Program / Course 5: Biblical Languages / Lesson 6.4
What you will learn
- Recognize at least eight common errors in word studies by name.
- Explain why each is an error, with an example.
- Check a claim about the Hebrew or Greek for these errors.
- Use the questions at the end of the lesson as a checklist before saying what the original means.
The big idea
Many claims about what the Hebrew or Greek really says contain errors that scholars of language have long identified. The root fallacy takes a word to mean what its root meant. The etymological fallacy does the same with a word’s origin. Other errors treat a word as having all its meanings at once, find a modern meaning in an ancient word, or build a doctrine on a distinction the text does not make. Knowing the errors protects both the student and the listener.
Key terms
- Root fallacy
- The mistaken belief that a word’s meaning is determined by its root or its parts.
- Etymology
- The study of a word’s origin and history. It shows where a word came from but not what it means now.
- Illegitimate totality transfer
- The error of reading into one use of a word all the meanings it can have elsewhere. The phrase was used by the scholar James Barr.
- Semantic anachronism
- Reading a later meaning of a word back into an earlier text.
- Fallacy
- A mistake in reasoning that makes an argument unsound, even if it sounds convincing.
- Synchronic and diachronic
- Synchronic study looks at a language at one time. Diachronic study looks at its change over time. Meaning in a passage is mainly a synchronic matter.
Background
In the middle of the twentieth century, the linguist James Barr published a book on the semantics of biblical language that criticized popular habits of building theology on word studies. Later, the New Testament scholar D. A. Carson gathered many such errors in a book on exegetical fallacies. Their criticisms have become widely accepted. They did not say that word studies are worthless. They said that the method must follow how language works.
The errors in this lesson are common in sermons, devotional books and online videos. They are also made by sincere teachers who have not been taught otherwise. A student can learn to recognize them without becoming cynical, and can learn to avoid them in their own work.
Step-by-step explanation
Step 1: The root and etymological fallacies
The root fallacy says that a word means what its root means. The Hebrew roots are real, but a word may have drifted far from them. The word for house, bayit, can mean a building, a household or, in the phrase house of David, a dynasty. Its sense in each place comes from use and not from any supposed root meaning. Another example is the English word nice, which once meant foolish. Nobody thinks it means foolish now.
The etymological fallacy is similar and applies to the origin of the word. A common example is ekklesia, the Greek word for church. It is often said to mean called out, from the parts ek and kaleo. Greek writers of the time used it for a citizen assembly, and the New Testament writers used it for the congregation of God’s people. The sense at the time of writing is the one that matters. Another example is the Greek word for hypocrite, hypokrites, which originally meant an actor, but which the Gospels use for pretenders in religion.
Step 2: Totality transfer and the one meaning assumption
Illegitimate totality transfer occurs when a teacher lists all the meanings a word can have, and then says that all of them are present in one verse. A word has a range, but in any one place the context selects one sense, or sometimes two, and rarely all. A related mistake is to assume that a word has one meaning wherever it appears, so that the Greek word for flesh always means sinful nature in Paul. The student should ask which sense fits in each place.
The opposite mistake also occurs. A teacher may argue that two words must have different meanings because they are different words. Writers often use synonyms for variety. In John 21:15 to 17, Jesus asks Peter whether he loves him, using the Greek verb agapao, and Peter replies with phileo. A popular view says that the two words mark different levels of love. Many scholars note that John uses the two words interchangeably elsewhere and that the passage does not clearly rest on the difference. Others see some meaning in the variation. The matter is debated, and it is wise to hold such claims lightly.
Step 3: Anachronism and the English connection
Semantic anachronism reads a modern sense into an ancient word. The most famous example is the claim that the Greek word dynamis, power, contains the idea of dynamite, and so shows the explosive power of the gospel. The English word dynamite was coined in the nineteenth century from the Greek word, so the ancient writers could not have meant it. Another example is the claim that a Hebrew word means what a modern speaker of Hebrew means by it.
A related error assumes that an English word with a similar sound or appearance shares its sense with a Greek or Hebrew word. Similar sounds across languages are often chance. The study of English derivations is not the study of the Greek. Check the sense in the ancient usage.
Step 4: Other common errors
Selective evidence cites only the uses that support the argument and ignores others. Reliance on a single source, such as one old dictionary, ignores the range of evidence. Overreading the tense is the error of claiming that an aorist or perfect carries a weight that the grammar does not support. Claims about a Hebrew mind or a Greek mind, which are contrasted as if each language made its speakers think in a certain way, rest on weak grounds. Misuse of Strong’s numbers presents the short definitions as the full sense of a word. And arguing from a sound, as in the claim that the sound of a word shows its meaning, mistakes how languages work.
A final error is to treat a word study as proof of a doctrine. A doctrine involves concepts that may be expressed in many ways, and the denominations hold their doctrines on the basis of Scripture, tradition and reason in different proportions. A word study may support or weaken a point, but it seldom settles a doctrinal question alone.
Step 5: A checklist
Before accepting or making a claim about the original, ask: Is the claim about what the word means at the time of writing, or about its root or origin? Has the speaker shown the word in other places? Does the claim require all senses to be present? Is a modern meaning being read back? Is the claim about a distinction that the text does not itself mark? Has a scholarly lexicon or commentary been checked? Does the claim say more than the evidence allows? Would the speaker say what they cannot judge?
