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Transliteration definition3/26/2023 ![]() “Messiah” too is not a translation but a transliteration of the Hebrew word mashiach. The Meaning of Christ : “Christ is the transliteration of the Greek word Xristós or Christos.”īut there is so much more to this word Christ and its related Hebrew word Messiah. Jesus Christ is just the name of the one who saves us from our sins and not much else. In fact, for many, “Christ” has just become Jesus’ surname, “Jesus Christ,” kind of like “John Smith.” This helps explains why the world can use his name so easily in profane ways and why in many ways the word has had no noticeable impact on many who call themselves Christians. What I’m suggesting is that as a result of merely transliterating this word, we have lost the impact of how it was used by the biblical writers. Christ is the transliteration of the Greek word Xristós or Christos. I would like to center in on one of these transliterations, the word Christ. So, have we lost anything in transliteration? What Is the Meaning of Christ? They are English terms that replicate the sounds made by the original Greek words, instead of translations of the original words into their English meanings. Words like “Christ,” “baptism,” “hypocrite,” “evangelism,” “apostle,” and others are not translations from Greek to English but rather transliterations. But how much more we can lose the meaning with words that have been “transliterated.” While translating a word means that we give the meaning in another language, transliterating means coming up with a new word altogether based on the form of the original word. It’s easy enough to miss nuances of meaning in words that have been translated. ![]() Yet there is another issue lurking in our Bible translations. “These rediscovered nuances have changed the way some are living out their daily lives.” These rediscovered nuances have changed the way some are living out their daily lives. It doesn’t just refer to faith or belief, but also carries connotations of trusting in, loyalty to, and allegiance to, especially with respect to Jesus as King and being in God’s Kingdom. Fortunately in recent years we’re coming to see and understand the depths of this word. For many years, many of us have had a very limited understanding of this word, which has affected the ways we’ve lived out our Christian lives. Take the Greek word pistis, translated as faith or belief. The same thing can happen when we are reading various translations of The Bible. ![]() Our perspective as a parent is, “We’re asking for this, and you should go do it now.” Their perspective, their translation, goes something like, “My parent is suggesting I do something, and I will get to it, sometime, when I am done doing what I want.” And then there can be a total misinterpretation when someone does not understand the definition of a word we are using-something which can also happen in parenting all the time (remind me…what’s a TikTok again?). ![]() They say “Okay,” yet four hours later it is still not done. We ask our child to take out the trash or pick up their room. Those of us who are parents know how this works. We may have been trying to express an emotion, or thought, or idea and the person on the other end completely misunderstood what we were saying. When we speak of Jesus Christ (or Jesus the Christ or Christ Jesus), it’s a helpful reminder that he is more than our Savior who saves us from our sins: he’s our king who deserves our allegiance.įor those of us who have lived long enough, we have either heard or used the expression, “Lost in translation.” Many of us have probably experienced the uncomfortable effects of something we said or that was said to us, the meaning of which was lost in translation. It’s a transliteration of the Greek word christos, which described the anointed Jewish king who was to come. The meaning of Christ goes beyond being a part of Jesus’ name.
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