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Words Your Bible Borrowed

The apostles spoke and thought in Hebrew. When their message was carried into Greek, Hebrew words had to be traded for Greek words, and those Greek words already belonged to someone else — to the gods of Olympus, the oracle at Delphi, the philosophers of Athens, and the emperors of Rome. They did not come in empty. They came in carrying their pagan meanings.

Nephesh, a living creature that dies, became psychē — Plato's soul that can never die. Sheol, the silent grave, became Hades — the name of a Greek god and his underworld. The Greek did not erase the Hebrew. It added to it — a little philosophy here, a little mythology there — until the teaching drifted so far from the Hebrew that it now says what the Hebrew never said, and in places the very opposite.

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How do we know what the Hebrew said? The apostles tell us. When Peter quotes Psalm 16 — "thou wilt not leave my soul in hell" — the Greek says psychē and Hades, but the psalm he is quoting says nephesh and Sheol. Every time the New Testament quotes the Old, it hands us the Hebrew word beneath the Greek one. The Greek translation of the Old Testament, made two centuries before Messiah, confirms it: the Hebrew and the Greek still survive side by side, and they show nephesh traded for psychē, Sheol for Hades, and the Name itself for kurios, hundreds of times over.

And yet, whenever a hard question comes up, the pulpit says it, Bible students say it, and most of us have said it too: "But the Greek says…" — as if going back to the Greek were going back to the source. It is not.

When a teacher opens a Greek dictionary today, where do the definitions come from? From Homer, Plato, and the writings of the pagan world. "Going back to the Greek" means going back to the very place the error came from. Then the English translations smoothed it over one more time. Read through Greek definitions, the New Testament becomes something the apostles never wrote: a rendition of Plato, with Hebrew names on it.

To find and define the truth that Yahuah spoke through Moses, the prophets, and the apostles, there are four steps to take. First, set the English translation aside. Second, find the Greek word it was made from. Third, find the Hebrew word that Greek word replaced, in the Old Testament passage the apostles were quoting or drawing on. Fourth, do a word study on that Hebrew word through the Torah and the Prophets — how Moses used it, how David used it, how Isaiah used it. Looking up a Strong's number is a start, but it is not a word study; a single definition cannot tell you what the whole of Scripture means by a word.

Most people will not take those four steps. It is easier to stay comfortable in the doctrine they were handed. But the one who truly wants to know what Yahuah said will do the work. Under each doctrine below, open "Words your Bible borrowed" and take the first step: see what was there before the Greek.

Words your Bible borrowed (5)kurios · theos · sōtēr · pantokratōr · hypsistos

This is what Yahuah actually wrote.

These Greek words replaced the Hebrew beneath this doctrine. Each one came from Greek myth or philosophy — and brought its meaning with it.

KURIOS · “Lord” G2962

Your Bible says: Lord

Caesar wrote: kurios — “Caesar is lord,” the oath of the empire

Moses wrote: Yahuah — “this is my name for ever” (Exodus 3:15)

THEOS · “God” G2316

Your Bible says: God

Homer wrote: theos — Zeus, Hermes, and the gods of Olympus

Moses wrote: Elohim — a mighty one with authority, even Moses (Exodus 7:1)

SŌTĒR · “Saviour” G4990

Your Bible says: Saviour

Egypt’s kings wrote: sōtēr — Ptolemy the Savior, a god-king

Isaiah wrote: “beside me there is no saviour” (Isaiah 43:11)

PANTOKRATŌR · “Almighty” G3841

Your Bible says: Almighty

The Greek temples wrote: the all-ruling one — a title given to the gods

The prophets wrote: Yahuah Tsebaoth — Yahuah of hosts, the Name kept in the title (Isaiah 6:3)

HYPSISTOS · “Most High” G5310

Your Bible says: Most High

The Greeks wrote: Zeus Hypsistos — Zeus the Most High

Moses wrote: El Elyon, always joined to Yahuah (Genesis 14:22)

Words your Bible borrowed (7)charis · nomos · diathēkē · stoicheia · metanoia · kardia · syneidēsis

This is what Yahuah actually wrote.

