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Logos Ministries Incorporated
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DID YOU KNOW THIS?! INTRODUCTION Good writing reflects the culture and ideas of the time in which it was written. The Bible was written in such a way that the culture and the values of that day are reflected appropriately. By this means it is often possible to determine a document's date of authorship. For example, when the writer of Genesis spoke of the well on the road to Egypt, this was a reference to something that everyone in that area recognized. However, we, as modern readers unfamiliar with the terminology and idioms of the times, can only know about these things as we attempt to rediscover the history and customs of that day. If the term "cold war" were used in an undated, English-language document, we would know that it was written after World War II because we were not aware of the term until then. If an article written in English contained the word "perestroika," we could be quite certain that it was written after 1988. Most had never heard of this Russian word before Mikhail Gorbachev used it to describe the changes he wanted to effect in the Soviet Union. A sentence may also express some very strong emotional content which the words themselves are unable to convey. For example, the word "depression" spoken to a person born around 1930 would probably cause him to think of bread lines, bank foreclosures, moving in with relatives and being out of work. On the other hand, if born after 1960, that person's first thought might be of a dejected emotional state. Cultural references are a vital part of communication. We believe that the Bible, according to II Timothy 3:16, is the inspired Word of God. Hebrews 1:1 affirms that God has spoken when it says,
The prophets were vessels through whom God revealed Himself to His people. Though it was a voice that we could not identify as tenor or bass, the words of the prophet were a message from God. It was through Isaiah that God spoke to His people Israel about forgiveness, speaking to them through both the words and the personality of the prophet.
As the epistle to the Hebrews reminds us, God spoke most clearly through His son, Jesus Christ, telling us that He is Love. This idea was expressed by letting us see God's love in the person and life of Jesus Christ, and by a host of illustrations and cultural details which allude to the Father's loving nature. God's people are reminded that He is both loving and just. By allowing them to witness Jesus forgiving the woman taken in adultery, God illustrated His love. He spoke of His justice by letting the Jewish leaders watch Jesus drive the money-changers out of the temple. Therefore, the clearest revelation of the personality and character of God can be seen in the person and life of His Son, Jesus Christ. Throughout the ages God has spoken through the personalities of men like Abraham, Moses and Joshua, some of His most dedicated servants. The faithfulness of God to His people Israel was illustrated through the experiences which Abraham had with Jehovah; it was through the personality and experience of Moses that God displayed His concern for purity and obedience. Through the leadership of Joshua and the ways in which God dealt with him, the greatness of His power was proclaimed. God also revealed the inner depths of His own personality and character through the personality and writings of some of His chosen servants. It is no accident that the writings of the Apostle Peter were crisp and fast paced, because that was who Peter was. Yet through that kind of impulsive personality, God was able to reveal some of the most intricate and delicate truths about His own nature. On the other hand, the Apostle Paul was sharp, concise, logical. You can see this trait of his personality on every page of the epistle to the Romans. Still God was able to take this very logical personality and through it express something of the deep emotion and compassion which is found in the Epistle to the Philippians. The writing of Luke -- both the Gospel and the Book of Acts -- are filled with pieces of detailed human data characteristic of the physician he was. Nevertheless, God was able to use the meticulous personality of Luke to convey some of the most emotional, human portraits of Jesus to be found in any Gospel. The nature and human temperament of the writer is distinctive and identifiable; God used them to provide us with delicate, incisive pictures of His own character and personality. He even used human languages to give us further insight. The romantic, emotional nature of the Hebrew language was an excellent vehicle through which God could reveal something of the intense passion He held for Israel, as well as the burning justice with which He confronted His erring people. It was not accidental that He spoke of these glimpses of Himself through the Hebrew language. On the other hand, when He wanted to speak in precise, less emotional, almost scientific terms, God chose to use the Greek and Aramaic. The crispness of their expression and incisive precision of their word choices reveal the delicate detail of the doctrine and mode of living that Christians must observe to be a follower of Jesus. The Greek New Testament is an illustration of this. It uses thirty-seven different words to convey various shades of a word which, in the English versions, is simply translated as "bring." By choosing the Greek and Aramaic languages, God opened a whole palette of specific meanings which would have been extremely limited had He chosen to reveal Himself in the English language. The choice of languages and specific words enabled God to impart a clearer revelation of Himself to the people who love Him. The people to whom Paul wrote knew him and the cultural background in which his thinking was formulated; thus they were able to grasp cultural references which now elude the casual reader who is not familiar with the Apostle and his culture. In picking up a Bible, we often encounter words and ideas which do not become clear even with accurate translation. Because we do not know the language in which Paul wrote and are not familiar with the cultural details of that time and locale, we need help in understanding these portions of Scripture. Finding the most accurate translation possible still does not tell us what the text means when speaking about such things as "shaving the front of your head for the dead," as mentioned in Deuteronomy 14:1, 2. On one occasion Jesus talked about His presence and said, "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:20). Why, you might wonder, did He choose the numbers "two" or "three?" To what was Jesus referring in this statement? An awareness of Hebrew religious customs and regulations would give insights into this questions. Modern Bible readers tend to gloss over any word or concept which is not a part of their understanding. This results in the fact that many passages are either misunderstood or simply ignored. It happens because the reader lacks an understanding of the cultural meaning and does not know how to find that meaning. Over the years, people have repeatedly asked questions about some of these terms and ideas which seem to have no meaning for us today. Still others either do not read such passages or believe things that are not true about these Scriptural statements. As a result of this confusion and the need for understanding, a collection of these words and ideas has been compiled. The intention is to develop an understanding of the words or statements involved. Our hope is that this information will enable the reader to understand portions of the Scriptures more completely and therefore discern God's will more fully. We are always indebted to those who have taught us either in the classroom or through the things they taught or wrote. We can remember some of these, but never all of them. Many of the ideas in this book were discovered in classrooms, books and trips to the Holy Land. Though I do not remember the names of the works I read or the authors to whom I listened, I gladly acknowledge that I am the beneficiary of the skill and accumulated wisdom of hosts of scholars who preceded me. Several people have helped with the preparation of this volume. Proof reading was painstakingly pursued by Ms. Marilyn Burns, Ms. Sharon Spicka, and Mr. David Arnes. I am deeply indebted to them. Mr. Tom Houston designed the cover and Dr. Peter Stone assisted with computer design and graphics. Without their help this task would have been much more difficult to complete. Dr. James Fleming, of Biblical Resources in Jerusalem, has had a major impact on my understanding. I am deeply indebted to him for his great skills. The bold print in quotations from Scripture was placed there by this author for purposes of emphasis. This is to enable persons to pronounce the words though they do not know the language. |
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