[B-Greek] 1John 3:19-20

Iver Larsen iver_larsen at sil.org
Wed Oct 15 01:25:38 EDT 2003


> >synopsis of the meaning of KARDIA ( heart) in the NT which comes
> from the
> >Theological Dictionary of the NT:
> >
> >a. in the heart dwell feelings and emotions, desires and passions
> >b. the heart is the seat of understanding, the source of thought and
> >reflection
> >c. the heart is the seat of the will, the sources of resolves.
> >d. thus the heart is the one centre in man  to which God turns, in which
> >the religious life is rooted, which determines moral conduct

The situation in the NT is rather complex. Whereas in Semitic languages, the
word for "heart" includes sense b): "seat of understanding, the source of
thought and reflections", this is not normally the case in Greek and
English.
But 1 John is a Greek letter based on Semitic thinking, so it is reasonable
to assume that "heart" in this letter could well refer to both emotions and
thoughts. Only the context will tell, and at times the context is not clear.

Languages vary greatly as to how they associate inner body parts with
various kinds of reflections. I am working in a language where the thoughts
are in the head, (some) emotions in the heart, but desires in the stomach.
So, whenever we meet the word "heart" in the Bible, we need to decide from
context whether to translate it as head, heart or stomach, and such
decisions are not easy. To translate the word with "heart" every time, as
most literal versions do, would be quite misleading. (We did choose
"thoughts" and not "heart" in 1 John 3:19). Even the kidney, liver, pancreas
and intestines (bowels) are occasionally used as the seat of various deep
feelings or thoughts in some languages. (Try to look up the use of
SPLAGCNA - intestines - in the Greek NT).
Another interesting study is to compare the Hebrew (and LXX) text of Deut
6:5 where three words are used: heart, soul/life/ and power/strength with
Matt 22:37, Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27. Matthew has "mind" instead of
"power", but both Mark and Luke have four items, including the "mind". This
suggests that to a Greek speaker, the "mind" as the seat of understanding
and thoughts is not included in the "heart". In Greek and English, you do
not think with your heart.

Iver Larsen
Bible translation consultant





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