“Introductory” theology
Building beliefs based on a preface
I recently had a discussion with someone about the meaning of a particular Hebrew word from the Old Testament. The person was saying people needed to study etymology if they wanted to know the truth. I tend to look a lot into the original languages when reading Scripture, so I was not going to shirk the opportunity to do some more digging. As I expected I would find, the person was not quite understanding the word based on historical usage. My Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon had quite a long entry regarding the word, its origin, its usage, and though the person’s assertion was one potential way to understand the word, it was not the only way. The flip side of that was that the person insisted the English word that was being proclaimed to be the translation came from that particular Hebrew word. Of course, I enlightened the person to the fact that there are several Hebrew words that are translated likewise, but the insistence remained: that English word came specifically from the one Hebrew word.
What was most interesting, however, was what followed the protestation: “If you read the pages before the book of Genesis…” That phrase quickly enlightened me as to why the person was making such a strong argument as well as why I assured myself I could not possibly change the person’s mind.
As with many books, especially reference works and other educational terms, Bibles often have forewords, prefaces, introductions, publisher’s, editor’s notes, or some combination of these printed on the first pages. Each publisher is different and may feel it necessary to provide some notes or acknowledgements at the outset of their printing. For that matter, aside from Bibles which may have no introductory text, each translation, edition, and publisher will have different verbiage to explain about the translation, maybe why it changed from the previous edition, something about the translators, editorial marks used throughout the text, abbreviations - there are so many possibilities. Some of these may even reveal a reason why a particular translation or version may not be suitable for study, for instance, due to trying to make the language “more inclusive” rather than staying true to the text. We should certainly take these things into account when we read Scripture.
However, to make a dogmatic assertion about the translation of a particular word from its original language into English based upon something that may have been said in a foreword or preface is ignorant at best. Building a theology based on such text is ludicrous.
If we truly want to understand God’s word, first we need to pray for guidance and enlightenment. Next we need actually to read God’s word, not an editor’s introductory notes. We also then need to interpret Scripture from Scripture - in other words, no verse stands alone. Context matters as do other passages that discuss the same topic as one we may be reading. Lastly, and this will be tougher for some than others, and some may be able to go further or deeper than others, we should look both at the original languages and the historical context of the writing. The book of Isaiah was written at a different time than the gospel of John. It had specific import for the nation of Israel and also recorded prophecies from the prophet whose name the book bears. The gospel of John was written to Jews, after Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection and ascension specifically to proclaim Jesus as savior, and John used much language that would evoke specific pictures in the minds of the Jews. Some of what the intended audience may have understood can easily be lost in translation. John 1:14 is one of my favorite examples of this and I wrote about it (again) shortly before Christmas:
If more clarification is needed, consider what the early Church fathers wrote on the subject.
My point is, we cannot develop theology or make categorical statements based on introductory material. To do so is to ignore both the inspiration and the sufficiency of God’s word itself. This is akin to, as the old hymn declares, building a house on sinking sand.