Lost in Translation – Part I An example of verb tense

In my last blog “Why Study Hebrew and Greek anyway?” I mentioned I would come back with some concrete examples of how the study of the scriptures in the original languages can greatly illuminate the sacred text and enhance our understanding of God and His Son Jesus Christ.

The following is an example of where differences in the meaning of verb tenses between English and, in this instance, NT Greek make it difficult for Bible translators to render the full meaning encapsulated in a phrase without resort to ‘over-translation’ techniques (think Amplified Bible). In our modern day western society we are pre-occupied with time and this reflects in the way we use language to communicate with one another. When we employ a verb in a sentence (a ‘doing’ or action word) our primary focus is on when the action took place. Did it happen in the past, will it take place in the future or is in happening now? NT Greek verb tenses however, and Hebrew also for that matter, indicate not only time but more especially the kind of action involved. To illustrate this let’s look at a phrase in Mark 11:24 in the passage where Jesus tells us how, if we have faith, we can move mountains!

 
In the original Greek it v24 reads as follows:
διὰ τοῦτο λέγω ὑμῖν, πάντα ὅσα προσεύχεσθε καὶ αἰτεῖσθε, πιστεύετε ὅτι ἐλάβετε, καὶ ἔσται ὑμῖν.

The phrase in bold (pronounced ‘pi-stu-ete ho-tee e-la-bete kai es-tai hu-min’) is translated in the NIV as:
“believe that you have received it, and it will be yours”
In this phrase there are 3 verbs employed, the verbs ‘to believe’, ‘to receive’ and ‘to be’ in that order. Each verb in the original text is in the form of a different Greek tense, a present tense, a future tense and something we don’t find in the English language, an aorist tense.

The verb ‘to believe’ is in the present tense and it’s also in the imperative mode, that is to say, in the form of a command to us ‘Believe’. The Greek present tense indicates a continued or repeated action with the meaning, ‘Keep on believing or continue to believe’.

The verb ‘to receive’ is in an unfamiliar tense to us, the aorist tense (from the Greek word ‘oristos’ with the meaning ‘indeterminate’ or ‘indefinite’). The meaning of the tense is actually well demonstrated by this example of the verb to receive. Imagine the act of receiving as a form of transaction. There is a giver and there is a receiver and there is the act of giving in between. The giver holds the object of the transaction (here the thing we request in prayer) in his hand. The receiver extends his or her hand and takes the object from the hand of the giver. In this instance the transaction would take only a few moments, but of course the giver and receiver may be far apart and the former mails the object to the receiver who obtains it some days later. Or perhaps the giver leaves the object in a location where he knows the receiver will be in a few years time where they will be able to pick it up. What is important here is that the Greek Aorist tense does give any indication of the duration of the action, it could be short or long, it could even be a repeated action during the course of time, nor does the tense indicate anything about when the action actually occurred, it could have been in the past or be in the present or yet to happen or indeed a combination of these. What the tense however does indicate is that the transaction is being viewed in its entirety and as a completed, finished action, from the moment it leaves the giver to the moment it arrives in the receiver’s hand.

Lastly there is the verb ‘to be’ in the future tense. The phrase in the verse literally translates as ‘it will be to you (plural)’ i.e. it will be yours!
Putting these different shades of meaning together then Jesus is saying to us – “Therefore I say to you whatsoever things you pray and request for yourselves, keep on or continue to believe  that you have received (the prayer transaction is completed), and it shall be yours.

Of course faith is the evidence of things hoped for so once we have the request in our possession we no longer need to continue believing for it!

Al, the scribbling scribe dated 11-09-2009