I have recently read the following (it was one of the books I got for myself for my recent birthday):
Teachings of Russell M. Nelson (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2018)
While pursuing it, one was impressed by how Nelson would often appeal to the original language texts of Scripture, largely the Greek of the New Testament, including the following three examples:
On Angels:
The word angel is very meaningful. It comes to us from the Greek language. The Greek word ΑΓΓΕΛΟΣ means “messenger.” This same noun is centered in the Greek word for gospel, which is ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΟΝ. Its literal meaning is “good message” or “good news,” with an implication of a heavenly or angelic source. ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΟΝ is the very first word in the Greek New Testament (“Gospel according to Matthew”) . . . . The King James translators used five words [in Luke 2:10-11], “I bring you good tidings,” to express in English the meaning of a single word in the Greek text. That one Greek word is ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΖΟ, which literally means, “I announce good news.” That good news is the gospel. That good news is Jesus Christ” He has come into the world. Notice in the center of the word ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΖΟ is the root, ΑΓΓΕΛ, from the word ΑΓΓΕΛΟΣ, for heavenly messenger, or angel. (“Heavenly Messengers,” Wasatch and Utah County Conference Broadcast to 153 Stakes, September 14, 2014) (pp. 14, 15)
The Hebrew background of the Book of Mormon
Because the Book of Mormon is a translation of a modified Hebrew language, it contains many Hebraisms. We might list a few examples because they are so unlike the language that would have been familiar to a young man in rural New York at that time:
· Nouns followed by descriptive phrases—such as “altar of stones,” “plates of brass,” “mist of darkness.”
· Prepositional phrases used instead of adverbs—such as “with harshness,” “with oy,” “with gladness,” “in diligence.”
· Cognate accusative constructions—“dreamed a dream,” “cursed with sore cursing,” “work all manner of fine work.”
· Hebrew words with double meaning—such as Nahum, meaning “mourning,” and Jershon, meaning “inheritance.” Events involving those specific actions took place at locations bearing those meaningful terms.
· Chiasms. This term is derived from the Greek letter Chi (for the English x), which describes text written in an inverted parallel structure. Many chiasms exist in the Book of Mormon as well as in the Bible, I am told that emphasis in these ancient languages was not provided by punctuation. Therefore, other devices, such as chiasm, were used occasionally to stress important thoughts. (“A Treasured Testament,” Ensign, July 1993) (pp. 39-40)
On “Perfect” in Matthew 5:48
Recently I studied the English and Greek editions of the New Testament, concentrating on each use of the term perfect and its derivatives. Studying both languages together provided some interesting insights, since Greek was the original language of the New Testament.
In Matthew 5:48, the term perfect was translated from the Greek teleios, which means “complete.” Teleios is an adjective derived from the noun telos, which means “end.” The infinitive form of the verb is teleiono, which means “to reach a distant end, to be fully developed, to consummate, or to finish.” Please note that the word does not imply “freedom from error”; it implies “achieving a distant objective.” In fact, when writers of the Greek New Testament wished to describe perfection of behaviour—precision or excellence of human effort—they did not employ a form of teleios; instead, they chose different words.
Teleios is not a total stranger to us. From it comes the prefix tele—that we use every day. Telephone literally means “distant talk.” Television means “to see distantly.” Telephoto means “distant light,” and so on.
With that background in mind, let us consider another highly significant statement made by the Lord. Just prior to His Crucifixion, He said that on “the third day I shall be perfected” (Luke 13:32; emphasis added). Think of that! The sinless, errorless Lord—already perfect by our mortal standards—proclaimed His own state of perfection yet to be in the future. His eternal perfection would follow His Resurrection and receipt of “all power . . . . in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18). (“Perfection Pending,” Ensign, November 1995) (pp. 250-51)
