Word accuracy can be critical

        Words have been my hobby most of my life. The right word or the wrong word, the right punctuation or otherwise, can change a statement from serious to silly, from accurate to absolutely wild. For instance, many years ago, when snow mobiles were first becoming popular, the Port Arthur newspaper posted an article for sale, identified as a “sno-traveller”. Unfortunately, the hyphen was put after the “t”. Say that out loud! Then, a few years ago, the Toronto Star published a resumé guidance article in which “misspelled” was misspelled. Just this summer, a man passed away, and the Burlington Post obituary advised us that no memorial service was held and his remains were “creamated”. We wonder if he was “liquidated”. Is this something that happens in hot water? A hyphen, an “s” and an “a” make all the difference.

        Even printings of the Bible have not been without their problems. In 1631, the so-called “Wicked Bible”, a copy of the King James Version, had one of the commandments reading “Thou shalt commit adultery”! And a silly problem came up in 1950, when some unknowledgeable and unauthorized typesetter changed “skink” to “skunk” in an Episcopal version of Leviticus 11:30.

        But enough of the humour. Let’s get on to Scripture, where an unexpected re-direction of grammar, or just a change of one letter can make a powerful theological point. The earliest example is Genesis 1:1, where, in the beginning, “God created”. As many have pointed out, the word for God is plural, “Elohim”, but it has been given a singular verb. This is a strong intimation that the Godhead is multiple persons (in fact, Three) acting in utter unity, as One, the Trinity.

        Later on, Moses asks about God, “What is his name?” God’s reply is basically, “I AM”, a singular statement, whose grammar implies eternal existence and one who is eternally present. (Exod.3:13-15.) On the same occasion, God identifies Himself as “The LORD” or Yahweh, or Jehovah, which will be His name forever. This reference is key when Jesus identifies Himself to the Jews (who think He is under 50 years old) by the words, “Before Abraham was I AM.” (John 8:58.)

        Another occasion when Jesus made a strong point based on the tense of a verb is Mark 12:26-27. Speaking to the Sadducees (“who say there is no resurrection”) He quotes, “ ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken.” Not “I was.” The present tense is critical.

        Finally, some critical spelling. Paul confirms a prophecy about the Messiah, (Gal.3:16) based on one letter (at least in English). “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Christ.”

        We have just barely touched on great depths of theology in these few paragraphs. Let’s be encouraged to read our Bibles very carefully and delight in the accuracy God has built into His written Word.