Today I want to talk about the part of the Bible that is least read. Even less than the minor prophets! Even less than Leviticus! Even less than the genealogies!!
That part is…the preface!!
“The preface?” you say, “That’s not really part of the Bible!” And in a sense you are right. Two gold stars for you! It is not part of the scripture, the record of the people of faith, the written part of what “God spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions in many ways.” (Hebrews 1:1) The preface is not, in any sense, "the word of God."
But, in another sense, you’re wrong! Minus two gold stars for you! Is the preface between the covers of your Bible? Then it’s part of the Bible. It’s not “scripture,” but it was included in the book for a specific reason, and that reason is to help you understand the Bible.
So, what’s in the preface? Well, it depends on your translation. If you have a New American Standard Bible (and if not, why not? – it’s great!) your preface contains 1) the story of where the NAS translation came from, 2) principles of translation, 3) explanation of general format, and 4) what all those abbreviations in the notes mean.
That’s pretty important stuff! If you have some other translation, your preface might be somewhat different, but it will usually contain information of a similar kind as listed above.
So – what secrets are revealed in the preface? Some fairly practical ones – for instance:
1. The translation of the name of God.
In the Old Testament, when you see “LORD” in your Bible, that’s the translation of the Hebrew word “Yahweh” – the proper name of God. The one from the burning bush. It means “I AM.”
When you see “God,” that’s the translation of the Hebrew word “El” the more common name for God, and, when it’s plural the word for “gods.” When you see: “Lord” it’s a translation of the Hebrew word “Adonai.” It’s a title for God. "LORD of Hosts" is a translation of "Yahweh Saboath" - literally, "Yahweh of the armies."
So what? For anyone, getting their name and title right is very important. Next time you read the Old Testament, see who’s talking and what name or title they are using for God. (My favorite is the book of Jonah – Jonah calls God by his proper name, but the sailors and the Ninevites all call Him “God.” El that is. The generic name for God. They don’t know God’s real name – because Jonah didn’t tell them!)
2. Quotes from other scripture.
When you’re reading the New Testament, and see a verse or a part of verse in all capital letters, that’s a quotation from the Old Testament (check your notes for the exact reference). Flip through the New Testament with this knowledge, and you’ll be surprised at how much of the New Testament is actually the Old Testament. And that’s just the direct quotes! We won’t even go into allusions. It becomes clear pretty quickly that the Old Testament (especially the Psalms and the prophets, with a heavy dash of the Torah) was where the first Christians turned to explain who Jesus was and what He did.
3. Words that aren’t in the original.
Anything in italics is not a word that is in the original Greek or Hebrew. Don’t worry – every single one of those is in there to make a sentence make sense in English that wouldn’t make sense without that word. An example, the first verse I turn to...John 19:25. I will type it like it’s written in the Bible.
“There were standing at the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas…” Wife is not the most important word in that sentence! In Greek it says “Mary the of Clopas” – a woman’s name, followed by a possessive and a man’s name, makes total sense in Greek. Mary is Clopas’ wife, duh. Not so much in English. “Wife” is added to make the sentence make sense in English. The fact that Bible translators take the time to point out which words aren’t in the original text should give you some indication of how seriously Bible translators take their jobs.
4. Asterisks
New Testament writers, especially the gospel writers, and especially Mark, write about the past in the present tense. This: “*” next to a verb tells you that originally it was in the present tense, but has been translated into past tense. An example: Mark 6:1. In Greek it says “He comes into His home town, and His disciples follow Him.” In English, both of those verbs are past tense, and they both have an asterisk.
Why would Mark and others use the present tense? To put the reader right in the middle of the story. We don’t hear this very often, but imagine someone from New Jersey telling you a story: “So my friend Frankie he comes to in the door and he says…” They used the present tense to talk about the past, as if it were happening right now, to heighten the drama of the story. Mark does the same thing, especially when Jesus is doing or saying something important.
These are just a few of the very useful insights you will find in the least read section of your Bible! And it will stay the least read until you read it. No preacher will ever say: “Please turn to the text for this Sunday, the preface.”
It’s technical. But when you are reading something that requires technique – like say, reading the word of God in a language other than the one it was written in, I think it’s useful to know the technical information!
May your reading of the Bible be fruitful, and multiply!
