Sound Teaching:
Biblical Interpretation

The Need for Hebrew for Interpreting the New Testament
by Dr. Douglas Wheeler

One of the greatest problems confronting biblical
interpreters today is the lack of recognition of the influence of Hebrew on the New Testament. Coupled with the fact that many biblical interpreters today ignore the Old Testament as foundational to proper interpretation, a maze of eisegesis has been the result. There are always serious semantic problems that arise when religious ideas are transferred from one linguistic environment to another. Interpreters need to do all that is within their power to preserve the integrity of the text by acknowledging the strong Hebraic influence that is present in the New Testament.

Every writer of the New Testament, with the possible exception of Luke, was a native speaker of a Semitic language. Based upon interpretations of various passages of New Testament Scriptures, many scholars are now in debate about whether Luke was not, in fact, Jewish. Be that as it may, we must recognize that there are over 2000 quotes, references, and allusions of the Old Testament contained in the New. Certainly it is recognizable that Jesus spent much of his ministry interpreting Torah. If a working knowledge of the original tongue is needed for proper interpretation of the Old Testament, it is equally needed for the proper interpretation of the New in light of influence that the Old Testament has on the New as well as the Semitic background of the authors. These people were Jews, not Greeks. As such, the New Testament is a Jewish document. It was written by Jews to Jews explaining and pointing toward the Jewish Messiah.

The Bible is a conceptual book. There are over 1800 concepts that are represented in the Word of God. These concepts run through the Bible like a thread that runs through a shirt. To focus on the Greek language to the exclusion of Hebrew is to destroy the conceptual format of the Word of God. For example, if one desires to fully understand the love of God conceptually, he would not do so by studying John 3:16 in Greek. He would begin by studying the love of God from Genesis to John 3:16, and he would do so in light of Hebrew. This allows for the buildup of ideas from the Old into the New and preserves the influence of the language, history, and culture on the New Testament. It gives a complete and not a fragmented view. Said another way, to interpret the love of God only from a few Scriptures in the New Testament is to destroy the foundation of the concept as a whole and will lead to fragmented and often faulty interpretation. This is one of the greatest problems in American theology today. It is rooted in Greek rather than Hebraic thought. It ignores the fact that the writers of the New Testament were Jewish and thought Hebraically and not from a Greco-Roman mindset.

There also seems to be a correlation between the disbelief in the verbal and plenary inspiration of the Bible and the neglect of the study of and understanding of the influence of Hebrew on the New Testament. If we view the Bible not as an inspired book but as one that has been merely written by man, then I think a basic understanding of any version will be adequate. If, however, we view this book as Divinely inspired and as the authority of God, then it should be our goal to understand exactly what is says and what it means. Hebrew will have to be diligently studied to accomplish that purpose. We cannot say that a person is theologically sound simply because he studies Hebrew, but at least he will be on the right exegetical road. You see, it is difficult to espouse the doctrine of the inspiration of Scripture and totally ignore the foundational language in which that revelation has come. To do so shows that we are unwilling to act on our own convictions. To deal extensively with the New Testament in only the Greek language is to sever the relationship of that document and the Hebrew language and culture that has so richly influenced it. If we advance no further into the thought, speech, and emotional realm intended by the authors of the New Testament than the realm shown by the Greek language, then the result can only be a lack of depth in understanding the rich and intricate concepts of the Word of God as a whole.

I realize that there will always be critics to this type of Hebraic approach to the New Testament. There will always be those who deny the foundational need of the Old Testament and, therefore, try to minimize its influence on the New. Likewise, there will always be those who claim to be "red letter" men who believe that if the King James was good enough for Paul, it is good enough for them. There will always be those who view Hebrew as nothing more than air over the voice box, but these views do nothing to eradicate the need to study Hebrew to understand the entire Bible, both Old and New, in its depths.

Dr. Douglas Wheeler is founder and president of Mended Wings, a ministry to families. He has an extensive academic background in Biblical Hebrew, which he uses to enlighten believers as to the deeper, often hidden meanings of Holy Scripture. He also teaches with great insight on the Hebrew foundations of Christian faith in seminars and other events. Doug, his wife, Joyce, and their sons, Samuel and Benjamin, live in Bossier City, Louisiana.

Mended Wings
The Teaching Ministry of Dr. Doug Wheeler

has numerous informative and provocative resources, including:

Booklets and Books
Benching and the Early Christian Meal
Menorah–A Picture of Christian Life
Hebrew Bible Study Methodology

Audio Tapes
The Prayer Shawl
The Salt Covenant
Matza, the Four Cups and the Afikomin
The Unity of Life
The Renewal of the Mind

Dr. Wheeler Is also Available for Hebrew Seminars and Other Ministry.

For complete details, write:
Mended Wings, P. O. Box 8538, Bossier City, LA 71112
or Phone (318) 752-4447 or see his website http://www.haydid.org/wings.htm

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