original.

For a wordy rebuttal see Words for the KJV and many other Internet sources. Check Q&A for incomplete discussions that then draws a predictable conclusion. Other sources are also referenced there. Many Web sources exist on all sides of this debate. See also Why is it so important?

As for a KJV literalist, one of my favorite persons writes: ""I'm also aware that KJV translates some sentences ambiguously (because they're ambiguous in the Greek), and eschews clear interpretations imposed by some modern translators in accordance with their denominational biases; but I believe God sometimes deliberately wrote ambiguously as a test -- "the word of God... is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb 4:12)."" That is quite a statement to prove the KJV is an infallible as the original. It misuses Heb 4:12 and detracts from 1 Tim 3:15-16. The Greek for "discerner" is 2924. kritikos, krit-ee-kos'; from G2923; decisive ("critical"), i.e. discriminative:--discerner. An anbiguous test for a lost reader is not the meaning. Remember, the Bible is for the lost as well as the saved to come to know the righteousness that is in Jesus as Lord and Christ. The Bible is not ambiguous in the original. It is only ambiguous by not following the proper rules of reading. Read more of this and about a supposed Dual Plan of Salvation for humans: One for Jews and one for none-Jews. I certainly do not agree that such a Dual Plan is scriptural.

Further, this favorite writer of mine justifies the KJV's mistranslation of Matt 16:19 by writing: " Matt 16:19 doesn't apply to Christians today." To this there is no argument that will make sense to such a position. When you can cut-and-paste the Bible to come up with what you want it to say, you can make yourself believe anything you want. (2 Tim 3:15-16 KJV) "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. {16} All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" Does the KJV mean "all" or "not all". According to him, the answer is not all.

What is true is there are parts of the Bible that do not DIRECTLY apply to Christians because the Bible specifically identifies such parts. The primary example is the Law of Moses. (Rom 6:14 KJV) "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." Even then, the principles of the Law remain. So the KJV is correct that ALL SCRIPTURE is profitable to grow a Christian in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

How to Study the Bible Principles

The Bible is absolutely clear about this subject even before the Law! (Exo 3:14-15 RSV) "God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" {15} God also said to Moses, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you': this is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations." The same Hebrew word translated "I AM WHO I AM", "I AM" and "LORD" is YHWH.

Most Christians say this is a trivial matter. But how can it be when the Bible states what is the eternal name of God, Jesus says to hallow this name and he commanded Christians to be baptized in this name. (Isa 43:3 RSV) "For I am Yahweh your Elohim, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you." (Corrected translation.) God the Trinity has one and only one name, it is YHWH, or English Yahweh. Are we going to keep his Single and specific Name forever or not? Would you change "Jesus" to "Sam" and say it is the same even though in your mind it was? The Trinity is as emphatic about their Name as they are about Jesus' name. Note Matt 28:19. We are to be baptized in the name of the Trinity, i.e. Yahweh. How many are?

(Acts 4:12 RSV) "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."" This name is Jesus. Names are important and we have no excuse to not know and use the correct names concerning the Persons of the Trinity.

Please send any comments to me at ganotemd@dma.org

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