Stuff the Bible Just Made Up

Every now and then, the writers of the New Testament simply made words up.

Not often – but enough to make things interesting.

You see, as steady and stable as the language you speak feels, it’s really in a constant state of change.  If, for instance, you were to time-travel back to 1960 to tell your grandparents your employer “downsized” you, they might guess you’re on some new workplace diet; someone made that word up well after their time.  Jump to the 1980s and you’d get blinked at for calling anything “bodacious.”  And before the 2010s, you couldn’t be “ghosted” for being seen “vaping” in your “selfies.”

Language evolves.  A’ight?

 

NOT ONE MORE WORD, YOU!

This month we’re talking about hapax legomena (which in its singular form is hapax legomenon).   That term’s an eyeful – is it a new villain in the Transformer movies?  The latest strain of coronavirus?  Something RFK recommends as part of your diet?

Nothing so fanciful.  Hapax legomena are what Bible scholars call any words that occur only once in the biblical text.  That’s what those two ancient Greek words mean – hapax legomena, “once spoken.”  A handful of those Bible words are so distinct, you can’t find them anywhere else in the ancient Greek literature we currently know of.  They appear to have been coined by the writers themselves.

Weird.  Why would writers of the Bible – writers of truth, we Christians insist – use what sound like “made-up” words, terms they’ve just invented?

And that’s the very question that makes trained linguists like me all tingly.  Why, indeed?

 

HEY, HERE’S A THOUGHT …

Sometimes it’s obvious why someone has to create a new word.  For example, if I invent a communication device that interconnects everyone into a network of data sharing, I may spin a whole new term around it, at first calling it an interconnected network and then simplifying that to internet.  On the other hand, I might have an idea everyone already understands, but I want to freshen it up with a new term so that you think about it more deeply, as Robert A. Heinlein did with his new word “grok” in the novel Stranger in a Strange Land.

The first example is a blended term, a compound, and it’s the type you’ll see most often in the writings of Paul and in the book of Hebrews.  The second example, called a “neologism,” gives Bible translators the most trouble.  They have to figure out what that invented word means based on all the other words around it, and deriving meaning from context isn’t always the most reliable way to translate a word.

 

A QUICK PRE-QUIZ:

Which part of the Lord’s Prayer do you guess is from a hapax legomenon, a word invented by Jesus?  (Stay tuned!)

 

Consider: When Christianity is reaching into a pagan world to give it entirely new ideas, there will be times when the words you've got handy simply won’t suffice.  Paul says as much when he refers to God’s grace as “his inexpressible gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15).  You’ll simply have to create your own word so that readers and listeners can grok the new thoughts more deeply.

 

I’LL  TAKE MINE RARE, PLEASE

Let’s take a close look at five New Testament hapax legomena that are either new compounds, extremely rare terms, or pure neologisms.  Some were invented on the spot by the speakers or writers.  Others existed in earlier Greek writings but are used just once in Scripture, almost like a power-punch to drive a message home.

 

Hapax #1, “ektromati” – aborted fetus, miscarriage

In 1 Corinthians 15:8, Paul calls himself an ektromati, a word that occurs nowhere else in the New Testament.  We know what the word means, though, because plenty of other Greek writers had used the term before he did.  Paul is calling himself an “aborted fetus.”

You don’t remember reading that one?  That’s probably because your translation of the Scriptures tiptoes around it, having Paul call himself “one born out of time” or “born in an untimely manner.”  As far as I can tell, only the GOD’S WORD® Translation uses the literal “aborted fetus” translation in English.  It was a medical term, and it seems Paul made a deliberate choice to use it for its shock value.

Context: In this passage, Paul is speaking about the callings of the apostles.  He’s humbly putting himself last on the list, but rather than emphasizing the timing of his coming to Christ (“I came late to the party!”), he’s actually humbling himself more than most Bible translations make clear.  “Those other guys hung out with Jesus in his lifetime,” Paul seems to be saying.  “Me?  I was just a late-term abortion in this apostolic birthing process.”

Paul, I suspect, meant for people to go, “Whoa!”  It’s the New Testament’s only use of Greek’s medical term for an abortion or miscarriage.  Even Paul’s traveling pal Dr. Luke probably sat up and took notice.

 

Hapax #2,  “theostyges” – God-hater or hated by God

In his powerful opening chapter in Romans, Paul calls to task those who have ignored the Creator to instead worship created idols, despite knowing God is real.  Paul describes those people with a brand-new word: theostyges, which can mean either “God haters” or “those hated by God” (Romans 1:30).  The grammar of the invented word is ambiguous, so it could mean either that they hate God or God hates them.  English translations seem to opt universally for the first version, even though all Greek translators are aware that it could mean either.

Given two translation options, I’m the sort of person who goes looking for a third.  My guess – and this is just my opinion here – is that Paul meant both.  After all, he invented the word by putting two other Greek words together, God (theos) and hate (styges).  Why do it that way if you don’t want your new term to carry fuller meaning?  These God-rejecting idolaters certainly hated God, and God could very well have hated them back since, as the passage makes clear, God had given them every bit of evidence they needed to believe in and worship their Creator.

