Friday, July 21, 2023

Why Not Try BIBLE HUB?

Howard Hendricks taught Bible Exposition at Dallas Seminary for over 50 years. He was known simply as "Prof." I attended his funeral at Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco several years ago. I cannot tell you how much he impacted my life through his writings and example. He once said, "Even though you don't know the original languages, you do not have to be at a disadvantage." I couldn't agree more. 

Want to give it a try? The next time you're studying your Bible, open your browser to a website called Bible Hub. Let's say you're studying the Great Commission in Matt. 28:19-20. Go to Bible Hub and click on the word GRK. Here you will find all of the Greek words used in your passage. 

One thing to be sure to notice are the words pasas tas hÄ“meras. This is literally "all the days," though in English we would probably say "every day" or "daily." Now that's not very obvious from your English Bible, which renders the expression as "always." You will also notice that the Great Commission contains only one main command ("make disciples") and three participles telling us how to go about doing that ("going," "baptizing," "teaching"). At this point, any good exegetical commentary on Matthew will round out your study of the Greek text. Don Carson's commentary is one of the best. 

In one of Gary Larson's cartoons, a French horn player's little daughter is looking at his sheet music and says, "Wow! Look at all those little black dots!" Greek words in a biblical text are like those black dots to most of us -- strange hieroglyphics that remain undecipherable. Don't let that stop you from consulting a resource like Bible Hub. There is no need to miss out on the very words of life that God has spoken.