The Semantic and Hermeneutic Approach to Disciple Arab Believers in the Context of Bible Teaching Ministries

Abstract

In Arab countries, only a small portion of Arab pastors have reached the professional level in Fuṣḥā (classical and modern literary Arabic) proficiency. Foreigners who minister in Arab countries learn Fuṣḥā from native Arabs, but the problem is that Arabs do not tell them that the word meanings in the Arabic Bible are not necessarily the same when they are used in the Qur’ān or in Islamic theological context. Arabic language had existed before Islam, but some of the words took special theological meanings in Islamic context as the Islamic comAbstract munity used Arabic languages in their own worldview. Moreover, Arabic has changed over time that even Arab Muslims do not understand the fact that seemingly common words may carry distinctive theological meanings in the Qur’ān. During the 1400 years in the Arab world, Islam and Christianity have proceeded within their own respective hermeneutic communities that some vocabularies, religious or theological, began to take up different meanings or distinctive nuances. This paper examines how Christian and Muslim communities use the vocabularies such as Dhihn, Rūḥ, Nafs, Nafs lawwamah, Birr, and Taqwā, in distinctive ways within their respective theological contexts. By one practical implication, this writer suggests that the Bible study materials for discipling BMBs(or CMBs) should incorporate such linguistic characteristics instead of using existing Bible study materials that are readily used in non-Islamic context. When the commonly used vocabularies by Arab Christians and Arab Muslims pertain differences in the theological content and concept, it is argued that one should consider a semantic- (rhetorical)- interpretive approach as a solution. Specifically, this writer proposes the following procedures: a thorough word study of the original language, the use of rhetoric elements such as Majāz (a meaning other than the original meaning), and an analysis of examining the semantic fields. For example, it is demonstrated that the use of Majāz is beneficial in explaining the “Son of God” to BMB. While the conventional theories and strategies in Arab world ministries are much appreciated, this writer proposes this new approach based on the linguistic features in Arab Muslim context would produce better results in teaching the Bible to Arab Christians and Arab Muslims.