Don't Lose the Languages

tommy@signandshadow.com (Tommy Keene) — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

As a teacher of Greek the question I get asked most is definitely: “how do I keep my Greek?” I have to restrain myself from rolling my eyes at this point because the answer is so simple, and because the person asking the question already knows the answer. There’s only one way to do it. There’s no shortcut, no trick, no special preservative. You can’t wrap up the languages in shrink wrap and stick them in the refrigerator.

"Thing" is now a Thing: What do recent changes to the English dictionary tells us about the meaning of Biblical words?

tommy@signandshadow.com (Tommy Keene) — Sat, 01 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000

I’m just settling back into normal life after a week teaching “Advanced Biblical Exegesis” at RTS in Washington DC, and sure enough, just hours after I said said the sentence “it is actually good and necessary for the Oxford English Dictionary to release regular updates to its prestigious repository of words and their meanings,” the OED released just such an update. What is more, the actual update provides an interesting and helpful illustration of how words work, and how the way words work helps us interpret Biblical words. Have you ever looked at a translation and wondered “what does that word really mean?” If you have, you’re probably asking the wrong question.

Linguistics on Sign and Shadow

Don't Lose the Languages

"Thing" is now a Thing: What do recent changes to the English dictionary tells us about the meaning of Biblical words?