Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Duality of Hebrew
A while back, Dan lead us through a study that focused on the idea that the words for teach and learn in Hebrew are basically the same word. The difference is that teaching is causing learning. It's the two sides of the same coin thing. He mentioned Sunday that blessing has this same duality in Hebrew. This morning I was studying Micah, and learned that the verb translated go/walk also has this duality. There is go/walk and with a slight tweak, it becomes to cause to go/to lead. With my previous public profession of a love of semantics, it's not surprising that this fascinates me. Clearly this connection between an action and the force that causes the action is something we have lost in translation. Here's the question. Is this something we need to reclaim? If so, how is best to go about it?
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In both cases, where this duality exists in phrases, the words were spoken/written in highly relational environments. I think the disconnect comes when we try to understand it in a context of isolation as opposed to a context of a relational journey.
ReplyDeletewhen Gutenberg created the printing press, he created something that we have celebrated in our culture. With good reason. However, with the Bible in everyone's hands, it has fostered self study isolation. We read it more as a text book as opposed to the shared stories and lives that help us to keep it alive.
Take the word "love" spoken in scripture. There are several Greek words in the second testament that we translate to the English word love. Right.
When I tell my buddy, Jordan, I love (phileo) you, in the context of relationship, he understands. When I tell my wife I love (eros) you, in an intimate moment (blushing), she understands. When I tell our church folks at a worship gathering, I love (agape) you, they understand. Not that love is never confused, but a relational context sure clears things up a bunch.
The relational context of the word "must be reclaimed" and I think it happens as people get their heads out of their ....... books and allow all of their senses to read it through the experience of relationship.
Yes. Reclamation, is good.
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