Those young in the faith may be startled at the idea of God “hating” anyone.  However, most seasoned readers of the Scriptures understand that the God of love can also hate (mouse over these verses to take a look: Psalm 5:5, Psalm 11:5, Malachi 1:2-3, Proverbs 6:16-19).  What might startle the more seasoned readers of this passage is that all of Paul’s anger and argument in this passage is aimed at them, at all believers.  At me.  The very next thing Paul writes about those sinners (cut off, regrettably, by the chapter breaks later editors imposed on the Bible) is this:

Therefore, you have no excuse, O man,

every one of you who judges.

For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself,

because you, the judge, practice the very same things.

(Romans 2:1)

That follow-up hasn’t been appreciated by enough of us.  We’re slow to realize we’ve been lumped in with the God haters / those hated by God … we who need to continue our walk along the Romans Road to embrace the fullness of salvation found in God's love.

 

STOP TEASING US … THE LORD’S PRAYER NEXT!

Okay, okay, you’ve been very patient.  Here’s the answer to your pre-quiz.

Hapax #3,  “epiousios” – For existence or for tomorrow

The word epiousios occurs two times in the New Testament, but since it’s quoting Jesus twice in the same situation reported by different gospels (Matthew 6:11 and Luke 11:3), it’s often treated as a hapax in terms of unique usage.  It appears that Jesus made this word up for the Lord’s Prayer, using it as a description of the bread believers are requesting from God.  This is the most famous and most discussed of the hapax legomena.  Traditionally, it’s translated as “daily” for “daily bread.”  But as we’ve seen, there’s often more to the story when we’re translating any of the hapax legomena.

The trouble with translating epiousios – besides the fact that it occurs nowhere in Greek writings before we see Jesus use it – is that it could have either of two different origins:

• It could come from a combination of the Greek words epi (meaning “for”) and ousia (meaning “existence”).  That would make the meaning, “Give us what bread we need for existing, to survive!”  Considering Jesus’ “bread of life” messaging elsewhere in the gospels, a translation like that is more than acceptable.  It fits Christ’s macro-messaging.
• Alternatively, Jesus could have crafted it from the similarly spelled Greek word epiousa, meaning “upcoming” and tied to the idea of an upcoming day – tomorrow, in fact.  So, “give us today the bread we need for tomorrow.”

The first meaning above could be viewed as asking God for what is needed, and only what is needed, to survive for today.  The second communicates a sense of getting (before it’s needed) the bread we’ll be eating tomorrow, thereby granting us peace of mind in advance.  My trick back in the examples of Paul – embracing both translations to get a fuller, broader-reaching meaning of a hapax legomenon – can’t work here.  At a basic level, the two possible translations conflict with each other.  One asks, “give me enough to get by.”  The other asks, “Give me more now, so I won’t have to fret about tomorrow.”  And our current, traditional translation of “daily bread” fails to capture either of those concepts.  It sidesteps the conflict.

There’s no consensus on this issue, and it’s been discussed by translators and scholars.  A lot.  Currently, I prefer the first interpretation.  I lean that way exclusively on linguistic principles.  Arguing for the second reading, that epiousios (Jesus’ hapax) is close in spelling to epiousa (“upcoming”) doesn’t convince me.  Let me show you why in English: The words “batter,” “better,” “bitter,” and “butter” are all one letter off from one another, nearly identical words in spelling.  But they have no commonality beyond that.  It’s a coincidence of orthography, not a connection in meaning, that makes the words even worth mentioning together.  I have the same reaction to two similarly spelled Greek words.  I’d need more proof.

For now, I’m happy to associate the word with the ideas embedded in Proverbs 30:8-9, where the writer asks the Lord for neither poverty nor riches, and asks for just enough food to get by so that he doesn’t become gluttonous and forget the Lord.  It’s a great passage.  Mouse over the link above to enjoy it in full.

 

A SECOND QUIZ: Which book of the New Testament would you guess has the most hapax legomena?  (Stay tuned!)

 

WHOA, THAT WAS LONG!

Yes, that last hapax is the most famous, so I had to give it more word count.  I promise that the final two are shorter.

 

Hapax #4,  “theopneustos” – God-breathed

As I mentioned earlier, theos is Greek for God.  You see that in words like theology (the study of God) and theocracy (a nation run by the religion of a god).  Pneustos relates to breathing, reflected in our medical terms apnea and pneumonia.  Theopneustos, a compound term very likely invented by Paul, is a hapax used in 2 Timothy 3:16, that famous passage about how all Scripture is God-breathed, inspired by God.

In case you wonder how “God-breathed” becomes “inspiration,” note that the word inspiration already has “breathing” built into it.  "Respiration."  "Aspiration."  "Perspiration" (sweat “breathing through” your skin.)  So, the breathing is already in there, both in the Greek word and the English word.

