Studying the Bible

[Theophilus]

I also think it is a good idea to entertain the possibility of studying Koine Greek for a deeper understanding of what the Bible (Septuagint and NT) really says. When you say the word "Greek", most people immediately think it is too hard. But in the context of the rest of your life, it's really not that bad. A spoonful at a time and before you know it, you've achieved some level of proficiency.

The same argument could be made for Hebrew, although I haven't done any serious study in that language yet.

When I read different English translations of the Bible, many times I get a different feel or impression or nuance about what is said and what is not said. And when I read the same passage in Greek, I get yet another impression. These differences could just be linguistic differences between languages, so I don't want to overstate the case. However, it does seem that part of Biblical literacy would include a language component so that if needed the existing copies (autographs don't exist) could be examined.

I wouldn't want to put a language burden on anyone. I just think we should be more open to the possibility of studying the real language of Scripture.

I would love to go to service and hear Scriptures read from the original language, and then the interpretation. I didn't intend this, but it almost sounds like Paul's advice about speaking in tongues.