ESV Study Bible Giveaways

6 10 2008
ESV Study Bible

ESV Study Bible

I just learned about two ESV Study Bible Giveaways from the ESV Study Bible Blog, and you have a chance to win one (or possibly 2, I guess) of 15 ESV Study Bibles. Both contests are free with no additional obligations for winning.

The first is sponsored by Focus on the Family at Boundless.org and is entitled The Boundless Tell Us Why You Want the ESV Study Bible Contest. The contest is as simple as that: you send an email telling Boundless why you want an ESV Study Bible and a winner will be selected each day for ten days. The most convincing entry for each day will win. Send you emails to editor@boundless.org with “ESV Contest Entry” in the subject line. The Boundless contest begins on October 6, 2008, and ends October 17, 2008. Entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. on October 17, 2008. The official contest rules are available here. Winners will receive one of ten non-calfskin ESV Study Bibles valued at up to $94.99.

The second is by Monergism Books at Monergism.com entitled ESV Study Bible Giveaway. To enter, send an email to edit@monergismbooks.com (note: “edit” not “editor”) with your 1) Name, 2) email, 3) whether you want to opt in or opt out of the weekly Monergism Newsletter, and 4) how you learned about Monergism.com and what you like/don’t like about the site. The giveaway ends October 16, 2008 at midnight and winners will be announced October 17, 2008. Five winners will be chosen randomly, and you are limited to one entry per person. Winners will receive one of five black, genuine leather (non-calfskin) ESV Study Bibles.

I have already entered the Monergism ESV Study Bible Giveaway, and I will be entering The Boundless Tell Us Why You Want the ESV Study Bible Contest as soon as I develop my most convincing reason.

Good luck!

Other ESV Links:

ESV Official Website

ESV Blog

ESV Study Bible

ESV Study Bible Blog


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Categories : Bible, Bible Translations, Christianity, Faith, New Testament, Old Testament, Religion

A Week With the NLT Study Bible

15 09 2008
NLT Study Bible

NLT Study Bible

It has been one week since I received my New Living Translation Study Bible from the NLT Bible Giveaway, and I want thank Tyndale and the NLT Blog for the free NLT Study Bible.

Before I get into the meat of this post, I want to repent of my earlier prejudice against the New Living Translation. Perhaps a short confession is in order.

To say that I had a bad first impression of the NLT is an understatement. My first encounter with the NLT was not in a bookstore, or a review, or an online version, or even in church, my first experience with the NLT was at a friend’s house.

My wife and I were ministering one evening to friends who had recently experienced personal tragedy, and, in response to the discussion we were having, I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to read Romans 12:20 (the “hot coals” verse):

“BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.” (NASB).

We had been ministering to our friends regularly, and I always carried my Bible with me for just such an occasion. However, for some reason, I left my Bible in my car, so I asked my friend for his Bible. He has a New Living Translation Life Application Study Bible. I turned to Romans 12:20, and it wasn’t there, at least the Romans 12:20 I new wasn’t there. The Romans 12:20 I was reading said,

“If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink, and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you.” (NLT 1996).

Rather than recognize that the translation was simply different, I was completely distracted, thinking I had the wrong verse. I was flummoxed. I spent the next 30 minutes looking through this unfamiliar Bible for a verse I knew was there somewhere. Alas, the ministry opportunity was lost, I was upset, and I blamed the NLT.

Well, I repent. I should not have been distracted by something so minor, and I should not have been so eager to place blame elsewhere. It doesn’t hurt either that Romans 12:20 in the NLT now reads:

If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads. (NLTSB)

Close enough. I assume this revision occured in the 2004 second edition (NLTse), but I’m not absolutely positive about that.

Back to my review, such as it is. Well, not really a review, per se, but my thoughts. I was pleasantly surprised to receive a black, bonded leather NLTSB which, according to the NLT Study Bible site wasn’t due to be available until September 8 (the day I received it). So, a big thumbs up for the softcover.

I am probably not the best person to comment on Bible extras because I read thinlines primarily, I pull out the big guns when necessary, but I prefer to read small, text-only (or text-and-little-else) Bibles. The NLTSB is certainly not that, but as far as study Bibles go, it is quite remarkable. I very much appreciate the thorough treatment of the Hebrew in the study notes, the in-depth people profiles, and the multi-faceted timelines.