- Does this claim depend on the root or the origin of the word?
- Does it use all the senses of the word at once?
- Is a modern meaning being read into the ancient word?
- Does the claim depend on a distinction the text does not mark?
- Has the evidence been selected to support the claim?
- Has a scholarly lexicon or commentary been consulted?
Examples
Dynamite
A speaker says that the Greek word dynamis in Romans 1:16 means dynamite, to show the explosive power of the gospel. The word dynamite was coined in 1867 from the Greek, long after Paul. The Greek word means power or ability. The speaker may make a point about the gospel’s power, but the Greek gives no support to the explosive image.
Called out
A teacher says that ekklesia means those called out of the world. The word did come from parts meaning out and call, but in ordinary Greek it meant an assembly. The New Testament writers took it over for the people of God, and the Septuagint used it for the assembly of Israel. The meaning comes from use.
Two words for love
A preacher says that Jesus asks Peter twice for agape and Peter can only give phileo, and that Jesus then comes down to phileo the third time. The account is moving, but many scholars doubt that John intends the difference, since he uses the verbs interchangeably elsewhere in the Gospel. A careful student would say that the point is debated.
Different perspectives
Protestant
Protestant scholars have been prominent in identifying these errors, because of the tradition’s heavy use of word studies in preaching. Many Protestant teachers of Greek now warn their students against the fallacies discussed here.
Catholic
Catholic biblical scholars draw on the same linguistic principles. The Church’s teaching that Scripture must be read in context and in the light of the whole Bible discourages isolated word arguments.
Orthodox
Orthodox teachers often prefer the reading of a passage by the fathers and the liturgy to a modern word study, and they warn against private ingenuity in interpretation. This agrees in spirit with the cautions in this lesson.
Jewish
Jewish tradition makes much of word play and letter detail in a method of interpretation called midrash. Such readings have their own rules and purposes and are distinct from the linguistic study of the original meaning. Jewish scholars of the Hebrew language also warn against false etymologies.
Scholarly
Linguists agree that meaning arises from use. They differ on how much a word’s history can ever inform its meaning, and on the exact terms for the fallacies.
Why it matters
A student who learns these errors can protect themselves from many misleading claims, and can avoid spreading them. This is a skill of honesty as well as of method. It lets a beginner use the tools of the course with care and gives a reason to ask a specialist when a claim sounds too good to be true.
Common misunderstandings
Misunderstanding: The root of a word shows its true meaning.
Correction: Roots show relationships among words. Meaning comes from use at the time of writing, and words drift.
Misunderstanding: Because a word can mean many things, it means all of them here.
Correction: Context selects the sense. Listing all the meanings in a lexicon does not make them all present in one verse.
Misunderstanding: Word study errors only matter to scholars.
Correction: They affect what preachers say and what believers take from Scripture. An error repeated often can shape a community’s understanding of a text.
Misunderstanding: If a speaker knows Greek, I can trust whatever they say about the Greek.
Correction: Even trained people can make these errors. A claim should be checked against lexicons and commentaries.
Knowledge check
What is the root fallacy, and what is one example?
It is the mistake of thinking a word means what its root means. The word nice once meant foolish but no longer does. In Hebrew, bayit, house, can mean a dynasty in the phrase house of David. A word’s sense is set by its use at the time of writing, not by its origin.
What is illegitimate totality transfer?
It is reading into one use of a word all the meanings it has elsewhere. A word has a range, but context selects one sense in a given place. Listing every sense in a lexicon and applying all of them to a verse is an error, named by the scholar James Barr.
Why is the dynamite claim about dynamis wrong?
The English word dynamite was coined in the nineteenth century from the Greek word, so Paul could not have meant explosive power. The Greek word means power or ability. This is semantic anachronism: reading a later meaning back into an earlier text.
What should a student ask before accepting a claim about what the original says?
Whether the claim rests on the root or the origin, whether it uses all senses at once, whether a modern meaning is read back, whether the evidence is selective, and whether a lexicon or commentary has been checked. It is also wise to ask whether the speaker states what they cannot judge.
Think it through
- Which of these errors have you heard in a sermon or a video?
- Why do you think they are so attractive?
- How could you correct a respected teacher gently if you found such an error?
- What would a good practice of saying I do not know look like for you?
Independent assignment
An error audit
In your own notebook, write 400 to 600 words. Find three published claims about what a Hebrew or Greek word means, from a sermon, a book or a reliable website. For each, test it against the checklist in this lesson and against a lexicon. Note any errors by name and say what a corrected statement would be. If a claim is sound, say why. State what you cannot judge. Do not send this to anyone, and do not name the speaker publicly.
Further study
- Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth Notice the warnings about reading too much into single words.
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Fallacies A general account of fallacies in reasoning, useful for naming the errors.
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Hermeneutics Background on interpretation.
- Romans 1:16 The word dynamis.
- John 21:15 Agapao and phileo.
- Matthew 16:18 The word ekklesia.
- John 5:20 Phileo used of the Father’s love for the Son, where John elsewhere uses agapao.