From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Thu Dec 10 1998 - 09:01:02 EST
At 1:27 AM -0600 12/10/98, Ben Crick wrote:
>On Wed 9 Dec 98 (15:29:10), du198@freenet.carleton.ca wrote:
>> I have to explain to new students of biblical Greek the importance of
>> studying the language. Could you please give me some reasons why we
>> should study biblical greek and why biblical greek is relevant for today.
>> Many people in my midst think that it is a waste of time. I have to come
>> up with very convincing answers to help them understand the importance
>> of studying biblical Greek.
>
> If Biblical Hebrew (and Aramaic too) is the language God spoke, then
> Biblical Greek is the language Jesus Christ spoke.
I hope not to start an argument on this matter, and if we can steer clear
of expressing theological and religious judgments regarding a question I
think ought rather to be discussed in pragmatic and pedagogical terms, then
we may be able to avoid argument. Personally, however, I don't like Ben's
formulation above, either as a syllogism or even as a pair of propositions.
I wouldn't want to urge any view on THE language that God speaks (or has
spoken or will speak); if we want to consider the language spoken by the
Jesus of history, that's debatable. Some have no doubts that Jesus spoke
primarily or exclusively Aramaic; others, myself included, think it not
unlikely that he spoke at least some Greek; a few--not very many, I
think--affirm that he spoke Hebrew as well. What I think is less disputable
(if not altogether indisputable, since most things seem to be both
disputable and disputed ;-) ) is that Greek is the language in which the
canonical New Testament was first published, even if, as some argue, there
were earlier forms of some of the documents in Aramaic). And it's the fact
that the canonical NT was PUBLISHED originally in Greek and that we must go
to that Greek text to read the earliest extant form of the NT that makes it
desirable to read that text in Greek if one can acquire sufficient
competence in reading the language.
But there's the rub: "acquire sufficient competence in reading the
language." What sort or degree of competence in reading the language must
one have in order for one to profit from reading the NT in Greek?
I don't think there's a simple answer to that question, for the reason that
people come in all types and varieties and aptitudes and bents. It's the
"bents" that are particularly problematic and we are probably all of us
"bent" one way or another: we are both beneficiaries and victims of our own
distinctive vantage point on the world and everything in it, and our
vantage points are both enablers and disablers of our competence at
reading. That is a long way of saying what others have already said: "a
little Greek is a dangerous thing/person"--make that "CAN BE a dangerous
thing/person." Learning Greek won't turn one into a New Testament scholar,
nor will learning Greek turn a bad NT scholar into a good NT scholar. But
to the extent that one is a good NT scholar and a good student of the NT,
learning Greek will make one a better NT scholar and a better student of
the NT. The flip side is worth noting, however: to the extent that one is a
myopic or defective NT scholar or student of the NT, learning Greek will
not necessarily make that person less myopic or cure the defects of that
person's scholarship. (Let me make clear that I use the word "scholar" here
not for a professional researcher and purveyor of knowledge but for anyone
who is a profoundly committed student.
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics/Washington University
One Brookings Drive/St. Louis, MO, USA 63130/(314) 935-4018
Home: 7222 Colgate Ave./St. Louis, MO 63130/(314) 726-5649
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cconrad@yancey.main.nc.us
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/
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