Admittedly, I have only been reading this Bible for a week, but from what I have been able to glean, there appear to be few, if any, doctrinally interpretive study notes apart from an overall Christian perspective. In other words, it is not apparent from the study notes that the scholars or editors are denominationally or theologically aligned - although I recognize that such an observation might, in itself, suggest something theologically.

The introductory material to the books of the Bible and Old and New Testaments is well written and forthcoming with possible alternatives. Where a particular authorship or historical fact might be in question, the positions taken are well defended. Even though this is a study Bible, the language of the extra-textual writings and notes is highly readable and understandable, appropriate for teenagers and above.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I want to congratulate the editors for the inclusion of two, yes two, bookmarking ribbons. I think this was a stroke of genius. Now that I have a Bible with multiple ribbons, however, I would suggest the appropriate number should be three. This is not a criticism of the NLTSB, quite the contrary (I feel spoiled by the two), but three would seem ideal. I personally am not a fan of Bible reading plans, but most suggest Old and New Testament daily readings (ribbons 1 and 2), and most readers I know read both anyway, but that leaves the reader without a ribbon for his or her own personal reading. So, if I could construct the ideal Bible, it would have three bookmarking ribbons.

The primary criticism (if you can call it that) of the NLTSB is not with the study aspect, but rather with the translation. I still have a repentent heart, and now that I have had time with the NLT, I am growing to appreciate the translation. I understand the need to render the text into “modern English.” And I note this from the NLT FAQ page:

On the one hand, they translated as simply and literally as possible when that approach yielded an accurate, clear, and natural English text. (…)

On the other hand, the NLT translators rendered the message more dynamically when the literal rendering was hard to understand, was misleading, or yielded archaic or foreign wording.

I can appreciate this sentiment. However, I think the priority, then, should remain on translating as literally as possible, and not dynamically rendering things for dynamic rendering’s sake. The example I have chosen is Joel 2:1 which reads in the NLT:

Sound the alarm in Jerusalem! Raise the battle cry on my holy mountain! Let everyone tremble in fear because the day of the LORD is upon us. (NLTSB/NLTse).

Most, if not all, translations however translate Joel 2:1 as:

Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the LORD is coming; Surely it is near… (NASB).

I do not mean to nit pick here, but “Blow a trumpet in Zion,” is accurate (”shofar” is more exact than “trumpet,” but close enough), it seems clear and quite natural. In any event, I don’t think it can be fairly said that the NLT’s translation is more clear or natural. This would appear to be the perfect place for the translation to be accurate and a study note applied to offer any explanation the editors saw fit.

This is not the only example, but it is representative. This is a matter of personal preference, though, and I recognize this completely. On the whole, I have found the NLT to be extremely readable, and I continue to find my initial distaste melting away. In fact, I have encouraged my wife to read the NLT to see if she finds the language to her liking as I have.

I do not foresee the New Living Translation replacing my NASB as my primary reading and study Bible, but I would encourage anyone to experience how pleasantly it reads. I can easily see reading the Psalms, Proverbs, and Song of Solomon out of the NLT regularly. I haven’t yet, but I also want to study the treatment of Revelation and Daniel in the NLT.

Apart from the study-Bible aspect, the NLT is a phenomenal reading Bible. With the study Bible additions, NLT readers may no longer need to supplement reading the NLT with a more literal translation. I fully anticipate the NLTSB will be a huge hit. The popularity of the NLT has exploded, and the primary knock on the NLT has been that it sacrifices accuracy for readabilty. I think critics may find this problem resolved in the study notes.

With the NLT Study Bible you get free access to the NLT Study Bible online, a nice perk. If you’re not convinced just yet, no worries, you can try out the NLT Study Bible online free for 30 days here.

Other NLT Links:

NLT Official Website

NLT Study Bible Website

NLT Study Bible Online

NLT Blog

NLT Study Bible Blog

Tyndale House Publishers


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Finally, An ESV Study Bible

27 08 2008
ESV Study Bible

ESV Study Bible

It seems the release of new study Bibles is all the rage these days. For those of you who follow this blog, my last post was on the release of the NLT Study Bible, and now the ESV is preparing to release an ESV Study Bible October 15, 2008.