You probably already knew that.  Less well known, though, is the Greek word’s tie to the Spirit.  The Greek pneuma is a word meaning both “breath” and “spirit” (it means “wind,” as well) and Paul uses its verb form pneustos to build his new word: God-spired, if you will, breathed out from God and into the text.  Looking at it this closely makes it more of a reality that a whole Holy Spirit injection is going into the words of the Bible.  God exhaled into it to give it a Creator’s very life, just as Adam got life from that same Creator’s breath.  (You can see a similar connection between breath and spirit in English, too – “inspired by the Spirit” is actually a repetitive phrase.) 

 

Hapax #5,  “polypoikilos” – Many-colored

This last hapax (the last I’ll cover; Scripture has many more) is the one I find most beautiful.

Like our first example, it’s not what biblical scholars might call a “pure” hapax, since Paul didn’t make the word up.  It’s only in Scripture once, despite appearing regularly in earlier ancient literature.  In Ephesians 3, Paul delivers that word, polypoikilos, in a beautiful discourse on how all the spiritual powers of the universe will learn of God’s wisdom from the church on Earth.

I adore this passage, so indulge me as I quote it in full:

To me, though I am the least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the polypoikilos wisdom of God might be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 3:8-10)

The riches … unsearchable.  The mystery … hidden.  The wisdom … polypoikilos. This is Paul at his most poetic, and his one-time use of this term reaches deeply into a Greek literary tradition.

On its face, the word simply means “multi-colored.”  But a Greek reader sees more.  Paul’s early readers knew that the poet Euripides used polypoikilos to describe strikingly dazzling garments and breathtaking, ornate objects.  They knew that Plutarch, the philosopher, used it as a way to describe profound, subtle, multilayered reasoning.  They knew that the comedy writer Aristophanes wielded it to overemphasize rich, dramatic scenery that went over the top.

It’s impossible for an English translation to capture all the nuance a Greek reader could have picked up from that single word.  To begin to do it justice, we’d have to say something like:

“God’s richly colored, multi-layered, intricately patterned and sublimely subtle wisdom …”

I kind of wish at least one Bible translation had tried that. 😊

 

AND HERE’S THE ANSWER TO QUIZ #2: Of all the New Testament books, Hebrews has the most hapax legomena. The author has a more elegant and more educationally advanced level of Greek than any other New Testament writer, thus allowing him to draw on a far wider vocabulary.  Roughly 15% of the words he uses occur nowhere else in the New Testament.

 

EVERY WORD.  EVERY WORD.

Whether the bread we pray for is daily, for survival, or saved up for tomorrow, we know that we don’t live by bread alone.  We live by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).

Obviously, we can’t do these kinds of deep dives for every powerful word in our Bible translations.  We don’t have the time or the lifespan for that kind of study.

But when we immerse ourselves in the Scriptures, we can do it sometimes.  A word might jump out at you.  You might wonder about it and ponder its surface meaning as well as its deeper ideas.  Words have meanings, yes, and English translations give us all we need for our salvation.  But when you dig deeper, there’s a lot more gold below the surface.  Not different, secret meanings, mind you; fuller meanings.

How can you do that digging for yourself?  Glad you asked!  Since you live in the digital age, you’re luckier than earlier eras of Christians.  Here’s a step-by-step guide for you to get started, including links to tools and a few suggestions from me.

DEEPER into the WORDS of the WORD

STEP 1: A New Testament verse jumps out at you.  Let’s say it’s that 1 Corinthians 15:8 one about Paul being an apostle by “untimely birth.”

STEP 2: Go to Google and type in “1 Corinthians 15:8 interlinear.”  You’ll want that “interlinear” word.  Memorize it.  It will get you to the Greek.

STEP 3: From the search returns, select Bible Hub.  It will be in your top several choices, most likely.

STEP 4: Find your Greek word in the verse!  You’ll see it spelled out in the Latin alphabet (that’s what English uses) above the Greek rendering.  Ektromati is a Latinized spelling of the Greek word you’ve found in this example.

STEP 5: Go back to Google and ask, “What do bible scholars say about the Greek word ektromati?”  Exactly like that.  Read Google’s AI overview.  Click on the side articles offered.  That’s how I first found that ektromati was a medical term for “abortion” and “miscarriage,” discussed in detail earlier.  You can do what I did.  Whatever word is intriguing you, you’re likely to uncover similar treasures.

STEP 6: Ponder prayerfully.  You’re now digging for gold, learning more than the simple translation can tell you.  Not different truths; deeper truth.  You don’t have to be a scholar of ancient languages to do this.  The scholars out there are happy to tell you what they’ve uncovered.

 

We, as believers, really do want to live by every word from the mouth of God.  And every Bible word has more to it than its spelling, its dictionary definition, and its translation when you look it up in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.

I have one hope for this blog post: That it has interested you enough to get you to start digging on your own.

You have the Bible.  You have the tools.  You have the Internet.

So, now you can get out there and start finding the fuller wonders of our gospel and of this beautiful, Spirit-inspired text.

A’ight?

Maran Tha,

Cosmic Parx / YoYo Rez