Articles
Can You Hear Me Now?
In reporting Jesus’ appearance to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, Acts 9:7 says that the men who were with Saul heard a voice but saw no one. But Acts 22:9 says that they did not hear the voice. How can both statements be true?
Both of these passages use the same Greek verb, akouō. It means “to hear,” but it was also used in the sense of “to listen” or “to understand, comprehend.” Greek scholar W. F. Arndt explains that the construction of the verb is different in the two passages. In Acts 9:7 it is used in the genitive case, which “simply expresses that something is being heard or that certain sounds reach the ear; nothing is indicated as to whether a person understands what he hears or not.” But in Acts 22:9 the verb is used in the accusative case, which “describes a hearing which includes mental apprehension of the message spoken” (Does the Bible Contradict Itself? 13-14).
In other words, the men with Saul heard the sound of the voice (Acts 9:7), but it was unintelligible to them; they did not understand it (Acts 22:9). This is why several Bible translations read “understand” instead of “hear” in Acts 22:9.
By the way, you don’t have to appeal to Greek scholars in order to reconcile these two passages. After all, we use “hear” in different ways, too. How often do you say, “I can’t hear you,” when what you mean is that you can hear the sound of the person’s voice but can’t understand what is being said?
This highlights a common pitfall in Bible study: the failure to recognize that a word may be used in different ways. In most communication we take this into account with hardly a thought. We understand that the word run, for instance, has dozens of definitions. If someone says he went out for his morning run, then built a run for his dog, then made a run to the grocery store, then filed papers to run for office, we realize that he is using the word in a different sense in each case. The context tells us how it is being used.
We should not forget this when we read the Bible. A word that means one thing in one context may have a different meaning—maybe very different—in another. Studying the definitions of the Hebrew or Greek words in the original text can be helpful in this regard. But even here, be careful: don’t just look at a simplistic definition or even a word’s etymology (the root words from which it was derived) and conclude that the word has one and only one “real” meaning, and that it must have precisely that meaning in every occurrence. As we’ve seen, that’s often not the case. The ancient Hebrews and Greeks, just like us, might employ the same term in several different senses. Always pay careful attention to the ways in which a word was used.
Consider a few Bible words that may denote different things in different contexts:
■ Judge. The word can mean to harshly condemn. But it can also mean to evaluate or discern. It’s in the former sense that Jesus says, “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). It’s in the latter sense that he says, “Judge with righteous judgment” (John 7:24).
■ Tradition. Sometimes this word is used of man-made traditions. But other times it is used of divinely revealed practices that the apostles taught Christians to observe. That’s why we see Jesus rebuking the Pharisees for teaching traditions (Matthew 15:3-6), but we see Paul praising the Corinthians for keeping traditions (1 Corinthians 11:2). The former were man-made, the latter were God-given.
■ Evil. The word usually means that which is wicked, ungodly, sinful. But it can also mean distress, adversity, or calamity. And so Jeremiah declared that because of the evil (wickedness) of Israel and Judah, God had pronounced evil (calamity) against them (Jeremiah 11:17).
■ Fear. It can mean terror or dread: “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear” (Psalm 118:6). But it can also take on the sense of reverence or respect: “Let those who fear the Lord now say, ‘His mercy endures forever’” (Psalm 118:4).
When two passages seem to conflict with each other, it may be that they are using the same word in different senses. Remember that a word may have many shades of meaning. Pay attention to the context. Note how the word is used in other passages. And compare various Bible versions; a different translation may clarify exactly how a word is being used in a particular passage. Read carefully.