The ESV Study Bible will feature over 20,000 notes, 80,000 cross references, 200 color maps and over 200 charts. The ESV Study Bible will also be available in eight editions, including hardcover, TruTone, bonded leather, genuine leather and calfskin.

If you are interested, check out the sample pages and illustrations here, and the list of endorsements here. Also, take a look at this excerpt from the introduction to the Book of Luke which includes a timeline, a map, an outline and much more. It is quite impressive. The ESV Study Bible will also be published simultaneously in print and online which will be available free to everyone who purchases a print edition.

Although I have a soft spot in my heart for the ESV, I think I can fairly say that this will be an outstanding study Bible, truly second to none. I cannot wait to get my hands on one. I know I have encouraged my readers to support the ESV, but I now encourage you to wait. If you don’t have an ESV or a study Bible (in any translation), wait until October 15, 2008 and get an ESV Study Bible. Better yet, order now and get a 20% discount through September 15, just go to the ESV Study Bible website and click Formats.

If you want to learn more, here are a few ESV Study Bible links:

ESV Study Bible website

ESV Study Bible Blog


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Kudos to the ESV and the ESV Bible Blog

13 08 2008

In my post, So Many Translations, So Little Time, I made reference to my recent purchase and study of the English Standard Version (ESV), which I highly recommend (even more highly now). For those of you familiar with my sense of humor, I jokingly included the following remarks:

Now, if only the ESV’s publisher would write a paragraph about the following footnote on the translation page rather than footnoting every use of brothers:

Fn. Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters.

I think it would save more than a few trees considering how many times brothers is used in the New Testament. Plus, I’m tired of being suckered in to reading a footnote that I have read over and over. If you have an ESV, you know what I’m talking about. It’s a small point, but one that is rapidly developing into a pet peeve. I may send the publisher a letter. Perhaps, he¹ will read this post.

¹The English word he has traditionally referred to both men and women, depending on the context, and may refer to either a man or a woman.

Well, there is no need to send the publisher a letter because the Official ESV Bible Blog has responded here. The blog’s author correctly notes that the word adelphoi does get a couple of sentences in the ESV’s Preface, but that the note occurs some 80 times in the New Testament. And, because of the rapid response from the ESV Bible Blog and the acknowledgment of my little post, I just want to say that I now look forward to reading all 80.

I want to thank the blog’s author for the reference, and I want to urge all of my readers to support the ESV in any way you can. It is my new favorite Bible translation. If you don’t have an ESV, get one. I may go buy another one just to celebrate appearing in the ESV Bible Blog.

ESV links:

Buy an ESV.

About the ESV.

The Standard Bible Society.

And, of course, the wonderful ESV Bible Blog.


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So Many Translations, So Little Time…

24 07 2008

As you may know, the Hebrew language and the ancient Hebrew alphabet in particular are the subject of many of my posts. I do not pretend to be an expert in Bible translation, so I try to avoid making critical distinctions between the numerous Bible translations on the market. However, one question does seem to come up in my discussions a lot (one I am asked, and one I ask): Which Bible translation do you prefer?

First, while I certainly have opinions about some of the translations available, I have come to the conclusion that, as with most other things religious, it is far too easy to become legalistic about preference in Bible translation. All translations contain a certain level of subjectivity in interpretation. I do believe some translations to be of a higher quality than others, but I have yet to come across a translation that was so bad or so heretical that I would tell someone not to read it. I would suggest that you find a translation you are comfortable with, read it, get to know it, and branch out from there.

Well, here are my two cents (because that’s really about all it’s worth).

What I Read:

My primary reading and study Bible is a thinline New American Standard (NASB). For regular reading and church going, I prefer not to lug around a 5lb. study or application Bible. Admittedly, when I first began studying the Bible seriously, I spent a great deal of time and energy researching which Bible translation was the most accurate. I don’t believe there is a definitive consensus on this point, but I was able to determine that a fair number of scholars far more qualified than I believe the New American Standard Bible to be the most accurate and literal English translation. The King James Version (or Authorized Version) being a close second. The one knock on the NASB seemed to be that it was less readable than some other translations. However, I have found the NASB to be very readable, and I would highly recommend it to anyone as a study and/or reading Bible. My NASB is my personal favorite.

Over time, I broke free from the bondage of having to use only the most literal translation. I know there is a large King James-only camp, and I almost developed an NASB-only mentality, but thank the Lord I didn’t because I have found considerable value in reading other translations. I have found the New International Version (NIV) to be highly readable and as accurate in rendering meanings as almost any translation available. In fact, when I have had occasion to give gift Bibles, I have given the NIV because of its balance between readability and accuracy. The NIV also seems to be the most common Bible in pulpits and pews where I live (west Texas). I have an NIV Hebrew-Greek Keyword study Bible and a thinline, plain text edition that I carry to churches where I know the pastor preaches out of the NIV.

My first post-NASB and NIV purchase was a pocket-sized New King James Version (NKJV). I purchased it as a curiosity more than anything else, and I had a difficult time getting into the flow of reading it. The New King James wasn’t quite as familiar as the old King James, and it wasn’t quite as readable as the NASB or the NIV, so I had difficulty early on. But, I have recently begun to enjoy reading the NKJV. Admittedly, it’s not as literal as the NASB and not as readable as the NIV, but it is growing on me. I know many in the KJV-only camp rant about the NKJV, and, on my personal list of favorite translations, the NKJV is about fourth or fifth, but I do not believe the NKJV to be the perversion that others claim it to be. I don’t think my NKJV will ever replace my NASB as my own personal favorite, but I will continue to read it frequently and, if you have only ever read one other version for the last several years, give the NKJV a try.

The most recent addition to my Bible collection is an English Standard Version (ESV) which I have only been reading for about a month. So far so good. I must confess, I was drawn to the ESV simply by walking through bookstores and seeing the stacks upon stacks of ESV’s with a size and decorative scheme for every taste. While I found many of the covers to be horrendous, there were a few that caught my eye. I resisted the urge, however, and only when I had a chance to snag a gray, pocket-sized ESV emblazoned with a Celtic cross on the cover for $5 with other purchase, did I finally give in. I’m glad I did because I have found the ESV to be both highly accurate and highly readable. I am seriously considering making my ESV my bookbag Bible (it fits perfectly in the pocket). And, although I have never been to a church where the pastor preached from the ESV (that I know of), it seems that everyone has a pocket-sized ESV (in matching color of course) in a backpack or purse ready to whip out at a moment’s notice. You might as well get one too.

Now, if only the ESV’s publisher would write a paragraph about the following footnote on the translation page rather than footnoting every use of brothers:

Fn. Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters.

I think it would save more than a few trees considering how many times brothers is used in the New Testament. Plus, I’m tired of being suckered in to reading a footnote that I have read over and over. If you have an ESV, you know what I’m talking about. It’s a small point, but one that is rapidly developing into a pet peeve. I may send the publisher a letter. Perhaps, he¹ will read this post.

¹The English word he has traditionally referred to both men and women, depending on the context, and may refer to either a man or a woman.

Shortly after I was set free from my dependence on my NASB, as I began my journey through the various translations, I came across a Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) in the bargain bin of a local Christian bookstore alongside the mis-imprinted Bibles (by the way, those bins are worth perusing if you are looking for other versions to study, God forbid you carry to church a Bible where your name is misspelled, or, worse yet, where someone else’s name is misspelled, but, to have on your shelf for studying when no one else will see, it is well worth the money). It was a great find, and not a misspelling or mis-imprint to be found. The cover design left a lot to be desired, I don’t blame others for leaving it on the shelf based on appearance. But, I have been particularly pleased with the treatment of the Hebrew, even if it is in the footnotes where the references to alternative translations of words and phrases are found. I would highly recommend the HCSB as a reading and/or study Bible.

Last, but certainly not least, the King James Version. How can you not love the King James Version (the Authorized Version to those outside the US)? The Lord’s prayer just isn’t the same unless it is in King James English. I’m not quite in the King James-only camp, but I do love to read the King James Version and to hear it read from pulpits. It just feels right. I know it has its problems, all translations do, but if I were stuck on a deserted island with only two Bible translations, I would take my NASB and my King James Version. I hope later generations influenced by text messaging and email will not completely shrug off the King James Version. I hope my generation doesn’t either. If you haven’t read your King James Version in a while, and I know you have one on a shelf somewhere, go pull it out and start reading it again.

