Good Morning Yamon Ki Yesepar;

Matthew 16:19: “And I will give thee the keys to the kingdom of Heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Matthew 16:19 is another good example.  Due principally to the influence of the Septuagint in the second century B.C. most Hebrew words came to have a fixed or standard translation in the Greek.  Dein  and luein became standard translations in the Septuagint for bind and loose.   Greek is a very precise language and often the Greek translation of a Hebrew word could normally be the equivalent of only one meaning of a word that could have multiple meanings.  The translators usually choose the first or original meaning, what I often call it’s primitive meaning.  The problem arises when the standard translation becomes so fixed in the minds of the Greek translators, that they employ the primitive meaning of the Hebrew word even when that meaning had an entirely different context with an obviously different meaning.  Most of all our modern English translations for both the New and Old Testament are the result of a an extremely mechanical and literal exercise.   This is good when you want to put the Greek back into Hebrew but is very unfortunate for an English speaker reading an English version of a surviving Greek text translated by a scholar who is not seeking Hebrew equivalents and mechanically translates the Greek into English regardless of what the context dictates.

Thus when a scholar translates a Greek passage which is derived from idiomatic Hebrew, he either translates literally, ending up with something which makes no sense in English; or worse he risks making an educated guess ending up with something that is good English but has nothing to do with the original meaning in Hebrew.

Take for instance Matthew 6:22: “The light of the body is the eye, if therefore your eye be single, your whole body will be full of light.”  The word “single” is derived from the word good, “tov.”  Thus we have implied seeing good things.  However, “good eye” is an idiomatic way of saying: “in tune or in harmony with God” or “seeing what God sees.”   If we see what God sees our whole body shall be full of light.  Our English translators do not recognize the Hebrew idiom and almost all translations preserve the singular “eye” even though eyes make more sense in English.  Is it necessary for only one eye to be good?  Which one? Right or Left? To be fair the NIV (bless it’s heart) does translate the word in the plural even through the Greek is singular.  But still translators struggle with the word good and simply guess at the meaning of good so you get “single” (KJV, ASV) or “sound” (RSV, Phillips, Williams) or “clear,”   (NAS) or “pure” (Living Bible), missing the Hebrew thought entirely.

The words “bind” and “loose” have many meanings in the Old Testament. Bind could mean imprison, hitch a cart, tether an animal and forbid.  Which one do you use?  Well, if you research Rabbinic literature you find that a struggle was taking place during the time of Jesus.  For instance, the Bible forbids working on Saturday, but it does not define work.  As a result the sages were called upon to declare what constituted work and what did not. Oral Tradition (Talmud)  therefore gave the sages authority to bind or prohibited certain activities and to loose or allowed other activities.

Thus, if a translator does consider the fact that Jesus was speaking Hebrew and will allow for the broader range of the Hebrew word for “bind” and “loose” and considers Rabbinical teaching in the day of Jesus they would translate these words as “forbid” and “permit” and what you would have is Jesus giving Peter the authority to make decisions regarding the interpretation of Scripture and to regulate the life of the Church.  Keys is an ancient symbol of authority in Hebrew thought and Heaven in Hebrew thought is an evasive synonym for God. In other words the key of the kingdom is the Holy Spirit.  The authority that once rested with the sages   was now given to a common, non-cleric, Peter.  We, just your average Joe Christian, are given the authority that once belonged to the sages, the authority through the Holy Spirit to interpret Scripture for ourselves. It is no longer the sages who will dictate what  constitutes work on the Sabbath but the Spirit of God within us.  It is not the sages or some church hierarchy who decides how to interpret a passage of Scripture or discover the mysteries of God, but it is for us, your average Joe and Josephine to use this “key to the kingdom” the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth.

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