Cultural Progression
Immediately Jesus reached out with His hand and took hold of him, and *said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:31 NASB
Doubt – As we noted in other studies,[1] there is no Hebrew word for doubt in the Tanakh. That means that prior to the return from Babylon, Hebrew had no linguistic term that expressed what we find here in the gospel of Matthew, the Greek word distazō. The abstract idea was introduced into Jewish thinking through the influence of Hellenism. By the time Matthew wrote his gospel, the word was commonplace. It appears to have entered the Greek language via Plato.
But you will say, “How can this be? Aren’t there stories and circumstances in the Tanakh where doubt is mentioned?” A web post[2] makes the case with several examples from Scripture, demonstrating that none of the English translations accurately convey the biblical text.
The first is Genesis 37:33 where the ESV translates, “Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” The Hebrew is ṭārop ṭārāp, literally, “has been torn torn,” the Hebraic way of uses an exclamation point. The problem here is the translation, not the Hebrew text. The ESV has converted a Hebrew duplicate into a Greek/modern meaning. But the Hebrew doesn’t say this.
The second example given is Deuteronomy 28:66. Here the Hebrew is “Your life shall hang before you.” Despite many English translations, the words “in doubt” do not appear in the Hebrew text. They have been added by translators who apparently want to be sure you are confused.
Next is Job 12:2. Once again, the Hebrew ‘omnam does not mean doubt, but rather “truly,” or “indeed.” Modern translations use a word not in Hebrew.
Variations (“doubtless”) are found in English translations, derived from several different Hebrew words, and none of which require the Hellenistic idea of thinking that something may not be true or certain.
The author of the article cited concludes: “This study has showed [sic] me doubt does not belong in our translated Bible, . .”[3] I concur, but not simply on the basis of illegitimate cultural translations. Our English Bible incorporates a Western paradigm, comfortably accepting the wavering mental experience we call doubt. But Semitic thinking doesn’t view the world the same way. This should have been obvious from the fact that biblical authors embrace contradiction without wrenching their cognitive hands in agony. Doubt doesn’t belong in the biblical vocabulary because it isn’t a biblical idea. It came from a different world—ours!
Topical Index: doubt, distazō, Matthew 14:31
[1] https://skipmoen.com/2012/10/what-does-not-exist-1/ and https://skipmoen.com/2012/10/what-does-not-exist-2/
[2] https://goldtmann.wordpress.com/2015/12/11/doubt/
[3] Ibid.
Is it that Hebrews then thought something is “true” or “not true” and then don’t give it a second thought?
Not sure how to respond to this. There are several other articles about “doubt” on the web site. Look at those to see if you can answer your own question.
Semitic thinking (that of the historical ancient Israellites’ foundational testimony and paradigmatic understanding of the world is distinctively different from the way I have come to think and process/conceptualize through my personal context of experience and frame of understanding. But this Semitic ability to “embrace contradiction without wrenching their cognitive hands in agony” appears to have butted up against the influence of Hellensitic thinking in James’ epistle, in which he clearly presents the prevailing Jewish frame of cognitive content and understanding.
James describes (Hellenistic) double-mindedness in contrast with the Semitic capacity for embracing contradiction: “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask for it from God, who gives to all without reservation and not reproaching, and it will be given to him. But let him ask for it in faith, without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed about. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (1:8) And, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanseyour hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded! [Rather], Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joyto gloominess. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” (4:8)