Importance, Value, and Benefits for Learning Biblical Greek
On some occasions, people have asked me why we should learn biblical Greek? Especially in view of the numerous translations that we may use with quick access to each translation.
Let me make some suggestions as to the rationale or “why” learning biblical Greek online will be helpful for you:
- We need to reckon that when we work from one language to another, there is no such thing as a 1-1 transfer of meaning.
- This applies both to grammar and vocabulary. One Greek word may mean twelve different things in distinct contexts.
- My own motto, “Words are known by the company they keep.”
- Learning biblical Greek helps us to get “close to the text.” Don’t we read and reread an important letter or email from a loved one with real care? We pay thoughtful attention to each word, inflection, expression, idiom, emoticons, and nuances, even punctuation—to feel “close” to our loved one. The same truth applies to our reading of Scripture, particularly with reading of biblical Greek Scripture.
- Think of “learning biblical Greek” as a library card that grants you access to many scholarly reference works. For example, major lexicons of Greek words only include the Greek letters, and these scholarly lexicons are in Greek alphabetical order.
- Thoughtful work with the Greek New Testament can lead to an experience of real joy when we thoroughly engage ourselves with Greek passages. That has certainly been part of my emotional response when I translate and interpret certain Greek paragraphs.