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As we saw in Part One it is very important to get behind the English text. Many times different Greek words are translated by the same English word. If you know the Greek word behind the English it can help you understand the meaning of a text.


Example One
In the N.T. two different nouns are translated "life." The Greek noun "Bios" (βίος) is very common in English words such as biography and biology. Greek also has another noun ...

It is important to get behind the English to the Greek. There are a number of reasons for this but the number one reason is so we may better understand the N.T. That is the goal.

(1) The first thing to know is that not every word found in the Greek text may be found in the English. For example the subject of a sentence In Greek will often have an article. Now this does not sound strange until you know articles are often used with proper names.

"Τότε ὁ Ἰησοῦς ...

What do you do when someone throws around a group of Bible verses when they clearly have no real link with one another? This is a common phenomenon with those who do not care about the historical, literary, or theological context of a passage. Some seem to believe that any verse with the same English word speaks to the same subject. However this is far from true. These types of connection are not based on real links but are more imagined than anything else and can be proven false beyond all doubt. ...

Just as with synonymous parallelism, antithetical parallelism is build upon a two line/sentence structure. With synonymous parallelism the second line repeats the sense/idea/thought of the first line in different words. With antithetical parallelism the second line expresses a contrast in thought/idea/meaning. In other words the second line is antithetical to the first.

Proverbs 15:1 is an excellent example.

(1) A gentle answer turns away wrath,
(2) But a ...

One type of literature found in the Bible is poetry and a common feature of Hebrew poetry is synonymous parallelism. Hebrew poetry has a repetitive style. It is redundant.

Hebrew poetic structure (in most cases) is build upon a two line/sentence system. The second line repeats the sense/idea/thought of the first line in different words.

Example Genesis 5:23
1. Adah and Zillah,
2. Listen to my voice,
3. You wives of Lamech,
4. Give heed ...