These Greek words replaced the Hebrew beneath this doctrine. Each one came from Greek myth or philosophy — and brought its meaning with it.

CHARIS · “grace” G5485

Your Bible says: grace

Hesiod wrote: the Charites — the Graces, goddesses of charm and beauty

Moses wrote: chen — favor found by walking in His way (Exodus 33:13)

NOMOS · “law” G3551

Your Bible says: law

The Sophists wrote: nomos — man-made custom, rules a city invents

Moses wrote: torah — instruction, a Father pointing the way (Deuteronomy 6:1)

DIATHĒKĒ · “testament” G1242

Your Bible says: testament

Greek law wrote: diathēkē — a will, replaced by the next will

Jeremiah wrote: berit — a covenant renewed, “my law in their inward parts” (Jeremiah 31:33)

STOICHEIA · “elements” G4747

Your Bible says: elements

The astrologers wrote: stoicheia — star spirits that rule the days and months

Paul wrote: “how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements” — their old star-worship, not the Torah (Galatians 4:9)

METANOIA · “repentance” G3341

Your Bible says: repentance

The Greek painters showed: Metanoia — a goddess of regret, weeping too late

Ezekiel wrote: shuv — turn back and “keep all my statutes” (Ezekiel 18:21)

KARDIA · “heart” G2588

Your Bible says: heart

The poets wrote: kardia — the seat of feeling and passion

Moses wrote: lev — “these words… shall be in thine heart” (Deuteronomy 6:6)

SYNEIDĒSIS · “conscience” G4893

Your Bible says: conscience

The Stoics wrote: syneidēsis — an inner judge of right and wrong

Isaiah wrote: “To the law and to the testimony” (Isaiah 8:20)

Words your Bible borrowed (4)pneuma · pythōn · prophētēs · ekstasis

This is what Yahuah actually wrote.

These Greek words replaced the Hebrew beneath this doctrine. Each one came from Greek myth or philosophy — and brought its meaning with it.

PNEUMA · “Spirit” G4151

Your Bible says: Spirit

Delphi wrote: pneuma — the breath that seized the priestess and spoke through her

Luke wrote: “the power of the Highest” — Yahuah’s own power at work (Luke 1:35)

PYTHŌN · “divination” G4436

Your Bible says: divination

Delphi wrote: Python — the serpent of Apollo’s oracle, named in Acts 16:16

Moses wrote: “There shall not be found among you… an observer of times… or a witch” (Deuteronomy 18:10)

PROPHĒTĒS · “prophet” G4396

Your Bible says: prophet

Delphi wrote: prophētēs — the man who interpreted the priestess’s frenzy

Moses wrote: navi — “I will put my words in his mouth” (Deuteronomy 18:18)

EKSTASIS · “trance” G1611

Your Bible says: trance

Dionysus’s worshippers wrote: ekstasis — standing outside oneself in frenzy

Paul wrote: “God is not the author of confusion” (1 Corinthians 14:33)

Words your Bible borrowed (6)hadēs · tartaroō · aiōn · aidios · katachthonios · apokatastasis

This is what Yahuah actually wrote.

These Greek words replaced the Hebrew beneath this doctrine. Each one came from Greek myth or philosophy — and brought its meaning with it.

HADĒS · “hell” G86

Your Bible says: hell

Homer wrote: Hades — the god of the dead and his underworld

Solomon wrote: Sheol — “the dead know not any thing” (Ecclesiastes 9:5)

TARTAROŌ · “cast down to hell” G5020

Your Bible says: cast down to hell

Hesiod wrote: Tartarus — the pit where Zeus chained the Titans

Malachi wrote: the wicked “shall be ashes under the soles of your feet” (Malachi 4:3)

AIŌN / AIŌNIOS · “everlasting” G165, G166

Your Bible says: everlasting

Alexandria wrote: Aion — the god of endless time, born of a virgin each January

Moses wrote: olam — an age beyond sight; the servant served “for ever,” for life (Exodus 21:6)

