What we say and how we say it...
Jasmine Creese
Language keeps springing surprises on us. Although I know a fair bit about languages, I was still surprised to learn recently that Greek consists not simply of ancient and modern. There is a range and a hierarchy of ancient Greeks, with distinct differences between the Greek of the marketplace (Koine) the Greek used by poets such as Homer (Epic), and that used by thinkers such as Socrates (Attic).
Unsurprising, though, is that God uses Koine Greek – Koine literally means “common” – as the main language of the New Testament and not the Greek of the thinkers or the poets, of the highborn or the highly educated. God’s promise to Abraham is that all peoples will be blessed through Him (Gen.12v3). All peoples. In giving His Word to everyone, God reinforces the dignity of humankind that bears His image, overturning the human constructs of hierarchy, and demonstrating that no one is outside of his love and grace.