"Woman" in Luke 13.12 and God's Long Nose

This morning as I was eating breakfast, I read an article about the use of "woman" in Luke 13:12: "When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, 'Woman, you are freed from your disability.'" The article was written in response to a blog post by Bill Mounce (author of Basics of Biblical Greek) who claimed that "woman" was essentially untranslatable into English in this case.  The response claimed that it should just be translated "literally" and the reader should be left to her own means (study Bibles, commentaries, sermons, etc.) to determine the meaning of γύναι (gunai) in its original context.  While "woman" as a vocative in English seems, at best, an unkind form of address today, is it so far culturally removed that translating it as such does more harm than good?


This discussion, I'm sure, may make some nervous.  If it says "woman" why not translate it "woman?"  To do otherwise would seem to conceal what the Bible actually says.  But that is not how translation works.  Take, for example, Exodus 34:6.  Here are a few translations:


NIV: And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness


ESV: The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,


NASB: Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;


KJV: And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,


NET: The LORD passed by before him and proclaimed: "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness,


I doubt that anyone would claim that these translations are being unfaithful by translating the highlighted phrase as "slow to anger" or "longsuffering," but that is not what the Hebrew says.  In Hebrew we learn that God has a long nose.  Translated in a woodenly literal fashion, these versions would say that God is "long of nose."  In Hebrew, one is angry when they are "red of face," so if one has a long nose it takes a long time for that redness to travel to ones face.  Thus, it is used to indicate that one is patient. 

I don't think that we have been done a disservice when the translators have taken this Hebrew idiom and translated it in a way that we can easily understand on a surface reading.  Of course, it could be left as is and we could see the footnotes, study Bibles, commentaries or so forth, but the above translations are actually more faithful as they translate the meaning, not the words, of this phrase.  To do otherwise would make this famous and important passage unintelligible for the English reader.


There are many similar examples.  One of my personal favorites is the storm in the book of Jonah which was "walking and storming" (Jon 1.11, 13- most translations render it as "growing worse" or other similar phrases).  The question that Mounce asks, then, is not a worrisome or strange question.  He simply asks if translating  γύναι (gunai) as "woman" places unnecessary barriers to understanding in our culture.  If translators are not asking these questions, it would be cause for concern.


I'm not convinced that Mounce is correct, and I'm not sure leaving it untranslated or translating it as "friend" is helpful (Mounce says as much himself).  Nor is this passage and the possible misunderstanding as critical as that in Exodus 34.6.  What it does show, though, is that pastors and vocational students of the Bible should be making an effort to study and use the original languages.  If we don't change the way we render "woman" our pastors must be able to answer the questions that arise from it's use.  Secondly, it should also give us some appreciation for the difficult task of translating.  We must appreciate that it is neither straightforward nor easy.  It's not an exact science in which each word has a precise corollary in the target language.  Our translators are not just translating from one language to another, but from one culture to another as well.  This takes outstanding sensitivity, care, and erudition.  Praise God for the many faithful students of His Word who have the skill and ability to make the Bible accessible in many different languages.

"Cor meum tibi offero, Domine, prompte et sincere."

The Heart of Evangelism and Learning Evangelism from Jesus by Jerram Barrs

Evangelism may well be the most difficult aspect of the Christian faith.  For many of us, sharing our faith can be intimidating.  Some of that fear generates from our own shyness.  We would be just as intimidated if we were asking for directions.  Some of our fear comes from our participation in failed and insensitive "evangelistic" methodologies.  For others, the offense of the cross is an offense to the would-be evangelist, and so he neglects to share his faith.  Against these challenges, Professor Jerram Barrs lays out a Biblical approach to evangelism over the course of two books; The Heart of Evangelism and Learning Evangelism from Jesus.

In The Heart of Evangelism, Barrs lays out the foundation for this approach.  This book is divided into four major sections dealing with the "Mission to the World", "God's Kindness and Perseverance," "Barriers in the Way of Communicating the Gospel," and finally, "Making the Gospel Known."  The first lays out God's call to mission and the foundations for fulfilling this mission, things like prayer and a faithful life.  The second section deals with God's work in evangelism, and the variety of ways that God prepares people's hearts for hearing the Good News.  The following section contains an important discussion about evangelism in our time and the unique challenges that we face, both within and outside of ourselves.  Finally, the book concludes by giving the reader seven "principles" which should shape our evangelistic efforts.  These are not "steps to evangelism," but rather a philosophy of evangelism that fleshes out the implications of the previous three sections in light of the Bible.

