Misquoted #1
June 4, 2023Pastor Patrick presented "Misquoted: What the Bible Says and Doesn't Say." A video of the message is here.
[Conversation Starters will begin again with the start of the next official life groups session.]
This series is going to be fun; right up my alley.
There are a number of ways that Bible verses can end up being misused often.
One, it may not have been translated properly in the first place from either the Hebrew or the Greek. One of the best examples is the King James Version of the Bible which mistranslates the Hebrew word for murder as "kill" in the 6th Commandment. That has led to all manner of problems, not the least of which is presumed support of pacifism and vegetarianism.
Another one of the Ten Commandments is often mistranslated from the Hebrew. The commandment is "Do not carry God's name in vain," not "take God's name in vain." This has led to a very widespread misconception that this is prohibiting saying "Oh my God," or swearing in general. Given that this is the one commandment God will not forgive, it seems a bit ludicrous that the occasional "OMG" would be worse than murder. The proper understanding is basically "Do not do evil in God's name" as, for example, terrorists do when blowing up people and yelling "God is great."
Two, quick reads can often lead to improper understanding of the gender and/or number of verbs and nouns. For example, is "you" referring to one person or many persons; if one, the man or the woman?
Third, a given verse may be taken out of context. The proper understanding can only come with an appreciation of the context surrounding it. Patrick provided an example, "God won't give you more than you can handle." Words can have multiple meanings, and not all may apply given the context. Here, "sin" is more likely the meaning rather than one of the other possibilities, "suffering." Additionally, given the even broader context of the Bible overall, it's pretty clear that God does, now and then, give people more than they can handle themselves.
Fourth, the full impact of a verse or phrase may not be appreciated if the text is not routinely quoted in its entirety. "Love your neighbor as yourself" is a good example. The full quote is "Love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord (Jehovah)" (Leviticus 19:18b). For those of us who appreciate the term "god-fearing," this is significant. The impact on the reader is far greater. It's interesting to note that this verse is in the very middle of the book (Leviticus) that's in the very middle of the Torah.
Lastly (in my list, anyway), are Biblical sounding quotes that are not in the Bible at all. Examples: "Cleanliness is next to Godliness" and "God helps those who help themselves."
Here's an obscure path leading to a misunderstanding. Michelangelo made a sculpture of Moses that includes "horns" on his head. At least that's how most people describe them or interpret them. But they're not horns. The verse in question says "rays of light." A photo is here.
This is one of many reasons why I think it is crucial to STUDY the Bible very carefully, relying heavily on teachers who know what they're talking about. Simply reading the Bible is fraught with peril, I think.
One last one... Here's a common mistranslation or understanding that I think is a key reason why Christians tend to minimize interest in the Old Testament. I was taught from Sunday School all the way through adult life, until a few years ago, that the first five books of the Old Testament were called the Books of the Law. While they do contain plenty of laws, that's not what the Hebrew means and it certainly isn't all that the books contain. The word Torah (תּוֹרָה), the Hebrew name for these first five books, means more like teachings. The primal root is used to describe sending an arrow out straight, guiding it. It's the same root for teacher or parent. Personally, I think it should be called the Books of Wisdom. That would be far more appealing, and the Torah certainly does provide much of the foundational wisdom upon which the rest of the Old Testament and much of the New Testament is built. The narratives and instruction teach how to live your own best and good life, and how to build a good society.
I can't wait to see where Patrick takes this!
Bonus
In Genesis 40:15 the word "dungeon" (where Joseph finds himself in Egypt interpreting dreams) is the same Hebrew word as the pit/well into which his brothers threw him earlier in the story. It's bowr or bore, בּוֹר. A bowr is anything that traps or holds something, or makes something available to get (like water in a well).
For more discussion of words and their meanings, see the Words tab.