5 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should KnowSýnishorn

Introduction

When most Christians pick up a Bible, they rarely realize that they are holding a miracle between their hands. On a whim, they can open it and begin reading any chapter or verse from any book they want in their very own language. Today, it’s easier than ever to read what the Bible says. But that doesn’t mean it’s just as easy to understand.

Beneath the surface of each passage we read in Scripture, there is an entire world that is completely foreign to modern readers. We often forget that the English words we see are translators’ best efforts to reflect the language, grammar, and syntax of the original biblical authors. What translators can’t do for us is transfer the cultural backgrounds and deeper meanings of the Greek and Hebrew concepts and ideas.

It’s up to us to do a little extra homework to uncover the treasure trove of meaning and insight hidden within biblical texts. As we read, we must constantly ask ourselves: “What did the biblical authors mean when they chose the words they wrote?”

As far as we know, every author of every book of the Bible was Jewish, and either knew Hebrew as their mother tongue or learned it from an early age. Even the New Testament authors such as Peter and Paul—who wrote their letters in Greek—were constantly thinking in Hebrew, communicating the ideas and principles found in the Old Testament into the Greek language.

This is evident enough in how often the New Testament quotes and references the Old Testament, also known as the Hebrew Bible. Both share the same thought world, forming one unified story of redemption. This redemptive narrative is firmly rooted in the story of Israel and culminates in the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah.

What this means for us modern Christians is in order for us to think biblically, we must also think Hebraically, just as all of the biblical authors did, not to mention Jesus himself!

We need to scratch at the English words we read and find the rich Hebraic roots underneath. Just a little bit of digging can open up a new world understanding of what Scripture teaches and help us understand what God wishes to reveal about himself, creation, and our place in it.

The goal of this reading plan is to shed light on the Hebraic thought behind 5 crucial words found in Scripture, particularly in the Old Testament. These words work together as integral foundation pieces of the redemptive narrative. Getting a glimpse of the breadth and depth of their meaning can make a world of a difference in understanding the biblical story over the course of a lifetime of study.