AIDIOS · “everlasting” G126

Your Bible says: everlasting

Aristotle wrote: aidios — without beginning and without end

Jude wrote: chains that hold “unto the judgment” — chains with an end (Jude 6)

KATACHTHONIOS · “under the earth” G2709

Your Bible says: under the earth

Homer wrote: Zeus Katachthonios — Zeus of the underworld

Moses wrote: “dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Genesis 3:19)

APOKATASTASIS · “restitution” G605

Your Bible says: restitution

Origen wrote: apokatastasis — all restored at last, the devil too

Malachi wrote: the wicked “shall be ashes under the soles of your feet” (Malachi 4:3)

Words your Bible borrowed (6)psychē · pneuma · athanasia · daimonion · phantasma · nous

This is what Yahuah actually wrote.

These Greek words replaced the Hebrew beneath this doctrine. Each one came from Greek myth or philosophy — and brought its meaning with it.

PSYCHĒ · “soul” G5590

Your Bible says: soul

Plato wrote: psychē — a soul that cannot die

Moses wrote: nephesh — “the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4)

PNEUMA · “spirit” G4151

Your Bible says: spirit

The Stoics wrote: pneuma — a divine spirit that lives on

Solomon wrote: ruach — “they have all one breath,” man and beast (Ecclesiastes 3:19)

ATHANASIA · “immortality” G110

Your Bible says: immortality

Homer wrote: athanatoi — “the deathless ones,” the gods

Paul wrote: Yahuah “only hath immortality” (1 Timothy 6:16)

DAIMONION · “devils” G1140

Your Bible says: devils

Hesiod wrote: daimones — spirits of the dead watching the living

Moses wrote: shedim — false gods behind idols (Deuteronomy 32:17)

PHANTASMA · “spirit” G5326

Your Bible says: spirit

Homer wrote: phantasma — the shades of the dead rising to speak (Odyssey 11)

Solomon wrote: “the dead know not any thing” (Ecclesiastes 9:5)

NOUS · “mind” G3563

Your Bible says: mind

Aristotle wrote: nous — the mind, “immortal and eternal”

David wrote: “in that very day his thoughts perish” (Psalm 146:4)

Words your Bible borrowed (2)parousia · epiphaneia

This is what Yahuah actually wrote.

These Greek words replaced the Hebrew beneath this doctrine. Each one came from Greek myth or philosophy — and brought its meaning with it.

PAROUSIA · “coming” G3952

Your Bible says: coming

Caesar wrote: parousia — the emperor’s royal visit to a city

Joel wrote: “the great and the terrible day of Yahuah” — one day, not two comings (Joel 2:31)

EPIPHANEIA · “appearing” G2015

Your Bible says: appearing

Antiochus wrote: Epiphanes — “god made manifest,” his own title

Isaiah wrote: “all flesh shall see it together” — no secret coming (Isaiah 40:5)

Words your Bible borrowed (3)ouranos · paradeisos · makarios

This is what Yahuah actually wrote.

These Greek words replaced the Hebrew beneath this doctrine. Each one came from Greek myth or philosophy — and brought its meaning with it.

OURANOS · “heaven” G3772

Your Bible says: heaven

Plato wrote: the good soul returns to dwell in its star

David wrote: “the earth hath he given to the children of men” (Psalm 115:16)

PARADEISOS · “paradise” G3857

Your Bible says: paradise

Persia’s kings wrote: paradeisos — a royal pleasure park, later the garden of the blessed dead

John wrote: the tree of life in the city that comes down to the earth (Revelation 2:7; 21:2)

MAKARIOS · “blessed” G3107

Your Bible says: blessed

Hesiod wrote: the Isles of the Blessed — heaven for the heroes

David wrote: ashrei — “blessed is the man” who walks in the Torah (Psalm 1:1–2)

Words your Bible borrowed (12)logos · theotēs · ousia · hypostasis · physis · monogenēs · morphē · oikonomia · hymnos · sophia · dēmiourgos · paraklētos

This is what Yahuah actually wrote.

