Knowing old sayings to understand the Bible

When we do read the Bible we may never forget that we do have to do with an old culture. In the Old times they had a totally different way to express themselves. We should keep that in our mind when we go through those 66 old books which form all together the Holy Scripturesor Bible like we de have it today.

English: Hebrew Bible, Jer. 27 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In the years, several translations tried to bring the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek writings back into contemporary language. But because language is a living thing, also that translation became older and had other words and ways of saying than in later years.

This was long thought to be the only portrait of William Shakespeare that had any claim to have been painted from life, until another possible life portrait, the Cobbe portrait, was revealed in 2009. The portrait is known as the ‘Chandos portrait’ after a previous owner, James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos. It was the first portrait to be acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in 1856. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In Shakespeare’s time (16-17th Century) when they used the word “bully” they did not mean some one who acted like or was like a bull, but they meant a  “homosexual”. When we speak of a bully today we do think about something else.
When you would read an older text and presume that the man spoken of is a cruel oppressor of the weak, you probably have the opposite impression than the soft man who wants to share his love with an other man. So people should think about all different things than a ruffian hired to beat or intimidate anyone.

In Dutch we also can find the word ‘gijzelaar’, which was until the previous century the person who “gijzelde”. The suffix “-aar” confirms the action wich is mentioned before (in this case ‘gijzel’) ‘Gijzelen’ means taking hostage or to kidnap. A second meaning is also to imprison for contempt or to commit to prison for contempt. Hold hostage. The “aar” means that it is a person who holds hostage.

The last few years words like gijzelhouder and ‘gijzelnemer” were introduced. The “gijzelhouder” being also the kidnapper, hijacker, skyjacker.

In the 21st century several television stations were using “gijzelnemer”, literally translated “hostage taker” for the person who was taking somebody hostage. But for the one taken hostage they started using “gijzelaar”. Reading a newspaper in the 1960ies would use “gegijzelde” for the one taken hostage by the “gijzelaar” (hostagetaker). Today it means for many younger people just the opposite of what the older Dutch speaking generation understands by it.

In the English language you also shall be able to find such changes. If someone today was to read about a building being described as “awesome” in older English they might not understand that the building is being described as terrible.

Sometimes imposing a later meaning on the same word used earlier can result in a distortion of the actual meaning. The same change in a word’s meaning happens in the Bible too (it was written over the course of thousands of years).

Next time when you read a Bible and encounter ways of saying remember also the ways of thinking of the people of that time.

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Dutch more elaborate version: Oude spreekwijzen kennen om de Bijbel te begrijpen

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1. Another way looking at a language #1 New Year, Books and Words
2. Another way looking at a language #2 Meanings
3. Another way looking at a language #4 Ancient times
4. Another way looking at a language #5 Aramic, Hebrew and Greek
5. The Importance Of Scripture

   Lots of  people do laugh at those who enjoy reading the old Books of Books, the Bible. Of all those books the last series bring the world Glad Tidings.

6. The importance of Reading the Scriptures
   We can find many letters on papers or on the screen, but the words shall have to get meaning. There have been many writers, but those who were in the hands of God and wrote down the Words of God, can bring us the most important words to go through life in the best way.

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