Customer Reviews

Hebrew Thought Compared with Greek

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First, I would like to state that I have yet to read every last page of this book. Much of the material is condensed, and therefore, it's taking sometime for me to go through all the details and form my opinions. However, I would like to say that I have read most of this book, and so far everything that I have read is definately thought provoking, and insightful.

It has been well established by people like Max Muller that there is a petrified philosophy within language. Each people or nation has their own unique social psyche, and this will be reflected in the language(s) of their culture. The ancient Hebrews who wrote the Old Testament were no exception to this.

Bowman attempts in this book to analyze the Hebrew psyche, and understand how the ancient Hebrews understood both time, as well as action, and how they relates to one another. He quotes from numerous scholars in the field of Biblical Hebrew, and quotes numerous examples from the Old Testament to prove his points. He also attemps to explain and demonstrate how the Hebraic mindset is completely different from our own modern-western mindset.

One of the greatest examples in his book is his analysis of time. He demonstrates that the Greeks and other European peoples view time as being something linear, where as the Hebrews appeared to view time as being cyclical. His explanation on the time concept is VERY in-depth, and thought provoking. It will provide much insight for anyone who is willing to take the time to go through the material on the subject.

Im my honest opinion, I do not see how anyone can consider theirself to be an educated student of God's word, and more specifically an educated student of Biblical languages, and not understand the concepts and material presented in this book. I highly recommend it.

PS. I noted that someone stated in another review that Bowman calls Greek thought "static" and Hebraic thought "dynamic", and that this viewpoint is simplistic in the extreme. I would like to state that Bowman does state this at the very beginning of the first chapter, but goes in-depth to prove his points through out the rest of the book. Furthermore, Bowman also stipulated that Greek though only appears to be static, harmonious, and prudent in comparison to Hebrew though, which by comparison appears to be dynamic, vigorous, passionate and explosive in kind. Furthermore, Bowman stated that he regreted using the terms "dynamic" and "static" to label Hebrew and Greek thought since these are terms commonly used in the real of physics and mechanics, but he stated he used them because of how well their meanings are engrained into our psyche and langauge. Therefore, Bowman was not trying to label Greek thought with an insultive label, but rather only explaning things from a comparitive stand point, and if you read the book you will realize that Bowman does not attempt to insult the Greek psyche, but rather feels that the Greek/European mindset forms a complementary unity with Hebraic thought.

Originally published more than 50 years ago, Boman's analysis remains one of the most insightful and deepest. It is mandatory reading for anyone who wishes to really understand the biblical text behind contemporary translations. Most Christians have no idea just how radically different the Hebrew worldview is when compared to our Greek-based culture, and therefore they do not appreciate the Jewishness of Jesus nor the Hebraic perspective of the prophets. Boman's work is a major step toward correcting that ignorance.

Skip Moen, D. Phil. (Oxford)
Academic Dean
Master's International Divinity School

The author does an outstanding job of bringing to light many common misperceptions that can arise when interpreting the work of one culture from the framework of another. His insights are very applicable and add significant depth and understanding to ancient Hebrew literature. This is an essential book for anyone seeking to understand the context and meaning of ancient Hebrew works.

I am amazed that so many think that James Barr's "The Semantics of Biblical Language" somehow invalidates the ideas in Boman's book. Barr repeatedly makes it clear that he has nothing to say about whether Boman's conclusions are right or wrong.

Barr is certainly very critical of Boman's use of linguistics, but even there he concedes that Boman's "programme does not arise from linguistic description at all" (page 279). Barr is critical of Bowman for reading into the meaning of words ideas derived from elsewhere. I believe that if there is some hint of support in the word, then it is legitimate to use it in making a case. Barr seems to disagree with this view. In discussing particular cases from Boman and others, he takes a hard line on any departure from the basic meaning of the word. However, toward the end of his book, while not backtracking on his basic thrust, he declares that he does not want to exaggerate the extent of unsound use of linguistic evidence and admits that he may have gone too far. This is a wise qualification. While his criticism may sometimes hit the mark, it does not pay to be too dogmatic with such an inexact science.

Therefore, in no sense has Barr "completely demolished" Boman's study. For he denies any attempt to do so. His concern is far narrower and, to be fair, he does keep to that narrow focus. To claim something more of his case is to do as much a disservice to Barr as to Boman.

Though I think is it going too far to call this book "a classic", it is a valuable contribution to this important subject. The discussion on static versus dynamic thinking is interesting, but unlike most of the rest of the book, I could not see where it takes us in our understanding of Scripture.

This book assumes the peculiarity of the Hebrew language to make a theological point. Unfortunately, the author does not make a systematic analysis of either Hebrew or Greek. The arguments of the book were completely demolished by James Barr (Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford University) in his book, The Semantics of Biblical Language. While I would urge everyone to study Hebrew (and Greek) because it will open up new insights into the Scriptures, this facile treatment of Hebrew is not really worthwhile.

If you want to know the difference between the Greek mind and the Hebrew mind this is a great start when studying the Scriptures. Greek minds equals our western thought and cultral, how we do and understand things. Hebrew thought would be eastern cultral and how they would do things, why the two really do not go together in the sense that I could not explain the Hebrew Scripture with my western mindset

But, its great, I would recommend for everyone

A very informative book describing, with clarity and detail, the mind of the Hebrews who wrote the Bible. As you read this book you quickly discover that the authors of the Bible do not think like we do. The Biblical text comes alive as you begin to understand the philosophy of the ancient Hebrews and how they perceived life, the world and God.

If you read the Bible from our Modern Western view, your interpretation will be a Modern Western interpretation. But, if you can understand the mind of the Ancient Hebrews and read it from their perspective your interpretation will be very different and closer to what the author intended.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is seriously looking to understand the Tenach/Old Testament.

Note: The arguments in this book are rejected by most. Please take that into consideration.

It is a shame that this argument is still being made today, given that it was disproven by James Barr in 1961! (cf. "The Semantics of Biblical Language")

The book by Barr is excellent. If you can get your hands on a copy, do so. It is mildly technical, but one will be able to understand the concepts without a knowledge of biblical languages.

Although a little "thick" sometimes, this sheds a lot of light on the thought process of the typical Hebrew mind vs the Greek mind.
It is a great aid to interpreteing scripture. The mindset of teh author is part of the message! Grace & Peace

Hebrew Thought Compared with Greek by Thorleif Boman is interesting, thought provoking, and detail oriented. Because of my limited background in the subject area, it is not an easy read. And because transliterations vary so much, I would have preferred to see Hebrew letters instead of transliterations of Hebrew words; using both could have made everyone happy. The extensive footnotes are in very small font. It is a translation. I wonder if someone could rewrite / reprint this book to make it more easily consumed. Still, I am glad to have this book.