How To Read the Old Testament - Part 3 - Michael Brown

January 22nd, 2026
by Michael Brown

Translating the Bible into English is a difficult task. There is a reason why there are so many different translations. One reason is that the ancient languages of the Bible—Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic—operate quite differently from English. Often, there isn’t a direct English equivalent for a word from these languages.

Additionally, the way sentences are structured varies across languages, requiring translators to use multiple words or rephrase sentences to convey the intended meaning accurately.

"Translators often have to make a choice between reliability and readability, accuracy or understandability."

Translators often have to make a choice between reliability and readability, accuracy or understandability. We might think it as simple as going word by word and translating each word as closely as possible, but in practice this renders the text unintelligible.

For example, here is Genesis 1:1 translated this way: ‘Earth the and heavens the God to create beginning in.’

Not very catchy, is it? So, there is always some rephrasing and reshaping necessary in any translation.

There is also the difficulty that words carry different connotations in different languages and also at different times and so even a like for like translation of a word can portray the wrong meaning if we are not careful.

The truth is languages change over time, just think of how English has changed over the last 50-100 years. If I were to say to someone in the 1920’s that they looked ‘cool’ then they would think I was saying that they looked cold, whereas today they would think I was saying they looked good.

"With the Bible we are talking about changes in meaning and understanding across several languages and across roughly 3000 years!"

That’s a translation difficulty just within one language and just within 100 years. With the Bible we are talking about changes in meaning and understanding across several languages and across roughly 3000 years!

So, we have to be on guard about the mental assumptions and understandings we bring with our words as we read.

Let’s take one Hebrew word as a case study. Often when you read the word God in your Bible it will be the Hebrew word elohim. However sometimes this can cause difficulties because the word elohim carries some connotations and meanings that are not the same as the connotations and meanings that we associate with the English word God.

What do I mean by that? Well, I am guessing that when you hear or read the word God you understand it to mean something like ‘All powerful, omniscient, omnipresent, eternal, creator being’ and, importantly, as a Christian you know that we believe that there is only one of these beings, we are monotheists.

But then we come to passages such a Psalm 82:1 which reads, ‘God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment’.

Which seems to raise a problem. Is this passage saying that Yahweh is just one of many gods? Both God and gods in this passage are the same Hebrew word, elohim, and so this would appear to be the correct translation.

Here is another example. In 1 Samuel 28 we have the rather peculiar story of Saul visiting a medium so that he can get the advice of Samuel, who has died. In verse 13 the medium sees the spirit of Samuel and says, ‘I see a god coming up out of the ground’.

"Whilst very often god is the best and closest translation for elohim, the word elohim has a broader and wider meaning than the English understanding of the word God."

What is going on here? Is it saying that Samuel has become a god? Is the medium mistaken? Well, no. The answer is that, whilst very often god is the best and closest translation for elohim, the word elohim has a broader and wider meaning than the English understanding of the word God.

The word elohim is a category title to refer to any being that dwells in the spiritual realm, a word for spiritual beings. So, in psalm 82 the author uses elohim to denote the angels, cherubim, seraphim and other spiritual beings that make up the heavenly court, and in 1 Samuel 28 the author is using elohim to denote the spirit of a dead man.

So elohim can refer to a wide variety of spiritual beings and sometimes the elohim being referred to is Yahweh. The Bible still goes to great lengths to emphasise that Yahweh is above and beyond the other elohim though and this is why you get passages that call him ‘the Elohim of Elohim’ (Deuteronomy 10:17). The Bible is clear that whilst there are many elohim there is only one creator.

"The way around this is to make sure that you are educating yourself as much as possible."

So, you can see that translation is a complex a tricky business and can easily lead to misunderstandings. The way around this is to make sure that you are educating yourself as much as possible.

Make use of commentaries. I’m sure your leaders can help recommend some but a good place to start would be with the ‘Bible Speaks Today’ commentary series.

Or you could get yourself a study bible. This is a bible with study notes at the bottom of the page for each verse. The ESV Study Bible is what I use.

"One of the benefits of living in the online age is that we can have access to all of these translations on the internet"

Another key solution is to make sure that you are studying from a range of different translations, rather than just one. This will help you to capture the full range of meaning for each passage. One of the benefits of living in the online age is that we can have access to all of these translations on the internet, rather than having to buy lots of different physical Bibles.

Here is a website that I find really useful as you can compare translations next to each other and find definitions and cross references for the original Hebrew and Greek.

If you make use of some or all of these tips, hopefully it will help you glimpse a little bit of the depths of meaning that can be found in this amazing book.

Read the other blogs in this series here:

How To Read the Old Testament - Part 3 - Michael Brown

January 22nd, 2026

How to Read the Old Testament - Part 2 - Michael Brown

January 15th, 2026

How to Read the Old Testament - Part 1 - Michael Brown

January 9th, 2026

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Posted in Bible, Old Testament, Michael Brown