These Greek words replaced the Hebrew beneath this doctrine. Each one came from Greek myth or philosophy — and brought its meaning with it.

LOGOS · “Word” G3056

Your Bible says: Word

Philo wrote: logos — “the second god”

David wrote: davar — “by the word of Yahuah were the heavens made” (Psalm 33:6)

THEOTĒS / THEIOTĒS · “Godhead” G2320, G2305

Your Bible says: Godhead

The philosophers wrote: to theion — a divine essence that beings can share

Paul wrote: “it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell” (Colossians 1:19)

OUSIA · “substance” G3776

Your Bible says: substance

Aristotle wrote: ousia — the essence of a thing; Nicaea’s “one substance”

Luke wrote: ousia — only “goods,” the son’s inheritance (Luke 15:12)

HYPOSTASIS · “person” G5287

Your Bible says: person

Plotinus wrote: three hypostases — the One, the Mind, the Soul

Moses wrote: “Hear, O Israel: Yahuah our Elohim is one Yahuah” (Deuteronomy 6:4)

PHYSIS · “nature” G5449

Your Bible says: nature

The philosophers wrote: physis — divine nature; Chalcedon’s “two natures”

Peter wrote: believers “partakers of the divine nature” — and no one calls them God (2 Peter 1:4)

MONOGENĒS · “only begotten” G3439

Your Bible says: only begotten

Plato wrote: monogenēs — the one-of-a-kind cosmos

Moses wrote: yachid — “thine only son Isaac,” born in time (Genesis 22:2)

MORPHĒ · “form” G3444

Your Bible says: form

Aristotle wrote: morphē — the essence that makes a thing what it is

Moses wrote: man made “in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:26)

OIKONOMIA · “dispensation” G3622

Your Bible says: dispensation

Tertullian wrote: the “economy” — one God arranged into three

Paul wrote: a stewardship given to a servant (Ephesians 3:2)

HYMNOS · “hymn” G5215

Your Bible says: hymn

Homer wrote: hymnos — songs sung to Apollo, Demeter, and Hermes

David wrote: tehillim — the Psalms, songs Yahuah gave His people

SOPHIA · “wisdom” G4678

Your Bible says: wisdom

The Gnostics wrote: Sophia — a divine being beside God

Solomon wrote: chokmah — “Yahuah by wisdom hath founded the earth” (Proverbs 3:19)

DĒMIOURGOS · “maker” G1217

Your Bible says: maker

Plato wrote: the Demiurge — a second, craftsman god

Isaiah wrote: “that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself” (Isaiah 44:24)

PARAKLĒTOS · “Comforter” G3875

Your Bible says: Comforter

The Greek courts said: paraklētos — an advocate called to one’s side

John wrote: “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ” (1 John 2:1)

Words your Bible borrowed (2)hagios · teleios

This is what Yahuah actually wrote.

These Greek words replaced the Hebrew beneath this doctrine. Each one came from Greek myth or philosophy — and brought its meaning with it.

HAGIOS / HAGNOS · “holy” G40, G53

Your Bible says: holy

The Greek temples wrote: hagnos — ritual purity before a god

Moses wrote: qadosh — “ye shall be holy… neither shall ye defile yourselves” with unclean food (Leviticus 11:44)

TELEIOS · “perfect” G5046

Your Bible says: perfect

The mystery cults wrote: teleioi — “the perfected,” after the final secret rite

Moses wrote: tamim — “walk before me, and be thou perfect” (Genesis 17:1)

Words your Bible borrowed (5)kairos · kyriakos · heortē · pascha · pentēkostē

This is what Yahuah actually wrote.

These Greek words replaced the Hebrew beneath this doctrine. Each one came from Greek myth or philosophy — and brought its meaning with it.

