2S9-4: Why Our English Bibles Are Much Longer Than the Hebrew Original

I wanna show you something interesting.

Take a look at verse 1 from 2nd Samuel Chapter 9:

“David inquired, ‘Is there anyone still alive from the family of Sha’ul, to whom, for Y’honatan’s sake, I can show kindness?‘”

Next, take a look at verse 3 in the same chapter:

“The king said, ‘Is there anyone still alive from the family of Sha’ul, to whom I can show God’s grace?’‘”

David is essentially asking the same thing in both verses…

But one verse says “show kindness”…

And the other says “show God’s grace”…

Other English translations will say “show mercy.”

Now here’s the thing.

Whether the word is “kindness,” “grace,” or “mercy,” the same Hebrew word is being used in every instance.

That word is CHESED or חֶסֶד.

However, it seems like verses 1 and 3 are asking different questions due to the wording when that’s just not the case.

See, CHESED is a special Hebrew word.

It means loving-kindness, mercy, steadfast love, or covenant faithfulness.

But it’s even more than that.

It also conveys deep, enduring love and compassion, often associated with God’s kindness and loyalty toward His people.

So here’s the issue.

As a matter of practicality, Bible translators are usually forced to pick just one word to use when translating a Hebrew term from the original text…

And more often than not, the word chosen is based on personal preference.

The translator just doesn’t have the bandwidth to flesh out all of the nuances of a given Hebrew term in the variety of contexts it appears.

Otherwise, our Bibles would be as thick as a stack of phone books.

Ya, feel me?

As it stands already, our English “Old” Testaments comprise one-third more words than the Hebrew original.

So understand that whenever I go deep to explain the meaning of certain key Hebrew terms…

It ain’t because I’m a weird Biblical studies nerd (which I admittedly am)...

But I do this because there’s just no way our English translations can fully capture the deeper meanings and cultural ideas behind the original Hebrew.

Ya feeling me here, homies?

A lot of folks will accuse the Bible of being nonsensical or full of contradictions.

But the truth is many of those so-called contradictions stem from translation issues or biases.

You also gotta take into account the Bible covers thousands of years of history crammed into a few hundred pages.

There just ain’t enough room to dive deep into every cultural detail.

That’s why, for certain words and passages, we gotta dig deep into the history, culture, and original languages.

Once we do that, a lot of confusion evaporates into thin air.

We’ll continue with this conversation the next time we meet.