Why linguistics?

In biblical studies, as in many other areas of learning, language analysis has rarely thrived as an end in itself. For the most part, linguistics has served the needs of philology. Grammar has been formalized in order to read and interpret a text fluently and correctly. Special attention has been paid to irregular patterns and to rare and unexpected forms. The philologist encountering an odd phenomenon can consult a specialized grammar book and find an explanation of a puzzling form or construction, or the thrust of a peculiar idiom. By correctly identifying unusual language forms, the philologist can proceed with the business of interpreting the text. Grammar ministers to meaning, and this is as it should be. Ultimately all disciplines should serve to elucidate the literatures that we study by clearing out the channels of communication, removing the clutter of unknowns that block our understanding.—Edward Greenstein, in Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew, 29