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Lost in Translation: 15 Hebrew Words to Transform Your Christian Faith
The translation of the Hebrew Scriptures is both immensely important and challenging. It's vital because it allows billions of people who do not read or understand Hebrew to engage with the Hebrew Scriptures. However, capturing the full meaning of the original language is a complex and sometimes impossible task.
Hebrew is a rich and nuanced language, carrying cultural, historical, and theological significance in every word. Sometimes, there's no direct English equivalent to a Hebrew word.
Inevitably, each translator brings their perspective to the text, which may unintentionally introduce bias. If a translator holds a particular theological view, they might select words that support their interpretation. This is not always intentional, as our beliefs and perspectives naturally influence how we understand and communicate ideas.
However, this can sometimes result in translations that reflect personal agendas or specific doctrinal perspectives. For instance, how one translates key passages can significantly affect theological concepts like the nature of God, salvation, or eschatology.
This underscores the importance of approaching any translation with discernment, recognizing that it represents an interpretation, not just a straightforward rendering of the original text.
In this concise volume, we journey through 15 Hebrew words rich in meaning yet often misunderstood or mistranslated. In their complexity, these words have a significant impact on readers' beliefs, often without their conscious awareness.
Each word explored in this book holds an entire world within it, encapsulating profound cultural, historical, and theological nuances often overlooked in translation. Our exploration aims to illuminate these subtleties, enhancing the understanding of these words in their original Hebrew context. Dr. Eitan Bar is an Israeli Jewish-Christian residing in Israel. Eitan holds Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate degrees in Bible and theology.
--Scroll down for a sample.
Hebrew is a rich and nuanced language, carrying cultural, historical, and theological significance in every word. Sometimes, there's no direct English equivalent to a Hebrew word.
Inevitably, each translator brings their perspective to the text, which may unintentionally introduce bias. If a translator holds a particular theological view, they might select words that support their interpretation. This is not always intentional, as our beliefs and perspectives naturally influence how we understand and communicate ideas.
However, this can sometimes result in translations that reflect personal agendas or specific doctrinal perspectives. For instance, how one translates key passages can significantly affect theological concepts like the nature of God, salvation, or eschatology.
This underscores the importance of approaching any translation with discernment, recognizing that it represents an interpretation, not just a straightforward rendering of the original text.
In this concise volume, we journey through 15 Hebrew words rich in meaning yet often misunderstood or mistranslated. In their complexity, these words have a significant impact on readers' beliefs, often without their conscious awareness.
Each word explored in this book holds an entire world within it, encapsulating profound cultural, historical, and theological nuances often overlooked in translation. Our exploration aims to illuminate these subtleties, enhancing the understanding of these words in their original Hebrew context. Dr. Eitan Bar is an Israeli Jewish-Christian residing in Israel. Eitan holds Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate degrees in Bible and theology.
--Scroll down for a sample.
172 pages, Paperback
Published August 13, 2023
3 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Eitan Bar
50 books62 followersDr. Eitan Bar (born 1984, Tel Aviv) is a Bible scholar, author, and Israeli-Jewish follower of Jesus with multiple advanced degrees in Bible and theology. His unique background—living in Israel, being a native Hebrew speaker, and possessing advanced Christian education—provides a fresh and timely perspective on Christian beliefs and doctrines.
Dr. Bar co-founded ONE FOR ISRAEL Ministry, a Messianic Reformed Baptist non-profit and Bible college. He later left the organization in 2022 and deconstructed his Baptistic-Calvinistic beliefs, becoming an independent author of several books, including a few best-sellers (available on Amazon.com)
Eitan frequently lectures worldwide, primarily in Europe and the U.S., and his Hebrew-language videos, with over 25 million views, have made him a widely recognized figure in Israel for representing faith in Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus).