KAIROS · “season” G2540

Your Bible says: season

Olympia wrote: Kairos — a god, son of Zeus, with his own altar

Moses wrote: moadim — “these are my feasts,” appointed meetings (Leviticus 23:2)

KYRIAKOS · “the Lord’s day” G2960

Your Bible says: the Lord’s day

Caesar wrote: Sebastē — the Emperor’s Day

Isaiah wrote: the Sabbath, “my holy day” (Isaiah 58:13)

HEORTĒ · “holyday” G1859

Your Bible says: holyday

The Greeks wrote: heortē — a festival for the gods

Moses wrote: chag — feasts commanded and dated (Leviticus 23:4)

PASCHA · “Easter (Acts 12:4)” G3957

Your Bible says: Easter (Acts 12:4)

The Saxons wrote: Eostre — goddess of spring

Moses wrote: Pesach — “it is Yahuah’s passover” (Exodus 12:11)

PENTĒKOSTĒ · “Pentecost” G4005

Your Bible says: Pentecost

The Greeks wrote: pentēkostē — “the fiftieth,” a number with no count behind it

Moses wrote: Shavuot — seven Sabbaths complete, then fifty days (Leviticus 23:15–16)

Words your Bible borrowed (7)pistis · euangelion · mystērion · eucharistia · palingenesia · nikē · gnōsis

This is what Yahuah actually wrote.

These Greek words replaced the Hebrew beneath this doctrine. Each one came from Greek myth or philosophy — and brought its meaning with it.

PISTIS · “faith” G4102

Your Bible says: faith

Theognis wrote: Pistis — a goddess who left the earth

Moses wrote: emunah — Moses’ hands “steady” until dusk (Exodus 17:12)

EUANGELION · “gospel” G2098

Your Bible says: gospel

Caesar wrote: euangelion — the “good tidings” of Augustus’s birthday

Isaiah wrote: besorah — “Thy God reigneth!” (Isaiah 52:7)

MYSTĒRION · “mystery” G3466

Your Bible says: mystery

Eleusis wrote: mystēria — secret rites that save the initiated

Amos wrote: sod — “he revealeth his secret unto his servants” (Amos 3:7)

EUCHARISTIA · “giving of thanks” G2169

Your Bible says: giving of thanks

The mystery cults wrote: a sacred meal that joins the worshipper to the god

Yahushua said: “this do in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19)

PALINGENESIA · “regeneration” G3824

Your Bible says: regeneration

The Stoics wrote: palingenesia — the world reborn from fire, again and again

Yahushua said: the restoration “when the Son of man shall sit in the throne” (Matthew 19:28)

NIKĒ · “victory” G3529

Your Bible says: victory

Athens wrote: Nike — the winged goddess of the Acropolis

Isaiah wrote: netsach — “He will swallow up death for ever” (Isaiah 25:8)

GNŌSIS · “knowledge” G1108

Your Bible says: knowledge

The Gnostics wrote: gnōsis — saved by knowing, whatever the body does

Jeremiah wrote: judging the cause of the poor — “was not this to know me?” (Jeremiah 22:16)

Words your Bible borrowed (2)ekklēsia · oikonomia

This is what Yahuah actually wrote.

These Greek words replaced the Hebrew beneath this doctrine. Each one came from Greek myth or philosophy — and brought its meaning with it.

EKKLĒSIA · “church” G1577

Your Bible says: church

Athens wrote: ekklēsia — the city’s voting assembly (Acts 19:39)

Stephen said: qahal — Israel, “the church in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38)

OIKONOMIA · “dispensation” G3622

Your Bible says: dispensation

Darby wrote: dispensations — separate ages with separate terms

Paul wrote: a stewardship “committed unto me” (1 Corinthians 9:17)

Words your Bible borrowed (3)dikaiosynē · logizomai · hilasmos

This is what Yahuah actually wrote.

These Greek words replaced the Hebrew beneath this doctrine. Each one came from Greek myth or philosophy — and brought its meaning with it.

DIKAIOSYNĒ / DIKĒ · “righteousness” G1343, G1349

Your Bible says: righteousness

The islanders said: Dikē — the goddess of justice (Acts 28:4)

Moses wrote: tsedaqah — “it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do” (Deuteronomy 6:25)

LOGIZOMAI · “impute” G3049

Your Bible says: impute

Rome’s accountants wrote: a credit posted to an account

Moses wrote: Abraham believed — and “obeyed my voice, and kept my charge” (Genesis 15:6; 26:5)

HILASMOS · “propitiation” G2434

Your Bible says: propitiation

Homer wrote: hilaskomai — appeasing an angry god with an offering

Moses wrote: kapporet — the mercy seat Yahuah Himself provided (Exodus 25:22)

Words your Bible borrowed (4)phōsphoros · drakōn · kosmokratōr · angelos

This is what Yahuah actually wrote.

These Greek words replaced the Hebrew beneath this doctrine. Each one came from Greek myth or philosophy — and brought its meaning with it.

PHŌSPHOROS · “day star · Lucifer” G5459

Your Bible says: day star · Lucifer

The Greeks wrote: Heōsphoros — the morning-star god, son of the dawn

Peter wrote: phōsphoros — the Messiah rising “in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19)

DRAKŌN · “dragon” G1404

Your Bible says: dragon

Hesiod wrote: drakōn — the monster heroes slew

Ezekiel wrote: tannin — Pharaoh, “the great dragon” (Ezekiel 29:3)

KOSMOKRATŌR · “rulers of the darkness” G2888

Your Bible says: rulers of the darkness

The astrologers wrote: kosmokratores — the planets that rule fate

James wrote: “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7)

ANGELOS · “angel” G32

Your Bible says: angel

Greek art showed: Nike and Eros — messengers with wings

Moses wrote: malak — “three men” at Abraham’s tent (Genesis 18:2)

Words your Bible borrowed (2)proorizō · pronoia

This is what Yahuah actually wrote.

These Greek words replaced the Hebrew beneath this doctrine. Each one came from Greek myth or philosophy — and brought its meaning with it.

PROORIZŌ · “predestinate” G4309

Your Bible says: predestinate

The Stoics wrote: heimarmenē — fate that nothing can change

Moses wrote: “therefore choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19)

PRONOIA · “providence” G4307

Your Bible says: providence

The Stoics wrote: pronoia — all things arranged in advance

Paul wrote: blood, then bread — “let us keep the feast” (1 Corinthians 5:7–8)

Words your Bible borrowed (3)stauros · eikōn · stigma

This is what Yahuah actually wrote.

These Greek words replaced the Hebrew beneath this doctrine. Each one came from Greek myth or philosophy — and brought its meaning with it.

STAUROS · “cross” G4716

Your Bible says: cross

Constantine wrote: “in this sign conquer” — the cross on the shields

Hezekiah did: broke the bronze serpent — “a piece of brass” (2 Kings 18:4)

EIKŌN · “image” G1504

Your Bible says: image

Plato wrote: eikōn — the image that stands for heaven

Moses wrote: “ye saw no manner of similitude” (Deuteronomy 4:15)

STIGMA · “marks” G4742

Your Bible says: marks

The pagan temples did: stigma — the god’s brand on the devotee’s skin

Moses wrote: “nor print any marks upon you” (Leviticus 19:28)

Words your Bible borrowed (4)episkopos · hiereus · laikos · poimēn · anathema

This is what Yahuah actually wrote.

These Greek words replaced the Hebrew beneath this doctrine. Each one came from Greek myth or philosophy — and brought its meaning with it.

EPISKOPOS · “bishop” G1985

Your Bible says: bishop

Ignatius wrote: “do nothing without the bishop”

Peter wrote: “neither as being lords over God’s heritage” (1 Peter 5:3)

HIEREUS · LAIKOS · “priest · laity” G2409

Your Bible says: priest · laity

Clement wrote: laikos — the layman, a lower class

Moses wrote: “a kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:6)

POIMĒN · “pastors” G4166

Your Bible says: pastors

Homer wrote: poimēn laōn — the king as shepherd over the people

Ezekiel wrote: “I, even I, will both search my sheep” (Ezekiel 34:11)

ANATHEMA · “accursed” G331

Your Bible says: accursed

The councils wrote: anathema — cursed for disagreeing

Paul wrote: anathema for “any other gospel” (Galatians 1:8)