Learning Evangelism from Jesus is a different sort of book.  Instead of developing a theology or philosophy of evangelism, this book seeks to understand evangelism as it is portrayed in the pages of Scripture.  Of the sixteen chapters in this book, fifteen of them are case studies drawn from the pages of the New Testament.  The first chapter summarizes the content of The Heart of Evangelism.  Throughout the remainder of the book, the reader is able to see how these ideas about evangelism play out in the pages of the Bible.  Over the course of this book one sees the way that Jesus shares about God with legalists, seekers, sinners, and others.  It is in this book that the compassionate method of evangelism that Barrs proposed in the previous book is demonstrated in practice.

These books read like companion volumes.  The first book gives us a skeleton, an outline of what evangelism should be.  The second book puts muscles and flesh on the bones.  It shows what the type of evangelism that Barrs proposes looks like on the ground.  These are challenging books.  In their pages one will not find a simple or formulaic approach to evangelism.  Instead, one will see what evangelism through relationship and compassion looks like.  Together, these books challenge the way that the Christian sees the unbeliever.  It challenges us to understand the difference between the Law and the Gospel.  It challenges the reader to take evangelism seriously.  

I have read a lot of good books during my first year of seminary, but none have been as challenging or, at the risk of overstatement, as life-changing as these two. It was an honor and privilege to sit in Professor Barr's class for a full semester.  Fortunately for the reader, his character and graciousness shines through the pages of both of these books. For anyone who finds evangelism difficult, or who is weary of "canned" Gospel presentations, or for those who want to be challenged and have their heart for others shaped by the Gospel, I cannot recommend these books highly enough.    

"Cor meum tibi offero, Domine, prompte et sincere."

The Most Useless Sort of Christian

Right now, I am the most useless sort of Christian.  In these past few months I have gained a great amount of knowledge.  That knowledge was not given to me in the abstract; it was directed not only to my head, but to my heart as well.  However, over this period of time, I have just been a reseptical.  A lot of stuff going in, and nothing coming out.  This is not how things should be.

My situation has changed dramatically over the past half year.  I went from a job at a secular company, to a full time student learning from some of the best pastors in the PCA.  I now live in a great neighborhood, but here all of my neighbors are Christians.  I went from involvement in teaching Sunday School, working on the missions committee, playing in the church orchestra, and occasionally preaching, to doing, well, nothing.

At the end of the book of Matthew, after powerfully demonstrating Jesus' status as the greater king than David and the greater prophet than Moses, we read this charge given as Jesus departs from the presence of his followers in Matthew 28:

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.   Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Currently, I am only benefiting from others who are carrying this out, but I am failing to do this in any way.  If I take the indicative (id est "what is true") of this passage in Matthew seriously, namely "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me..." (and I do), then I must willingly and gratefully fulfill the imperative (id est "what to do").  As Dr. Chapman pointed out, the emphasis of this passage is on making disciples.  (For those interested, the imperative in this passage is "make disciples" while "go," "baptizing," and "teaching" are participles that help to describe the making of disciples).  If I am not actively involved in making disciples, then I am disobeying my Lord.

There are plenty of excuses that I could make.  I'm new to St. Louis.  I don't know anyone here.  I am trying to get use to a new and busier lifestyle.  I wasn't a member of a church here yet so they might not let me get involved, but that is all they are.  Just excuses for not doing what I should.

In one of my favorite quotes by John Calvin he says:

Here indeed is pure and real religion: faith so joined with an earnest fear of God that this fear also embraces willing reverence, and carries with it such legitimate worship as is prescribed in the law... all men have a vague general veneration for God, but very few really reverence him...” (1,2,2)

In other words, real and authentic Christianity is demonstrated when one loves God so much that he desires to obey Him.  He loves God and God's Law, and obeying that Law is not a burden, but a true joy.  It is my hope that in the coming weeks I will find some places where I can serve and be one who gratefully serves God out of love for Him.  It is my prayer that I will, as our Lord commands, make disciples.

"Cor meum tibi offero, Domine, prompte et sincere."