Grammatical Criticism | what do you mean by that?

As an English teacher, one of my greatest joys is the subtle nuance that vocabulary choice and punctuation can give daily communication. From the famous misplaced comma (“eats, shoots & leaves”) to the mistakes my students make (“Does your phone enlighten when it rings?”), grammar affects the meaning of communication.

Ancient scribes also made grammar mistakes, some things don’t translate well, and some stuff is hard to explain no matter what language you are dealing with. When I was exegeting Romans 5, I came across the following translations of verse 2:

(DRB) By whom also we have access through faith into this grace wherein we stand: and glory in the hope of the glory of the sons of God.

(GNB) He has brought us by faith into this experience of God’s grace, in which we now live. And so we boast of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory!

(KJV) By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein, we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

(LITV) through whom also we have had access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we glory on the hope of the glory of God.

(MKJV) Through Him we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice on the hope of the glory of God.

(MSG) And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand – out in the wide open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.

Sorry, what do we get through him? And what does ‘through him’ mean? ‘him’ or ‘Him’? How about explaining some technical terms: faith, grace, glory? How else are they used in the Bible? How about other contemporary texts? Are there other words that mean the same thing? Grammatical criticism can suggest some answers to questions like these.

Applying this technique, even to straightforward passages, can sometimes divulge new insight or help to clarify meaning. As we examine how individual words and phrases help to convey meaning we can get some insight into the mind of the original author. (Hayes and Holladay, 59)

Try looking up ‘expect’ at www.dictionary.com. This word, along with most, has a variety of meanings and nuances. When reading the Bible, it’s important to be aware of special meanings whilst remembering that most of the authors were no more aware of the etymology of their words than we are: it is wrong to think that any word carries every nuance it possibly can. They can only mean what is suggested by their context.