What I Reference:

David Stern’s Complete Jewish Bible is one of my favorite resources for referencing and understanding Jewish and Hebrew stuff. The Complete Jewish Bible which consists of the Tanakh (Old Testament) and the B’rit Hadashah (New Covenant/Testament) gives the traditional Protestant Bible a decidedly Jewish flare, rather than the Protestant Bible giving the Jewish Bible a Protestant flare. I don’t think even David Stern would argue the Complete Jewish Bible is a literal translation, but it is one of my favorites.

For my Hebrew research, I use a paperback copy of the Jewish Publication Society’s Hebrew-English Tanakh which is an entirely original translation of the Old Testament. I’m not a Hebrew scholar, but this translation has come in very handy.

My favorite New Testament resource is my Interlinear NASB/NIV Parallel New Testament in Greek and English. I really cannot rave about this book enough, so I won’t bother trying, but, if you spend any time at all studying the New Testament Greek, get this book.

I have two Keyword Study Bibles, a King James Version and an NIV. I love them both dearly. Everyone needs a Keyword Study Bible.

When I’m writing, I frequently reference The Contemporary Parallel New Testament (eight translations side-by-side). It includes the King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New International Version, New King James Version, New Century Version (NCV), Contemporary English Version (CEV), New Living Translation (NLT) and The Message. I would love to have an entire Bible like this, but it would probably be 10,000 pages long.

What’s Next (And My Wish List):

We recently celebrated the birth of our first child, Libby, so I will be reading the International Children’s Bible for the next few years. I’m excited about that. I bought her a little pink one for her birthday.

I am also eager to get my hands on an Amplified Bible. I’m curious to read a Bible with a running in-text commentary.

My next major endeavor will probably be the Apologetics Study Bible. I must confess to being somewhat skeptical of the need to label anything “apologetics” or anyone an “apologist”. It seems all things are and we all should be. I’m also reluctant to endorse anything trendy, and apologetics is all the rage in Christian circles, but my curiosity is getting the better of me…

More Useful Information:

How to Read the Bible: A Lighthearted Look at a Serious Question

Modern English Bible Translations - Wikipedia

Ken Collin’s Bible Translations Into English

Recent English Bible Versions Compared

English Bible Versions

Top 10 Selling Bible Translations


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Categories : Bible, Bible Translations, Book Reviews, Christianity, Genesis, Greek, Hebrew, New Testament, Old Testament, Religion

To Which Well Are We Drawn?

4 06 2008

My wife, my mother and I were returning from a trip to Dallas a couple of weeks ago, and we began discussing John 4. The question was posed, “Why do we still thirst?” It’s clear from the text of John 4 that if we drink of the water provided by Christ, we will not thirst.

John 4:1 Therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus Himself was not baptizing, but His disciples were), 3 He left Judea and went away again into Galilee. 4 And He had to pass through Samaria.

5 So He came to a city of Samaria called Sychar, near the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph; 6 and Jacob’s well was there. So Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

7 There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” 8 For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. 9 Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)

10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

11 She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? 12 “You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?”

13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, so I will not be thirsty nor come all the way here to draw.”

It has been my experience that most Christians I know try quite hard drink of the water Jesus claims to provide, yet they still thirst (myself included). Therein lies the problem. We try really, really hard to drink of the right water, but our very effort indicates that we are trying to drink from the wrong well.

John 4 is so rich in symbolism and meaning, it’s easy to get lost in it, and it would take a whole series of posts to begin to cover it, but one point is key to the question posed (Why do we thirst?). And that point is this, we need to drink of the water that is freely given, not that we have to go and draw for ourselves.

This story of one Samaritan woman’s encounter with the Jewish Messiah is a beautiful portrait of law and grace. Here we have Jesus telling a Samaritan woman that she will never be completely satisfied by drinking from Jacob’s well, but only by drinking from the water that He will freely give.

How often do we retreat to drinking from Jacob’s well? Probably more often we would like, and certainly more often than is necessary. It is almost incomprehensible, especially to those of us who grew up in America, that we can never satisfy our thirst by our own efforts. We instill in children from a very early age to work hard, make good grades, and do the best that they possibly can, and I will do the same with my children. But, the lesson in our constant return to Jacob’s well is that we can never attain through our own efforts what we can attain through God’s gift of grace.

