Why Must We Endure the Torture of Learning the Hebrew and the Greek?

For the long answer, please consult with our professors at Calvin Theological Seminary. You might sense first-hand in what they tell you that they would not describe the training our synod insists on in such drastic terms. But I’ll give you the short answer.

There is no way to live into the meaning of the ancient text for the first hearers without reading and hearing that text in its original shape and context, and, therefore, no way to apply that Word with its inherent relevance accurately and reliably to our contemporary world. Without this direct access you will forever be dependent on translators and commentators without any assurance that they actually “got it right.” That can’t provide much in the way of your being utterly comfortable in what you’ll be saying from the church’s pulpits.

I promised a short answer so, enough said.

I presume this question would have come from someone studying in seminary and dislikes the rigor (aka torture) of learning Hebrew and Greek. I am often disapponted when a pastor ordained in a Reformed church says something like "Oh yeah, I had to study Hebrew and Greek, but (ha-ha) I don't remember any of it." This is not only disappointing but also reprehensible. I can, and do, use an "exhaustive concordance" in which I can see how words in the Hebrew and Greek  languages are translated into English. However, I am not ordained in the ministry and I expect much more than that of an ordained Reformed pastor. I expect a deeper level of understanding of the meaning of the Scripture text than what I can discern on my own, or with rudimentary helps. If seminary students do not understand that, perhaps they are seeking the wrong profession.

Obviously an older post to which I am responding some 6 years later. Never the less, my two cents. It is not an esy question to answer. I majored in Greek while in college/university. Despite this, I felt inadequate  when going up against scholars who had devoted their lives to the language, meaning, though not limited to, those who were sufficiently proficient to engaged in translation. Expanding this, the Greek and Hebrew that one learns in seminary will not make one proficient in the language and unless possessed by hubris s/he will still rely on the work of others to understand the text and its context. With that said, one at least hopefully has the basic tools to understand the nature of the language and to be able to communicate its complexity.  Three example. Shalom means much more than peace in the sense of the absence of war or conflict,  the common Hebrew word we translate as "prayer" does not mean prayer ar all, and there are four distinct words we translate as "love." The Hebrew language, lacking vowels, also leads to some very interesting interpretations of the text as the Rabbis would see connections between words that we westerners would miss. At age 74 with some 45 years of ministry behind me, I regret that I did not keep up and expand upon my knowledge of Greek and Hebrew; but perhaps that's just me.