In the daily practice of teaching students Hebrew and Greek in seminaries and theological degree programmes, we constantly emphasise ‘translation’. But why should we spend hundreds of hours learning the biblical languages when there are already good Bible translations? Though much is found in our translations, the richness of the original is not something that a single translation can capture fully. By learning to read Scripture well in the original languages, as opposed to merely translating, we learn to follow the thoughts and the subtle points the author is making. In this session, we will look at a number of examples in the New Testament that will help us to appreciate the usefulness of reading the text in Greek. This will encourage us to become better readers, better students, and also better teachers of Scripture.
