Exegetically Speaking

Dr. Douglas Moo is Kenneth T. Wessner Professor of New Testament in Wheaton College Graduate School and has led the Committee on Bible Translation (the group of scholars charged with revising the text of the NIV). While it is obvious that a translation must substitute one vocabulary (e.g., English) for another (e.g., Hebrew), it is not always understood that a translation must also substitute one grammar (sentence structure, or syntax) for another. It is this aspect that helps to illustrate how among English translations the ESV, NIV, and NLT represent points on a spectrum from more “formal” to more “dynamic” theoretical approaches.

Dr. Michael Graves is Armerding Professor of Biblical Studies at Wheaton College. In addition to teaching Hebrew, Aramaic, and Syriac, along with a range of biblical book studies, he has taught courses on Judaism, World Religions, and the Qur'an and the Bible. A recent addition to his list of publications is How Scripture Interprets Scripture (Baker). Genesis 15:2 provides a good illustration of modern exegetical techniques that are used to figure out the meaning of more challenging Hebrew passages. Those techniques highlight the value and importance of the knowledge of Hebrew for all who wish to teach and apply the biblical text responsibly.

Dr. Doug Penney, Associate Professor of Classical Languages at Wheaton College, calls attention to Mark 5:9 (Luke 8:30) in which a group of demons declare their name to be Λεγιών, translated as Legion. The naming of various demons and angels in ancient Jewish traditions is a fascinating topic in its own right. Intertestamental angelology often derived such names from creative readings of Hebrew scripture passages. Dr. Penney traces out the linguistic path from Ps. 91:7, through these complex traditions, to Mark 5.

Emily McGowin is Assistant Professor of Theology at Wheaton College and the author of Quivering Families: The Quiverfull Movement and Evangelical Theology of the Family, among other things. Presently she’s working on a book for InterVarsity Press on a theology of family. In this conversation with David Capes, she discusses the place of the biblical languages in her own training and work as a theologian. She also shares wisdom for students on the path through higher ed toward biblical and theological scholarship and ministry.

Doug Hoffer first gave Greek a try at Wheaton College and found himself hooked. He carried on to pursue more of the same, first in Wheaton’s M.A. in Biblical Exegesis and then at the University of Chicago, where he is now completing his doctoral dissertation, Covenants Human and Divine: Diathēkē in Gal 3:15-17 and Its Relevance for Paul's Argument in Gal 3-4. John's Gospel is perceived by some as anti-Jewish in its portrayal of Jesus’ Jewish compatriots as frequently misunderstanding his teaching. In John 16:25, however, Jesus asserts that his speech (in John) had been to that point deliberately veiled and claims that he would subsequently speak more forthrightly. Jesus’ comment thus suggests that his audience’s failures of understanding were the (intended) result of his enigmatic speech rather than his listeners’ wickedness or spiritual dullness.

Dr. Daniel B. Wallace is the Executive Director of Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (csntm.org) & Senior Research Professor of NT Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. His intermediate level Greek grammar is well known to students of Greek, but he has also written or contributed to numerous other works, such as (with Darrell Bock), Dethroning Jesus: Exposing Popular Culture's Quest to Unseat the Biblical Christ. After recalling the way his study of Greek grew out of his faith, he treats us to a close reading of the Greek language of one of the most important passages ever written. 

After launching his Greek at Wheaton College, Justin Smith continued his studies after graduation. Including through a short stay in Greece, he has now worked in Classical, Koiné, and modern Greek. In the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19, there is an interesting connection between the words translated as “sycamore tree” (v. 4) and “defrauded/cheated” (v. 8). Maybe the type of tree was noteworthy because by it Luke was hinting at Zacchaeus’ character . . . and what he abandoned to follow the Lord.

Dr. Philip Towner is professor at the Pontifical Urbaniana University and teaches at the Pontifical Biblical Institute. Among other things, he authored a major commentary on The Letters to Timothy and Titus, and co-authored with Catherine McDowell, The Rewards of Learning Greek and Hebrew. In the Greek of 1 Cor. 6:11 there is a rhetorical device – the threefold repetition of a common conjunction – that translations might not convey, and common English might not employ, but that powerfully conveys Paul’s pastoral-theological point.

Dr. Vuyani Sindo is Senior Lecturer and Head of Biblical Studies at George Whitefield College in Cape Town, South Africa, where he teaches New Testament and pastoral ministry. His doctoral dissertation, completed at Stellenbosch University in 2018, explores questions of leadership and identity within the context of Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. The word ἐξουσία translated in the NRSV as “liberty” in 1 Cor. 8:9 is translated in 9:4 as “right.” What justifies this switch, from the viewpoints of both the original Greek and the modern audience?