Dr. Bar co-founded ONE FOR ISRAEL Ministry, a Messianic Reformed Baptist non-profit and Bible college. He later left the organization in 2022 and deconstructed his Baptistic-Calvinistic beliefs, becoming an independent author of several books, including a few best-sellers (available on Amazon.com)
Eitan frequently lectures worldwide, primarily in Europe and the U.S., and his Hebrew-language videos, with over 25 million views, have made him a widely recognized figure in Israel for representing faith in Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus).
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 27, 2024
I'm going to write a long review because this book annoyed me so the tl;dr version is: An okay book with some helpful insights, but beware of his hobby horse against the penal substitutionary theory of the atonement. Onward...
This book reminds me of the old joke about the Baptist preacher (Believer's baptism) preaching to a bunch of Presbyterians (Infant baptism) about the atonement. He started his sermon saying, "I'm going to preach on the atonement today, but first some thoughts about baptism."If you don't get the joke, the preacher cannot resist going back to his hobby horse: baptism.
Mr. Bar really does not like the penal substitutionary theory of the atonement and it comes through so clearly that I found myself thinking, "Why is he jumping on his hobby horse whenever and wherever he can. It wasn't until the end of the book that the answer became clear. He writes: "All these insights are adapted from my book: "The 'Gospel' of Divine Abuse." Ah...now I see.
As I wrote when I excoriated N. T. Wright for misrepresenting the penal substitutionary theory of the atonement, theologians can, and do disagree about the theory of the atonement. This is fine, if we could get two theologians into a room and get them to completely agree on everything, we would know that the apocalypse is upon us. My beef with Mr. Bar and Mr. Wright is that they characterize the position of the other side in a terribly condescending way. Here is Mr. Bar's "representation of the opposite side:
"In contrast to an angry, legalistic God who hates sinners and wants nothing but to punch us all in the face and into damnation, Jesus spoke of God as loving, caring, forgiving, full of compassion, and protective Father (Matthew 23:37)."
I guarantee that there is not one human being in history who is a Christian who would read this and say, "Yes, this is precisely what I believe about God's work in the atonement of Jesus Christ."
If you're going to write a screed against the other side, at least represent their side in a way that they would say, "Yes, this is what I believe."
Mr. Bar lets his strong opinion get the best of him again and again in his interpretation of the Scriptures. In his chapter on Gehenna/Hell/Sheol he makes some really good points about those words and how they have been misunderstood by some people, unfortunately, in his zeal to correct mistakes he makes more of his own. I came away from his chapter thinking, "I don't think he has any clue what, if anything, hell is. Here is his conclusion to the chapter:
"It is not God who caused people to end up in the Valley of Hinnom; it was the people— a religious society. God, on the other hand, desires that even sinners will live with dignity, be rebuilt, and become self-sufficient."
Huh? "God..desires that even sinners will live with dignity, be rebuilt, and become self-sufficient? What precisely does this even mean and where does one find it in Scripture?!?
Mr. Bar does a lot of kind of unbalanced interpretation. For instance, he writes: "His crucifixion wasn't about him being subjected to torment and abuse by God but about His blood, symbolic of His life, washing away our sins." Again, this is a caricature of the opposing side, but Mr. Bar doesn't then explain Isaiah's well-known words: "But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed." I suspect that he doesn't explain them because they do not fit his theory of the atonement.
On the plus side, when discussing God's wrath and mercy, Mr. Bar does a good job of pointing out that they balance each other and we shouldn't lean to one side or the other in our interpretation of the Scriptures. We shouldn't be so focused on God's wrath that we forget his love and compassion for us in our sin. I liked this.
The book has issues, so read it carefully.
This book reminds me of the old joke about the Baptist preacher (Believer's baptism) preaching to a bunch of Presbyterians (Infant baptism) about the atonement. He started his sermon saying, "I'm going to preach on the atonement today, but first some thoughts about baptism."If you don't get the joke, the preacher cannot resist going back to his hobby horse: baptism.
