Translator's Notes

What is Fluency?

When we hear the word “fluency,” most of us think of “complete mastery” of some target language. While anyone who has a complete mastery of a language would in fact be fluent, I am not sure such a person exists. Needless to say, there are a few issues I have with this approach to fluency.

You don't need 16 years to learn Ancient Hebrew

What kind of sacrifice was Jesus?

What is biblical exegesis? Using art and science to unlock the Scriptures

Biblical exegesis sounds like a complex theological term, but at its heart, it's about understanding the Bible's true meaning—what the original author intended to convey to their audience.

Tense and Aspect in Mark 1:11

Earlier on, we suggested that the example of Mark 1:11 is not an argument against the aorist being a true past tense because it is a performative. Performatives are unique in that the event in the real world happens by virtue of the verbal description being uttered. In this section, we expand on this argument and defend it in detail. I show how a proper understanding of tense and aspect along with the verb in question leads to the correct interpretation, and this interpretation does not contradict the description of the aorist we gave.

What "atonement" ACTUALLY means in Hebrew

"Atonement" is a word we find all over our English Bibles. But is it the best translation of the underlying Hebrew? Kevin gives his take in this week's "Bible Insight."

Tense, Aspect, and Aktionsart

An excerpt from my forthcoming Greek grammar textbook that is relevant to my review of “Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek” by Constantine Campbell.

A Review of Campbell's "Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek" (Full Series)

Kevin Grasso reviews “Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek” by Constantine Campbell.

A Review of Campbell’s “Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek” (Chapters 10-11 & Appendix)

Kevin Grasso reviews chapters 10-11 & the appendix of “Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek” by Constantine Campbell.

A Review of Campbell’s “Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek” (Chapter 7-9)

Kevin Grasso reviews chapters 7-9 of “Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek” by Constantine Campbell.

A Review of Campbell’s “Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek” (Chapter 5)

Kevin Grasso reviews chapter 5 of “Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek” by Constantine Campbell.

Should I start exploring the Old Testament in Hebrew?

A misleading translation: The grain offering is not a grain offering

Leviticus 2 is all about grain offerings. Or is it?

How to Use Biblical Greek and Hebrew to Deepen Your Understanding of Scripture

Bible study leaders will say things like, “I don’t know Greek, but I look up the Greek words on Blue Letter Bible. The meaning is just so much richer.” While we are all at different places in our Bible study journeys, I want to suggest that there is a better way to use Biblical Greek and Hebrew to deepen your understanding of Scripture.

Every translation obscures THIS in Leviticus 1:1

Kevin highlights an important detail of Leviticus 1:1 that every English translation obscures.

A Review of Campbell's "Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek" (Chapter 4)

Kevin Grasso reviews chapter 4 of “Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek” by Constantine Campbell.

A Review of Campbell’s “Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek” (Chapter 3)

Kevin Grasso reviews chapter 3 of "Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek" by Constantine Campbell.

A Review of Campbell's "Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek" (Chapter 2)

Kevin Grasso reviews chapter 2 of "Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek" by Constantine Campbell.

A Review of Campbell's "Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek" (Introduction and Chapter 1)

Kevin Grasso reviews the introduction & chapter 1 of “Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek” by Constantine Campbell.

What Language Did Jesus Speak?

What language did Jesus really speak? Most people assume that Jesus spoke Aramaic. But this isn’t really the best question. In a multilingual society, the better question is what languages would Jesus know, and when might he have been using one language rather than the other and why?

How to read deeply in Greek and Hebrew

In a previous post, I gave a sneak peek of a section on voice and deponency in my forthcoming Greek textbook. This is another preview of a section on how to read deeply in Greek and Hebrew. You can also check out the corresponding podcast or video for this blog post. Hope you enjoy it.

What Language Was the Bible Written in?

The simple answer to this question is that the Old Testament was written in Hebrew (and some Aramaic), and the New Testament was written in Greek. But the simple answer is not the whole story.

Does Duolingo Offer the Biblical Languages?

Does Duolingo have biblical Greek and Hebrew? Short answer: no. But if you are interested in an app similar to Duolingo (in some ways) that does teach you to read the Bible in its original languages, keep reading!

