Idioms in the Bible Explained and A Key to the Original Gospels

By George M. Lamsa

Book Overview

World-renowned Bible translator and commentator George M. Lamsa explains nearly one thousand crucial idioms that will enrich reading of the Old and New Testaments for students and general reader alike. Lamsa, who was raised speaking Aramaic in a community that followed customs largely unchanged since the times of Christ, offers fresh, accurate translations of important idioms, metaphors, and figures of speech found in the Scripture--and provides clear explanations of their meaning of biblical context. Just as Shakespeare, Milton, and Browning wrote in the vernacular for English-speaking people, Moses the prophets, and the apostles wrote for their own people in the plain language of their times, so that even the unlearned might understand God's Word. Over the centuries, inaccurate translations and misunderstandings of customs and concepts have led to difficulties in bringing the biblical message to contemporary English-speaking readers. For example, when a man says to Jesus, "let me bury my father," Lamsa points out that this expression means, "Let me first take care of my father until he dies." Traditionally, scholars assumed that this man's father was dead and that Jesus was not interested in his burial. Lamsa's scholarship offers a more accurate understanding of the intent and spirit of this passage. Idioms in the Bible Explained and a Key to the Original Gospels goes far in correcting such errors that have crept into Biblical scholarship. Obscure and difficult passages from both Old and New Testaments are listed and compared with the King James version (though it will be helpful when used with any English version). These make clear the original meaning of such ancient idioms and assure that our grasp of the biblical message is more sound and rewarding. To further uncover the original teachings of Scripture, Idioms in the Bible Explained and a Key to the Original Gospels, Lamsa discusses at greater length such topics as "The Language of Jesus," "Aramaic Phraseology," "The Sayings of Jesus," "Early Translations," and more..

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060649275
• ISBN13: 9780060649272
• Release Date: October 1985
• Publisher: HarperOne
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Idioms in the Bible Explained and A Key to the Original Gospels

George Lamsa is one of the foremost Ancient Aramaic Scholars in the world today. He offers great insight to idioms and difficult scriptures in the bible. I myself am a Christian author and his handling of Eli, Eli, lamana shabachthani is right on. (My spelling may be a little off on these Aramaic words because I do not have them in front of me.) If you want to better understand the bible and the society during Jesus Christ time on earth than this book is a must for those who really want to see the accuracy and the integrity in the word of God.

The Wedding at Cana.

What a difference Prof. George Lamsa's explanation's make to the scene at the Wedding at Cana. By understanding the customs of the time we are provided with an enhanced peek at the wedding party and watch as Mary makes sure that Jesus is aware of his duties as a wedding guest. By not being intimitely aquainted with the Aramaic language of Jesus's time, where one word can have several meanings, where what is said turns out not to be what is meant, it's no wonder early translations into Greek and Roman missed important points. This book is already one of my prized possessions for bible study.

Excellent book

This book explains certain items in the bible with their meaning in Aramic, the language of Jesus' time. These colloquial meanings of some familiar parts of scripture did shed new light on some of the ancient texts. All of us read Christian scripture that has been handed down from transcription to translation to interpretation for many centuries. It was interesting to read the possible meanings of some of this scripture. Books like this are valuable because they help us to see the context in which they were written. If an accounting for context and the historical era aren't taken into consideration, can the truth of scripture ever be revealed? Even if scripture was inspired by God?Recommended!

Hope for fundamentalists

This book could mean hope for the fundamentalists. If they take this book to heart maybe they will find a more loving God. I loved the book. I would also recommend the book An Encounter With A Prophet; but only for those people who enjoyed this book. The Encounter is way too far advanced for the fundamentalist to start off with. Again this is a wonderful work.