Book Review: The Bible Doesn’t Say That by Dr. Joel Hoffman

The Bible Doesn’t Say That: 40 Biblical Mistranslations, Misconceptions, and Other Misunderstandings by Dr. Joel Hoffman

I have found myself drawn to a number of biblical books that seem to highlight the misunderstandings that we (I) have about the Bible. This one which is subtitled about 40 (yes forty!) misunderstandings about the bible made my list as soon as I saw it.

Dr. Hoffman is described in his Amazon author bio better than I could summarize, “A pioneer of applying modern translation techniques to ancient languages, Dr. Joel M. Hoffman brings the unappreciated wisdom of ancient texts to modern audiences.” This book seems to illustrate this wisdom quite well.

The Bible Doesn’t Say That

With 40 different topics, from creation to unicorns and violence to homosexuality, Hoffman discusses culture as well as language as reasons for misunderstandings and misconceptions of the Bible. He attempts to address the question of “what the Bible said before it was interpreted and filtered through religious rhetoric,” (p. 4).

I had heard reference to a unicorn being in the Bible somewhere, but never quite understood it. I have read the Bible cover to cover and perhaps would have recalled that – well, I just read a different version. It continues to be printed in the King James 21st century version. But what this reveals is actually that we don’t know Hebrew as well as we’d like to believe. Translators certainly know that unicorns don’t exist, yet they completed a literal translation (one-horn) when a real animal is what is actually mentioned. This kind of lack of understanding of Hebrew is not limited to animals. It is unique however and shows up 9 times in these translations.

Challenges in the book

Perhaps more interestingly, many of the examples or verses questioned by the author are left “open-ended.” No specific translation or clarification of meaning is given. That is left to the reader. This is great yet also for one who seeks the answer, it is frustrating – even while being understandable. Language is nuanced, like the difference between a virgin and a young woman, or sister and lover.

The most challenging part of this book is that there were 40 different points made. And I unfortunately cannot recall them all. Thankfully, they are short chapters that can be quickly reviewed if needed and if I remember to do so when the topic comes up.

Enjoyable aspects

I enjoyed some of the cultural writing discussion as it describes the poetic aspects of the Bible while explaining the meaning of words and how we can understand better intention when following the patterns of language. There were also various discussions of the references the New Testament makes to the Old Testament and yet the differences as well between the verses and their meanings.

The book was clearly a well researched project, yet never gets dry or too academic. The writing is engaging and thorough while also moving along easily.

5/5 Encourages Questioning

5/5 stars for encouraging questioning of what we’ve been told or read superficially in the Bible. If you are keen to hear why Moses may have had horns or if we live on bread alone or even why we shall not return to dust and ashes, this is the book for you.