King's Business - 1917-02

122

THE KING’S BUSINESS

instance does it refer to salvation from physical infirmity. The writer of the article builds his argument upon the usage of another Greek word with which the word he renders “healing” has not a direct but a remote etymological connection. Further still, we shall show directly that he is entirely wrong even in regard to the usage of this word with which the word rendered “healing” has a remote connection. The word of which he attempts to give the usage is not the word from which the word properly rendered “salvation” in both Authorized and Revised Versions, and which he renders “healing” is immediately derived. The word is derived not from the word translated “saved,” but from a Word frequently used in the New Testament, which is translated “Saviour” wherever it appears in the New Testament. This word is never, rendered “healer" and never should bd. This word from which the word is derived is used by our Lord Jesus twenty-four times in the New Testament, and in not one single instance as His being our Saviour from physical infirmity, but of His being a Saviour to give repentance and forgiveness of sins (see e.g., Acts 5:31). The writer of the article’ builds his whole argument on the usage of the Greek word “sozo,” with which the word rendered “healing” (soteria) has, as stated, a remote connection. This word “sozo” means to “save,” or “rescue,” or “deliver.” It is used of salvation or deliv­ erance from all kinds of evil, and of course is used in some instances of deliverance from sickness, and such deliverance would, be healing, but the word itself does not mean to heal, but to save from whatever a person is saved from. The word should never be translated “heal," or even “make whole,” for that is not what the word means. It is true that one of the parts of this word “sozo” in the context in which Aots 4:12 is found, that is to say, in Acts 4 :9, is translated “made whole,” but this is an inexact translation, it substitutes what is implied for what is said. It should be translated “saved.” The word “whole” is

found in the tenth verse, but there it is a translation of an entirely different and entirely unrelated Greek word, a word which means physical wholeness, and has no etymological connection whatever with the word “sozo.” The writer of thé article contends that these two remotely connected words, that used in Acts 4 :9 and that used in Acts 4:12 ( “sozo” and “soteria”) should be translated consistently, and therefore that “salvation” should, be rendered “heal­ ing” consistently with the translation “made whole” in v. 9. But any one wljo is at all acquainted with the study of language knows that oftentimes words which are more or less remotely, connected with one another get an entirely different meaning from one another and therefore must be translated in diverse ways. However, even were his contention absolutely correct that these two words should be translated con­ sistently with one another, the consistent translation should not turn a correct trans­ lation into a wrong one in order to make it consistent with the other wrong translation. The consistency would come in changing the-translation in v. 9 to the true meaning of the word, i.e., changing “made whole” ,into “saved.” This very thing is done by some of the most careful translators. The writer goes at some length into the usage of the word “sozo.” He says that “use is the only law that governs language.” He is (entirely correct in saying that, usage is the law that governs language ; f here we thoroughly agree with him, and that is one reason why we disagree with his transla­ tion of the present passage. In order to show that “ sqzo ” means “heal” he gives five passages in which this word, or some part of this word is used, in order to show what the usagé of the word is. Rut the word “sozo” or some part of the word “sozo” is used in the New Testament 107 times, .and to give only five instances of the one hundred and seven to determine the usage is, of course, absurd. In these 107 times in whjch the word, or some part of the word, is used, it is used of saving people from various and widely different

Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs