Over-confidence in what we “definitely” know

Serious students of Scripture understand that all Bibles printed in the English language are translations.  They also understand that translating requires interpretation. 

Second, all serious students understand that verses and passages are to be viewed in context, not only of the verses nearby, but in the totality of the Bible, from Genesis through Revelation.  And that taking a verse or passage out of context leads to a high probability of being misunderstood.

I reflect back and think about the times I heard someone in a discussion of Scripture say “this verse means thus-n-such,” and “that passage means thus-n-such” with such confidence that it caused me to cringe.  The same when I have heard “this institution firmly stands for right teaching, and we will not tolerate wrong teaching” with such conviction that one can visualize a burning at the stake if some invisible line was crossed.  Listening to these speakers, I always wondered how long it would be before they had revelations where they changed their positions they were once so sure about…and how much debris would be in their wakes.

Now don’t take me wrong.  There is no way I would say that all Scripture and passages fall into this category.  Some are plain and straightforward such as “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour” and other direct commands of God.  No one challenges those (with the exception of violators).  But other units of Scripture can have meanings far from their contemporary English words and sentences.  And those meanings can be different based on the use of words over time, cultural bridges, translators’ selection of words, etc.    

With that said, have you ever read a Bible passage that either did not fit with other Scripture, or it almost but did not quiet fit?  I have.  And those troubled me until I could reconcile them.  I have occasionally analogized this as like a giant puzzle where all the pieces are perfectly shaped and are known to fit together perfect.  But in some cases the worker of the puzzle has a piece that is close but won’t quiet snap in.  Or when it is forced in, it places a bind or pressure on other pieces around it.  It just doesn’t quiet fit perfect like it is supposed to.

Looking at the scriptural problem (and the problem is not the Scripture), for this writing let’s look at translators’ interpretations, specifically their understandings and selections of words.  Translators must read and digest ancient manuscripts in other languages, interpret what the original author conveyed, and then chose words based on their understandings to hopefully mean the same thing to their readers.  A question is, do interpreters always chose correctly?  I say not…and that is a definite not.  I am confident enough to say this by simply comparing a few words in different translations.  Verses are often translated with different words that send readers off on poor if not misunderstandings of complete areas of Scripture.

Let’s look at an example.  In Malachi 6:5, this is how various translators translated God’s tsĕdaqah (righteousness):

NIV   “…that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD.”
NASB   “…that you might know the righteous acts of the LORD.”
KJV “…that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.”
ESV“…that you may know the saving acts of the LORD."
RSV  “…that you may know the saving acts of the LORD."

Our popular understanding of righteousness is someone who maintains an admirable standard of morality, obeys the law, and is known as a “decent person.”  But surely that is not intended to describe God’s righteousness.

From the earliest times, Israel celebrated Yahweh as the one who bestowed on His people the all-embracing gift of His righteousness.  And this tsĕdaqah (righteousness) bestowed on Israel is always viewed as a saving gift.  So God’s righteousness is His gracious gifts of mighty saving acts and the call for a reflective response to that grace. [1] 

So the ESV and RSV translators made a correct selection in their choice of words, and thus the entire block of Scripture, from 6:3-8 makes sense to contemporary English speaking people.  Their choice took the bind off that little piece of the puzzle, making the surrounding pieces fit without pressure.

Here is another Scripture to ponder.  In Matthew 19:9 our Lord said “whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication.”  The word “fornication” is porneia in the manuscripts.  And one of the definitions for porneia is “sexual intercourse with close relatives” (incest)—a marriage that was illegal by Israel’s Torah.  So if the verse read “whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for incest,” what would that do for understanding of Matthew 19:3-12 as well as all of 1 Corinthians 7?  It would be as correct a translation as what we have.  Would it take any pressure off the puzzle pieces?  It does for me.

The bottom line question: what do we do with this?  Do we become fluent in Hebrew and Greek, and get a PhD in the theology of ancient Israel?  Do we memorize lexicons?  Hardly not.  But what we can do is take a serious look at what may be our over-confidence in what we “definitely” know, and also…

“turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”   (Proverbs 2:2-6)

Gene Pool

[1] modified from Kenneth E. Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, p345