This truth is not limited to our efforts to achieve righteousness through obedience to the law, we simply cannot. It is through the gift of grace that we are made righteous and enabled to live righteously. This principle is applicable to every aspect of our lives.

It is no different for the study of God’s word. You can spend hours, days, or even years reading the Bible, commentaries, and researching and never comprehend a simple passage better than you will with a tiny drop of God’s grace in revelation. I often find myself praying about scripture after several days of struggling with something, only to find that a simple prayer for God’s help was all that was required. I wonder how much better my study would be if I intentionally begin by doing what I will most likely end up doing anyway.

If we all apply this principle of receiving freely before we begin doing, the doing part might get a whole lot easier and the receiving a whole lot better.


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Categories : Bible, Christianity, Faith, God, Grace, Israel, Jesus, Law, New Testament, Old Testament, Religion, Sin

The Word Became Flesh

21 03 2008

“And the word became flesh…” John 1:14.

I have spent a good deal of time lately meditating on this scripture. I had no intention of writing on this yet, it just didn’t seem to have that Easter feel. When I think of Easter I think of the Passover, the crucifixion, and, of course, the resurrection. But, for some reason, I have been drawn in to contemplating the beginning, “And the word became flesh,” and “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:14, 1.

Those of you who have read this blog from the beginning (In the beginning) know that I have written that the first event written about in scripture is actually Jesus and His redemptive work on the cross (if you look at the ancient Hebrew pictographs). It is almost incomprehensible to me that while the Lord was dictating to Moses the account of the creation of human history, He was simultaneously depicting the single most significant event in human history: the sacrifice of His Son.

Perhaps this is the very reason I have been drawn to John 1:14 lately, the sacrifice truly happened when the Word became flesh. I think we tend to read John 1:14 in some abstract, literary, perhaps even mystical kind of way, “Wow, Word becoming flesh, oooh.” I’m not criticizing this type of reading, I think every word of scripture could probably be read with the same awe, but there is a very literal, time-spanning truth to this statement.

“And the Word became flesh” is something that has to be understood a priori; in other words, knowable as existing prior to and independent of our experience. Why(?), because it gives scripture a slightly different but more accurate frame of reference, and because it is really cool to imagine it. I will try my best to paint this picture in words.

“In the beginning was the Word…” In the beginning of what? Exactly. In the beginning, before there was a what, before anything began. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Greek word for word is the word “logos”. The term “logos” in the original Greek is so rich, and can mean word (spoken, written, thought, or otherwise), reason (as in explanation), and meaning. If you think about it, all of these meanings apply. Just an aside, the language God uses is so glorious, where there may be ambiguity it is deliberate, not a reason for criticism. We try to make something mean either/or, when God probably meant both or all.

So, in the beginning was the logos, the spoken word (“Then God said…”), the Word (all of scripture), Jesus (the Word made flesh), and words period (language, see God Speaks: The Origin of the Alphabet). Quite a beginning, huh? If ever there was any doubt that the most creative and powerful force in the universe is the spoken word of God, I can no longer grasp it.

“And the Word became flesh…” This is key too. The Word that became flesh is the same logos. God’s spoken word became flesh, the reason for existence became flesh, the meaning of existence became flesh, and the Word (scripture) became flesh. This gives a whole new meaning and context to reading scripture, in particular the Old Testament. Think of it as the Old Testament becoming flesh. All the stories, accounts, symbolism, prophecies come together in and as the person that is Jesus.

Even the people represent different aspects of the Word made flesh: Abraham (faithfulness apart from law), Isaac (the promised sacrificial son), Jacob (preferred by the Gentile mother, not the Hebrew father), Joseph (rejected by Hebrew brothers, married Gentile bride, ultimately saves brothers), Moses (deliverer and shepherd in the law), Joshua (named Yeshua, “salvation”, leader into the promised land), David (shepherd king, lineage), Solomon (divine wisdom through humility), the list goes on and on.

The Word became flesh literally means the Word became flesh. God’s sacrifice did not occur at the cross, contrary to popular Christian thought. God sacrificed for us in the beginning.


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Categories : Bible, Christianity, Faith, Genesis, God, Jesus, New Testament, Old Testament, Religion

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