Introduction
For a while now I have been meaning to start a blog series entitled “nuggets and nuances”. In fact, the very motivation for this blog came from my desire to write on topics related to exegesis and to share what I learn as I do my exegetical work in sermon preparation. So much of what I learn in my own study will never appear in a sermon, and I desired an outlet to convey this material and solidify it in my own mind. I have thought of a book or some sort of compilation of these observations, and perhaps one day I will have the time and content to assemble these thoughts together, but for now, they appear in articles addressing certain exegetical “gems” I have mined from the text.
Starting Off
The idea for this series stems from my own work in the text, which is founded on a study of the Biblical languages. Rare is the week where I spend no time translating and unpacking the grammar in a Biblical text, and with that mining of Scripture comes with it certain observations that might not be visible on the surface level. So, I decided to write about these discoveries. The idea first came about in college, as I began my studies in the language of the New Testament. My Greek Grammar teacher sought to inspire us with the value of giving ourselves to the study of the Greek language and would regularly share with us what he called “gems” from the Greek text. “Gem” was an acronym for “Greek Exegetical Morsel.” I do not know if he was the originator of this term, but it stuck with me, as did his display of the value of knowing Greek and how it can help in understanding a text. Not every text contains a “gem,” but other times a text is completely contingent on one’s understanding of the original languages. It is my goal to compile a list of these “gems” when I find them and write about them in these articles entitled “nuggets and nuances.”
My Process
For my first article, and to begin the discussion, I think it would be helpful to share some aspects of my own exegetical process which help me to identify and unpack the nuances in the languages. Whether it be Greek or Hebrew, both languages have nuggets that be discovered if one pay close enough attention and puts in the work to find them. My own exegetical process begins with the Biblical languages. Every text is different, and every genre of Biblical material requires a slightly different approach. But regardless of the text, they are all written originally in languages not our native tongue. Because of this, I made the decision early on in my training that if I was going to stand before the people of God and say “thus saith the Lord,” I better know what the Lord says, and I had better know it for myself! To rely on the exegetical groundwork of other men, in my opinion, would be to accept at face value the conclusions from other men rather than from my own study of the Scriptures. I believe as a pastor that I need to do my own work in the text, so I did not want that! In order to fulfill my responsibility before God to “accurately handle the Word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15), I came to the conclusion that I ought not to rely on someone else’s exegetical work and the exegetical, hermeneutical, and theological baggage that might bring. I view exegesis, and an exegetical method, as the core foundation to any attempt to “unfold” the text for people to understand, and I determined I could not be faithful to my own calling while building on another man’s foundation. Certainly I can and do read and learn from other pastors, professors, and Bible scholars, but when it comes to the hard work of exegesis and “unpacking” the Biblical text, I need to begin with my own work.
By extension, this means I am not only not going to rely on other commentators for my initial exegesis, I am also not going to rely on translators of various translations. For me to truly know the mind of God as much as possible when it come so interpreting a Biblical text, I believe I must do my own translation work. Why? Because translations of the Bible were written for reading, not for preaching. It is one thing to read the Bible and seek to understand what God says, but it is a totally different thing to stand in front of people on God’s behalf and expound His Word to them. This takes great diligence and extreme care! I like how the work of exegesis and exposition was described when Ezra found the book of the law and read it before the people in Nehemiah 8:8—They read from the book, from the Law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading. In the context here, Ezra had discovered the book of the law that had been lost or forgotten. It was written in Hebrew, but many of the people had lost their knowledge of the Hebrew language due to their own exile, so as he read, he interpreted the text so as to give the sense so they could understand. This is the job of a preacher!
Final Thoughts
I intend to share more of my own exegetical method more in the following posts, but suffice for now to say that the Biblical languages are a core part of how I do my own Bible interpretation and how I prepare for sermons. Few sermons are written where I do not open my Bible study software and translate words, phrases, or entire sections from the original languages. This is because I realize the incredible weight of responsibility I have to stand before God’s people and feed them with His Word. I am by no means a scholar in Greek or Hebrew, but had I not studied the languages, or were I to cease using them in my own study of the Word, I could not confidently stand before God’s people and claim to speak His Word!
