Perhaps some might remember an old skit done by Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball from the I Love Lucy Show. The skit was set up as so: Lucy was trying to communicate with a man who did not speak her language (I believe he was Greek) Ricky (Desi) steps in to help but even he, being bilingual, is not able to help since he knows only English and Spanish. So they find a fourth party, an older lady who speaks Greek and Spanish, and the game of “translation-telephone” begins. Lucy talks to Ricky, Ricky talks to the older lady, and the older lady talks to the Greek man—then it happens in reverse order. It doesn’t take long to realize that they have made mistakes in their efforts to translate correctly.
A recent read through of the book of 1 Chronicles reminded me of the importance of correctly translating the original languages the Bible was written in. In short—word studies. That is, the act of going back and looking at the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek from which our Bibles were translated. This way, I have a better understanding of what the Word of God says, and therefore, I can give Him more Glory because I can walk more closely to Him in obedience (ignorance is not an option).
“So why should we look at the original languages? There aren’t mistakes or errors in certain Bibles… are there?”, one might ask. Well the problem is more with us than with any version or translation of the Bible.
Without a doubt there are more reliable translations than others, specifically the King James (KJV) and the New American Standard (NASB). These two translations are taken directly from the original languages. In fact, besides the aforementioned Bibles, most (if not all) other versions of the Bible distinctly state that they interpret, and therefore they add words and change sentences and paragraphs to relate what “they think” the Bible is saying.
As a general rule I stay away from these loose translations, feeling the best route is to stay with word for word translations from the original autographs. But even with these, things are not always what they seem. What I mean (insert intense dramatic music please!) is that neither of these translations are infallible—partly because our modern English has changed and some words have taken on different meanings than what they once had. And also partly because there are certain words that can be translated many ways. In short, mistakes were bound to happen, problems are inevitable, and misunderstandings will indubitably arise.
Getting back to 1 Chronicles—there are two words I would like to look at (note that what I am about to tell you is nothing of major hysteria, but very interesting none the less). The words are “son” and “beget” (or became the father of). In the Hebrew language these words mean more than meets the eye. Though they do mean just what they say (a son is a son, and a father is a father) they can go beyond that, too. Son can simply mean a descendant of someone, therefore the Hebrew word for son, ben, could be a son, a grandson, a great grandson, a great great grandson, or a great great great… I think you get the point. On the flip side, yalad, the word for beget (or to become the father of), has the same connotation. It just means that the one that is begotten (or that you are a father of) is your descendant—not necessarily your direct son.
Now lets go to 1 Chronicles 2:9: Now the sons of Hezron, who were born to him were Jerahmeel, Ram and Chelubai.
Now, the reason this verse stuck out to me was because of the last name in the list: “Chelubai.” That’s my name. (Well it comes from that name at least.) You see Chelubai and Caleb come from the same name in Hebrew, similar to how we have Joe and Joseph, or Dave and David in English. The Hebrew language has Caleb and Chelubai.
Let’s move on. Now, knowing the genealogy of Christ from the New Testament in Matthew, I recognized two other names in that verse, Hezron and Ram. Hezron was the son of Perez, the son of Judah, one of the 12 tribes of Israel. The Messiah (Christ) would come through Judah. The other name was Ram. Ram would eventually become the father of Boaz (book of Ruth), Obed, then Jesse, and finally David.
So according to our verse, 1 Chronicles 2:9, Jerahmeel, Ram, and Chelubai were three brothers who were all sons of Hezron… or were they?
Then comes verse 18 of the same chapter in 1 Chronicles: Now Caleb the son of Hezron had sons by Azubah his wife, and by Jerioth; and these were her sons: Jesher, Shobab, and Ardon.
This affirms what I did in my word study of Chelubai finding that it was the same name as Caleb because now in this verse it denotes Caleb as being a son of Hezron. (You can check the context if you like. It is the same Hezron.)
Now continuing on to verse 25: Now the sons of Jerahmeel the firstborn of Hezron were Ram the firstborn, then Bunah, Oren, Ozem and Ahijah.
WAIT A SECOND!!! BACK THE TRUCK UP!!! HOOOOOLD EVERYTHING!!!
Do you see it? We just saw what understanding original languages can do to help. I see now that Hezron had a son named Jerahmeel and a grandson named Ram. Chelubai/Caleb was Jerahmeel’s brother and Ram’s uncle. Just to see it more clearly, and to make sure look at verse 27: The sons of Ram, the firstborn of Jerahmeel, were Maaz, Jamin and Eker.
So Hezron had Jerahmeel and Caleb, and Jerahmeel had Ram. I know it’s so small and, perhaps to some, insignificant, but God gave us the information to figure out this family tree—we just have to be diligent, use our heads, and look at some word studies to clearly understand it.
Now, yes, I had a personal interest in this area because the man I was named after was in here (Caleb), and I wanted to know how he related to the lineage of Jesus Christ my Savior, and if it was the same or a different Caleb that was mentioned here in this passage (that is, the same Caleb that was a spy with Joshua in Canaan). But I wouldn’t have figured it out without understanding the original languages for “son” and “became the father of.”
Before I sum up, look at 1 Chronicles 4:20 and remember the Hebrew word ben. I think you might find it amusing.The sons of Shimon were Amnon and Rinnah, Benhanan and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were Zoheth and Ben-zoheth.
It’s good to have a little Hebrew under your belt. Look at that last line. Would you say that Ben-Zoheth is the son of Ishi or Zoheth? Considering ben means “son of” when used in Hebrew names, Ben-Zoheth’s name literally means “son of Zoheth.”
The original definition of the word in its original language (aka word studies) can be very helpful—but don’t be led astray to use them exclusively. Context is the ultimate judge in defining what a word means. Word studies must have there proper place in any study. Not too much… not too little. Don’t swing too far either way on the pendulum.
Understanding original languages is necessary for any student of the Bible—otherwise we will be in the same position as Lucille Ball—having to rely on others for translation and interpretation. Lucy would have done well to try to understand Greek and hear from that man directly so that the message wouldn’t get all gummed up on the way to her. We would do well also to understand Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek (as much as we can) in order hear what God is really saying to us.
All of our efforts must, and only, be… for HIS Glory...
Written by Caleb Jensen, Director of WORD Center Ministries
