Words have a meaning. Biblical words also have meaning. But what is the meaning of a word in the biblical context? It can be completely misleading if we interpret the biblical facts with our present understanding. We live in a different language area, a different culture and minimally 2000 years later. It needs – as in any conversation or reading any text – the will to understand also the original meaning. What did the writer mean? What do you think the listeners understood back then?

Through the words to the word

I remember two weeks of study by an English Bible teacher. The title was “Through the words to the Word”. By this he meant to express that without understanding the words used in the Bible, one cannot gain an understanding of the Bible itself. If you don’t understand the words in a sentence, how will you understand the sentence? And if you don’t understand the sentences, how can you understand the section or chapter?

A word study is about discerning the meaning of a word in its biblical context. Then you can see how and where the word is used, and with what meaning the word is used. One gains insight into the biblical use of a word. If you go through all the passages in the Bible where a word is used, you will see at the end of this journey of discovery what is associated with this word and what is not. Often this leads to a better understanding.

A child learns the meaning of new words by hearing those words over and over again in different contexts. It is the natural learning process. When we begin to read the Bible and really want to understand it, we engage in a similar process. This is not difficult, but natural. You don’t have to be a theologian to turn to the Bible with interest.

Word Study

A word study examines the same word in every context where it occurs in the Bible. Ideally, this is done using the original Hebrew or Greek word. Those who are not proficient in the basic text languages can resort to good resources (see below). Today, it is possible for everyone to form their own opinion. Each context releases some of the meaning. Perhaps this meaning is also consistent with my understanding of the word. However, it may be otherwise and I need to correct my understanding.

If you take the trouble to check it out, you definitely win. Either the meaning is correct, and depth is gained by surveying all the biblical passages, or the meaning contradicts the biblical usage, and then it is at least as significant. Why should we believe something for which there is no basis? A word study helps to test one’s insight and correct it where necessary.

The word “eternity” is a vivid example of a problematic translation. The Hebrews did not know a word for “endlessness.” This meaning was interpreted into it only centuries later. Now when I look up the Bible on these terms, I am challenged to let the Bible itself speak.

Inevitably, one comes to biblical passages that speak of an end to the current “eternity” (Mt 24:3) or the “end [aller] eternities” (1Cor 10:11). Of course, it cannot be that the same word expresses opposites like “time” and “timelessness”, or “age” and “endlessness” at the same time. These and many other passages force us to question the traditional image of an “endless eternity.” This is then not a loss, but the traditional picture can be replaced with a much more interesting and better understanding from the Bible. You get one step closer to the Bible.

A word study is not a quick answer. The answers are not taken from you. Man must set out on his own. But it is a help to get reliable answers. During these previously mentioned study weeks, which took place more than 30 years ago at a Bible school in the Netherlands, I myself already dealt with the concept of “eternity”. During a coffee break I approached the Bible teacher and asked him what the meaning of the words for eternity (hb. olam, gr. aion) was. His laconic answer was, “Look it up and find out!”. The man was over 80 years old. He was wise. He wanted to show students the way, and encourage them to follow it themselves.

Against arbitrariness

Those who consistently strive for a better understanding of biblical words have to deal with the arbitrariness of tradition and many a translation – and not least with their own thoughts. Arbitrariness occurs by translating a word once with “age/world” and another time with “eternity”. Where eternity is traditionally interpreted as endlessness, one is inclined to read out this meaning again.

A traditionally influenced translation does this: First, the meaning is projected into the text, the so-called eisegesis (insertion). Only then does the exegesis (interpretation) follow. Again and again, translations are influenced by traditional ideas and do not always reflect the original wording or meaning. A word study, however, wants to put aside rash interpretation and one’s own thoughts first in order to gain a better understanding through observation (see “Inductive Bible Study“).

It is indeed not easy to take off one’s own glasses to gain an unbiased view. A word study is always a process of getting involved with the Bible. The realization does not come abruptly, but one tests one’s own understanding against what Scripture says. Just as we gradually make a new language our own, the same happens with the biblical language and the meaning of the words. If the Bible is the field in figurative language, then Bible study is the plowing. However, Bible study in itself is nothing. But it is the basis for understanding to grow and a new seed to sprout.

Use of a concordance

In other articles the words “olam” (hb.) and “aion” (gr.) have already been referred to. For example, an online concordance in English can be found here:

There are good concordances on the basic text. The Concordant New Testament, for example, has integrated a concordance to the Greek. In this way, at least the New Testament can also be conveniently checked in German.

A word study rarely comes alone. You quickly realize that each word is anchored in a compound with many other words. If you manage to look up several words in the Bible, you will gain more clarity and understanding with each additional word. At the same time, this work on the text is always self-reflection as well. What I myself bring in terms of thoughts is compared here with what the Bible says about it. The article “The Lostness of Christianity” lists an example of this. Before I did a word study on “getting lost,” I wrote down in a list all the thoughts I had thought myself or heard from others about this “getting lost.” After that came the word study and the correction of thoughts.

The same can happen with other terms. It helps to ask a clear question in advance, for example like this:

  • Is the Kingdom of Heaven about heaven / the hereafter?
  • Is death another form of life?
  • Is there a difference between forgiving, being justified, atoning, reconciling and reconciling? Which one?
  • Are you still hoping or are you already expecting?
  • Jesus speaks of following, Paul of imitating – why?
  • Etc.

Subsequently, by looking up all the passages in the Bible that speak of a word or phrase, such questions can be clarified. If one’s own thoughts do not apply, other statements are recognized. The Bible is not endless in size. So each question has a limited number of scriptures to look up. From this, a correlation can be seen (sometimes better, sometimes less well). This is then the statement of the Bible on this or that subject. Once the text material is sifted, what is read can be interpreted in its own context. Then you get much closer to the meaning. A biblically grounded understanding is growing.

A word study helps to read the Bible in a more sophisticated way.

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