Mr. Bar really does not like the penal substitutionary theory of the atonement and it comes through so clearly that I found myself thinking, "Why is he jumping on his hobby horse whenever and wherever he can. It wasn't until the end of the book that the answer became clear. He writes: "All these insights are adapted from my book: "The 'Gospel' of Divine Abuse." Ah...now I see.
As I wrote when I excoriated N. T. Wright for misrepresenting the penal substitutionary theory of the atonement, theologians can, and do disagree about the theory of the atonement. This is fine, if we could get two theologians into a room and get them to completely agree on everything, we would know that the apocalypse is upon us. My beef with Mr. Bar and Mr. Wright is that they characterize the position of the other side in a terribly condescending way. Here is Mr. Bar's "representation of the opposite side:
"In contrast to an angry, legalistic God who hates sinners and wants nothing but to punch us all in the face and into damnation, Jesus spoke of God as loving, caring, forgiving, full of compassion, and protective Father (Matthew 23:37)."
I guarantee that there is not one human being in history who is a Christian who would read this and say, "Yes, this is precisely what I believe about God's work in the atonement of Jesus Christ."
If you're going to write a screed against the other side, at least represent their side in a way that they would say, "Yes, this is what I believe."
Mr. Bar lets his strong opinion get the best of him again and again in his interpretation of the Scriptures. In his chapter on Gehenna/Hell/Sheol he makes some really good points about those words and how they have been misunderstood by some people, unfortunately, in his zeal to correct mistakes he makes more of his own. I came away from his chapter thinking, "I don't think he has any clue what, if anything, hell is. Here is his conclusion to the chapter:
"It is not God who caused people to end up in the Valley of Hinnom; it was the people— a religious society. God, on the other hand, desires that even sinners will live with dignity, be rebuilt, and become self-sufficient."
Huh? "God..desires that even sinners will live with dignity, be rebuilt, and become self-sufficient? What precisely does this even mean and where does one find it in Scripture?!?
Mr. Bar does a lot of kind of unbalanced interpretation. For instance, he writes: "His crucifixion wasn't about him being subjected to torment and abuse by God but about His blood, symbolic of His life, washing away our sins." Again, this is a caricature of the opposing side, but Mr. Bar doesn't then explain Isaiah's well-known words: "But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed." I suspect that he doesn't explain them because they do not fit his theory of the atonement.
On the plus side, when discussing God's wrath and mercy, Mr. Bar does a good job of pointing out that they balance each other and we shouldn't lean to one side or the other in our interpretation of the Scriptures. We shouldn't be so focused on God's wrath that we forget his love and compassion for us in our sin. I liked this.
The book has issues, so read it carefully.
July 15, 2025
Interesting read, definitely didn’t agree with some things he claimed/explained but I found it insightful nonetheless. It’s intriguing how much we loose sight of the true definition on words from their original form, food for thought!
Some quotes that stood out:
“What we are capable of and of what we did - killing our own God. And yet, we can’t stop there, we need to look deeper, look harder, look further - because there is another side to the cross. While we took life and hung it on a tree, God turned it into a tree that gives life.”
“biblical submission addresses structure and order rather than wisdom, value, or worth.”
Some quotes that stood out:
“What we are capable of and of what we did - killing our own God. And yet, we can’t stop there, we need to look deeper, look harder, look further - because there is another side to the cross. While we took life and hung it on a tree, God turned it into a tree that gives life.”
“biblical submission addresses structure and order rather than wisdom, value, or worth.”
January 4, 2026
I love Titans books. Words are very important and it is incumbent upon us to use them accurately when reading or speaking about our Fathers words. Eitan encourages us to realize the Bible wasn't written to us (westerners) yesterday and in the kings English. He encourages us to seek out the word in the original language. With the mindset of the people to whom it was written, and the time when it was written. Gods word is timeless. Yah's words are perfect and complete. Our interpretations are not. Thanks Eitan for reminding us of how fun and exciting the search for our God is.
Randy Northrup
Randy Northrup
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews