Page 44 - Bible Doctrine Survey I- Student Textbook

to describe sexual passion, the dynamic enveloping of the conscious mind, to the near disregard
of surroundings. Eran is passionate love.

Philein is used about forty times and is the pleasure love that returns from a person or object. It
is often a very normal, “unimpassioned” friendship of one person for another. For example, put
two motorcycle riders in the same room at some event and when they discover their mutual
interest, they will most likely be lost in their own private world of conversation about chrome
and rubber. Put two graduates of the same college in the same workplace and they will develop
a unique friendship because of the pleasurable memories of life at that college. In each
situation, the affection developed because of pleasure, in spite of no other commonality. In the
first case, it was the PLEASURE of motorcycles: the roar of hot exhaust, the danger of taking
curves too fast, the brilliance of polished chrome, the thrill of aerated freedom that drew these
riders together. Philein is a pleasure responsive love (not a love for pleasure).

Agapan is used in its verb, noun, and adjective forms over three hundred times. It is evoked by
an “awakened sense” of value for a person or object. Agapan goes beyond the pleasurable
response of Philein to recognize the “precious value” in something. In contrasting Philein and
Agapan, the former is a love of pleasure and the latter is a love of esteem; the former takes
pleasure in and the latter gives value to; the former delights in receiving while the latter excels
in giving. Agapan was used grudgingly by secular writers during the Greek Classical period and
use of the noun form, Agapesis, was rare. This was true, perhaps, because the human condition
did not frequently share in this type of love, plus the other three encompassed the whole
human experience (Stergein-Obligation, Eran-Passion, Philein-Affection). Here was a word,
nearly dormant, waiting for something to give it prominence, and that happened with the telling
of God's love for people through His “esteem” for us. Imputed love is that love that we did not
deserve. Agapan possessed the necessary concept to fully expound the love of God. Agapan was
made for biblical writers. Agapan is God's merciful esteem for us.

2. Sometimes the word order in one language does not match the word order in the other.

3. Each language has hundreds of idiomatic expressions which make no sense when translated. Ex.
J’ai le cafard in French, translated word for word in English = I have a cockroach. It means “I am
depressed” or “I have the blues.” Another example of an idiom is this: Morgenstund hat gold im
mund. = “Morning hours have gold in the mouth.” It is an idiomatic saying that is similar to our
English saying, “The early bird catches the worm.” I.e., in translating, one must not only match
words, but must decipher meaning! You must ask the question, “What is this author really saying
and what words best express his thoughts?”

There are an estimated twenty-five thousand idiomatic expressions in the English language alone.
Going the other direction from Biblical idioms to English, there are dozens in the Bible, many of
what we have copied over and understand as idioms in the English language. Here are a few:
35

• bite the dust means to fail or to stop existing:
“I think my washing machine has finally bitten the dust.”

35 List taken from https://improving-your-english.com/biblical-
idioms/#:~:text=So%20there%20you%20go%3B%2032,their%20roots%20in%20the%20Bible%3F

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