Some months ago Dane Ortlund posted an excellent meditation on 1 Tim 6:4, …an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people… “Quarrels about words.” That hit...
Exegesis
Seductive Etymologies
Etymological studies have long been an alluring seductress to students of the Bible. .... Etymological studies, through no fault of their own, have become a menace to sound interpretation. Those who sometimes maintain only the slightest grasp of the Bible's original...
Language As a Tool of Theology
John Frame is someone from whom I’ve learned a great deal, and the learning continues. I found his chapter on language in his Doctrine of the Knowledge of God to be so helpful that I wanted to share the material with you. Frame begins the little section I’ll excerpt...
“Decker,” Etymologically Speaking, Means “One Who ‘Decks’ Linguistic Errors in Exegesis”
Rod Decker nails it in this brief paper he delivered at the recent Bible Faculty Leadership Summit, a get-together of professors from Fundamentalist Protestant schools. Decker knows whereof he speaks, having published a work on linguistics (pictured) in Carson’s...
TNIV and NLT vs. Pretty Much Everybody Else On Something Kind of Important
http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/? q=gen%201:26-28
Ἀγαπάω (Agapao) Is Commanded While Φιλέω (Phileo) Is Not, So the Former Is More Volitional Than the Latter
Have you ever heard someone argue that ἀγαπάω is commanded in the New Testament while φιλέω is not, so the former is more volitional than the latter? Immediately, anyone familiar with the work of linguist and biblical scholar James Barr should be suspicious. He warned...
Lovest Thou Me More than These?
Are agapao and phileo really different in the New Testament? How about in John 21:15-17, Jesus' famous conversation with Peter? What does the evidence say? I just read a great little book which genuinely helped me understand my Bible better, Roy F. Butler's little...
Why Study Greek?
I have always enjoyed languages, especially English, because my father did for me what I hope to do for my son: he insisted that I express myself and he created a welcoming environment for that expression. I took Latin in eighth grade, and my eyes were opened not only...
Excellent Insights on Biblical Literacy
His set of buzzwords is a bit different from mine, but his insights are profoundly needed: David R. Nienhuis' article in Modern Reformation on how to promote biblical literacy is a great read. He points to our entertainment culture as one reason even evangelical kids...
BDAG Could Be a Much Bigger Book
This is what its entry on ἀγάπη looks like in BDAG, the standard Greek lexicon. This is what it looks like uncompacted, with all of its separate points turned into descended bullets: It’s like unfolding some incredible origami! I find I can’t use the...
Ripping Off Moisés Silva
I’m stealing brazenly from Moisés Silva (see my previous post quoting him at length), but perhaps this post may still amuse and inform you. Silva provides the set-up, I the made-up text and exegesis. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Silva: "It is...
Romans 12:3–21
My good pastor has been urging his congregation with more heart even than usual to read their Bibles this year. As part of his exhortation to do that, he gave some practical examples from his own Bible reading of what he does to study. I think that was an excellent...