Why Is The Word For Peace Different In The New Testament?

Question: I have a question. I have been online looking at some lexicons researching peace. I have found that most of the references of peace occur in the old testament and refer to the word "shalom." The references in the new testament for peace all stem from the word "eirene." I know it's not coincidence. So what is the difference between these two words, and why is one in the old testament, and the other is in the new testament?

Answer: Good Question. The answer is fairly simple. "Shalom" is the Hebrew word for peace. Most of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew except for some of Daniel (and Esther I think) which was written in Aramaic. All (100%) of the New Testament was written in Greek. So "eirene" was the Greek word for peace. This explains why eirene only appears in the NT and Shalom only appears in the OT.

As far as difference in meaning, there is not too much of a difference. In fact the Hebrew word shalom was translated as eirene when the Hebrew OT was translated in to Greek in a OT translation called the LXX or Seventy (It was named after the 70 Hebrew scholars who translated it in Alexandria Egypt about 300 years before Jesus was born). Go here for more info on the LXX: http://students.cua.edu/16kalvesmaki/lxx/

To find out more about the similarities and differences between the meaning of the Hebrew word for peace and the Greek word for peace go here: http://www.preceptaustin.org/jehovah_shalom_the_lord_is_peace.htm#HEBREW%20FOR%20PEACE%20-%20SHALOM


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