Dusty Phrases

Hi! Welcome to “Dusty Phrases.” You will find below an ancient phrase in one language or another, along with its English translation. You may also find the power to inspire your friends or provoke dread among your enemies.

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Greek:

Ἔρχεσθε καὶ ὄψεσθε

English:

Come and see.

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This phrase is commonly used by humanity, and likely always has been. However, the phrase’s notoriety derives from its usage in the Gospel of John, written originally in Greek.

John 1:39: He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.

The somewhat common phrase has a deeper meaning for Christians familiar with the text. It represents an invitation from the Son of God to follow Him. That invitation is the core call of Christianity. (I suspect many otherwise common expressions are filled with a deeper meaning once the words are spoken by Jesus and perhaps I will at some point study those, too.) The “Come and See” passage and phrase is probably as well-known now in the Christian world, as it ever has been, due to the international popularity of the television series, “The Chosen,” which is based on the life and ministry of Jesus. The series has adopted “Come and See” as a slogan.

If you google “Come and See” the first thing you are likely to find is quite different. In 1985, an award winning Soviet anti-war film titled “Come and See” was made, which depicted – in hyper-realistic fashion – atrocities committed by the German military in Belarus during the Second World War. The title of this film is deep in meaningful, but in a very different way.