Now Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the LORD, obey it,
and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:10, HCSB).
While every believer must seek to know God, not everyone needs to know the biblical languages. Indeed, the Lord has graciously made his Word translatable so that those “from every tribe and language and people and nation” may hear of and believe in the Savior (Revelation 5:9; see Nehemiah 8:7–8; Acts 2:6). Furthermore, grasping the fundamentals of Hebrew and Greek neither ensures correct interpretation of Scripture nor removes all interpretive challenges. It does not automatically make one a good exegete of texts or an articulate, winsome proclaimer of God’s truth to a needy world. Linguistic skill also does not necessarily result in deeper levels of holiness or in greater knowledge of God. Why then do we need some in the church in every generation who can skillfully use the biblical languages?
For the rest of DeRouchie’s post, written for the B&H Publishing Blog, see here.