The Inward Jew: Romans 2:28-29 and Biblical Greek Syntax

Romans 2:28-29 in Greek reads: 28 οὐ γὰρ ὁ ἐν τῷ φανερῷ Ἰουδαῖός ἐστιν οὐδὲ ἡ ἐν τῷ φανερῷ ἐν σαρκὶ περιτομή, 29 ἀλλʼ ὁ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ Ἰουδαῖος, καὶ περιτομὴ καρδίας ἐν πνεύματι οὐ γράμματι, οὗ ὁ ἔπαινος οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀλλʼ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ.

Gentiles and Torah: Romans 2:14 and the Nature of Biblical Greek Adverbs

Romans 2:14 in Greek reads ὅταν γὰρ ἔθνη τὰ μὴ νόμον ἔχοντα φύσει τὰ τοῦ νόμου ποιῶσιν, οὗτοι νόμον μὴ ἔχοντες ἑαυτοῖς εἰσιν νόμος· We can translate this as 'For whenever gentiles who do not have Torah naturally do the things of the Torah, they are the Torah for themselves, though not having the Torah.'

Justified or Made Righteous? Biblical Greek, Lexical Semantics, and Romans 3:24

Romans 3:24 in Greek reads: δικαιούμενοι δωρεὰν τῇ αὐτοῦ χάριτι διὰ τῆς ἀπολυτρώσεως τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ· 'Being made righteous freely by his grace through the redemption that is in the Messiah Jesus.'

From the Faith for the Faith: Pistis in Romans 1:17 and Habakkuk 2:4

Romans 1:17 in Greek reads: δικαιοσύνη γὰρ θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ ἀποκαλύπτεται ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν, καθὼς γέγραπται· ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται. 'For the righteousness of God is revealed in it from the faith for the faith, as it is written: the righteous from the faith will live.'

The Jesus-Christ-Faith: Galatians 3:22 and The Pistis Christou Debate

Galatians 3:22 in Greek reads: ἀλλὰ συνέκλεισεν ἡ γραφὴ τὰ πάντα ὑπὸ ἁμαρτίαν, ἵνα ἡ ἐπαγγελία ἐκ πίστεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ δοθῇ τοῖς πιστεύουσιν. We can translate this as 'But the Scriptures shut up everything under sin, so that the promise from πίστεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ might be given to those who are faithful.'

Christ is the τέλος of the Law? A Better Translation of Romans 10:4

Romans 10:4 in Greek reads: τέλος γὰρ νόμου Χριστὸς εἰς δικαιοσύνην παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι.

Which Bible Translation is the Most Accurate? (Romans 7:25 in Biblical Greek)

Which Bible translation is the most accurate? I get this question all the time. It is an understandable question considering the fact that there are dozens and dozens of different English translations. Of course, it makes sense to want to choose the "best" one; hence, the question about which translation is the most accurate. The problem is that Bible translations often vary based on their translation philosophy and not necessarily on accuracy. In order to really tell if a translation is "accurate," you need to know the original languages for yourself, and each passage would have to be evaluated.

Biblical Greek Performatives, the Aorist, and Mark 1:11

Mark 1:11 in Greek says: καὶ φωνὴ ἐγένετο ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν· σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός, ἐν σοὶ εὐδόκησα. The last part of this verse is often translated ‘You are my beloved son. With you I am well pleased.’ This is from the ESV. In this post, we will offer an alternative translation that clarifies the meaning of this last clause.

The Best Way to Learn the Biblical Languages

May 26, 2020 // Kevin Grasso

Biblical Language Pedagogy in Crisis (Part 3 of 3)

March 25, 2020 // David R. Miller, Ed.D.

Biblical Language Pedagogy in Crisis (Part 1 of 3)

March 25, 2020 // David R. Miller, Ed.D.

Biblical Language Pedagogy in Crisis (Part 2 of 3)

I was first introduced to the process of learning biblical languages in 2005/2006, and I enjoyed it. It was stimulating, enriching, and spiritually beneficial. But it was also strenuous, time-consuming, and expensive. When I was finished, I found myself struggling to retain proficiency in biblical languages and I was discouraged by how quickly I “lost” my language skills.

Bible Translation and Biblical Language Competence: A Luxury?

For outsiders to the Bible translation community it may come as a surprise that a lot of our work, while checked against the original source language texts by translation consultants for accuracy, is generally translated from existing translations in what we call languages of wider communication (LWC). So a translation in Nigeria for example may initially be translated using English and Hausa translations as their primary source text.

A Review of Campbell’s “Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek” (Chapter 6)