Do we now tear down every Greek portico in our modern buildings just because they are part of Greek architecture? Did Jesus or Paul ever advocate that?
Sometimes, proponents of the Hebraic Roots Movement have gone a bit too far as to claim that God wants us to learn Hebrew instead of Greek.
While I promote the learning of the biblical languages so that we can read the text in its original languages, to downplay the Greek New Testament for a Hebrew New Testament is simply inappropriate.
There are also claims that David Pawson once taught about "de-Greecing" the modern church. However, after listening to the audio recording, I can only conclude that Pawson was not even recommending that we drop the Greek New Testament, or totally disregard anything that appears to be Greek, but he has been quoted out of context to support one's disposition towards the Hebraic roots movement.
Dawson was merely talking about some of the influences from Greek philosophy, cultures and architecture that were clearly contradictory to the scriptures (cf Col 2:8), just as Peter had to be "detoxified" of his Jewishness before the gospel could reach the Gentiles (cf Acts 10:9-17).
Pawson, in no way, was playing down the New Testament in Greek nor was he talking of the superiority of the Hebrew language. In fact, for most part of his ministry, he would have to speak in koine Greek -- the lingua franca of the day -- to communicate his message to the Gentile world.
Just as we need to understand the Hebrew language and culture to interpret the Hebrew scriptures, we need to understand the Greek language and culture to exegete the New Testament. This is my stand.
It is important that we understand that:
(a) the original Old Testament was written in Hebrew and only certain portions of it were written in Aramaic. This is the reason why we learn biblical Hebrew instead of modern Hebrew.
The Hebrew used during the times of the prophets and the kings of Israel was different from the modern Hebrew that you will experience in Israel today. A young Jewish friend of mine laughed when he heard that I was learning biblical Hebrew, "Why are you learning biblical Hebrew? If you come to Israel and you speak in biblical Hebrew, no one would understand you!"
In short, someone would be laughed at if he were to speak Shakespearean English in the wet market in 2021!
(b) the original New Testament was written in koine (common) Greek. Compared to what is claimed to be the 'original' Hebrew manuscript of the New Testament, we have thousands of Greek manuscripts. There are no major manuscripts in Hebrew (even if there are, there were probably only one or two copies), whose claims as the 'original' Hebrew text of the New Testament has been disputed.
There are, however, what we have today a present day translation of the New Testament into modern Hebrew. Like any other translations, it is merely a translation, and should be treated only as a translation. Nothing else!
So, this should raise a red flag, when someone comes to you claiming that he or she has found some new and hidden nuances about a doctrine which has come across more strongly than the Greek New Testament, and if it goes against the basic doctrines of Scriptures (for example, the trinity of God, the incarnation of Christ, His death and His resurrection), it is best that you take it with a pinch of salt.
(c) When the Hebrew Old Testament was first translated into the lingua franca of the day, it was translated into Greek by a group of 70 Jewish scholars in the third century BC; hence, we have our Septuagint Greek Old Testament, or LXX (the Roman numeral for 70) in short.
Allow me to further elaborate:
(a) As Greek was the lingua franca of the day, the Jewish scholars had no problem translating the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek. They did not even preserve the Tetragrammaton, holy as we may think it is; instead, they used the title in the Greek language (κυριος). If God had placed so much emphasis on His Name in its Hebraic form, would He not have the Septuagint transliterated Yehovah into Greek?
Therefore, never assume that God's Name must always be written as YHVH, Yahweh or Jehovah. Or, Jesus' name Yehsua. I have seen people littering some Hebrew names amidst a text written in English, which makes the entire text look distasteful. Read this blog post regarding the Name used in the Old Testament Hebrew text.
Dr Bill Barrick in his lecture (watch from time 15:00 min - 30:00 min) explained very well about the Name Jehovah. He explains how although he prefers the name Yahweh, the Name Jehovah was formed using the vowels in Adonai to the tetragrammaton. I agree with him on this.
Likewise, when the scholars translated into the Greek Septuagint, they did not see they needed to preserve the name of the trumpet made from ram's horn. Instead of using a Greek transliteration of the word שׁוֹפָר (transliterated as shofar), they used the Greek equivalent, σάλπιγγος. Look at all three texts:
A lot of things have been stretched too far by proponents of the Hebraic movement. Some do it to sell their paraphernalia, others do that sincerely as they believe it is a new revelation from God. As far as God is concerned, there is no new revelation except what is already written in the Scriptures.
Therefore, we have to be careful what we teach.
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