For decades, the study of the original languages of Scripture has been part of the curriculum at Southwest. Still today, the students take one quarter of Biblical Hebrew to introduce them to the language and alphabet (alephbet!), and four quarters of Biblical Greek to help them get a foundation for future study. Some have wondered why we study Greek at Southwest. Here are some reasons why we study Greek:
- Studying Greek reminds us of the original context.
- Studying Greek makes us slow down as we meditate on God’s word.
- Studying Greek helps our English grammar.
- Studying Greek opens up nuances occasionally missed in translation.
- Studying Greek allows us to discern when others “go to the Greek.”
- Studying Greek promotes responsibility in handling the text.
Do you need to know Greek to go to Heaven? Of course not. Do you have to know Greek to be an effective preacher? Evangelist (a word with a direct Greek tie)? Teacher? Missionary? Minister? Absolutely not. Is Greek the magic bullet that makes difficult passages easy? Not even close. Should the SW graduate bring up Greek words in every sermon as a way to show higher education? God forbid. When you have one year of Greek study, are you equipped to denounce English translations with which you disagree? Probably not.
Biblical Greek is one tool in the exegete’s tool kit. It is not the only tool. If you are capable, it is probably the best tool in the toolkit for studying the New Testament. However, even an introduction to Greek will help you immensely as you study the Bible in various English translations, use Bible software programs like Logos, or want to dig more deeply into a text of Scripture. If you come to SWSBS, you will not leave a Greek scholar, but we will do our best to help you learn to use this tool to make you a better Bible student and servant of God.