Hebrew for Life

Strategies for Learning, Retaining, and Reviving Biblical Hebrew

Howell, Adam J., Merkle, Benjamin L., Plummer, Robert L.

• Editorial: Baker Academic
• Año: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781493422241
• Categoría: Teologia e religione
• Categoría: Riferimenti biblici

Three experienced biblical language professors inspire readers to learn, retain, and use Hebrew for ministry, setting them on a lifelong journey of reading and loving the Hebrew Bible. This companion volume to the successful Greek for Life offers practical guidance, inspiration, and motivation; incorporates research-tested strategies for learning; presents methods not usually covered in other textbooks; and surveys helpful resources for recovering Hebrew after a long period of disuse. It will benefit anyone who is taking (or has taken) a year of Hebrew. Foreword by Miles van Pelt.

1
The Goal of the Harvest

Since the Bible is written in part in Hebrew and in part in Greek, . . . we drink from the stream of both—we must learn these languages, unless we want to be “silent persons” as theologians. Once we understand the significance and the weight of the words, the true meaning of Scripture will light up for us as the midday sun. Only if we have clearly understood the language will we clearly understand the content. . . . If we put our minds to the [Greek and Hebrew] sources, we will begin to understand Christ rightly.

—Melanchthon (1497–1560)1

In 2007 my wife and I celebrated the birth of our first son. Thus we began the journey of parenting. Before our son was born, it seemed like parenting might be doable. Give some direction here, a little correction there, hold regular family devotional times, and voilà, a God-honoring offspring. It only took one night—one night—for us to realize it wasn’t that easy. The first morning after our son was born, my wife and I found ourselves begging my parents to watch our son while we slept for a few hours. They agreed, and when we got to our bedroom, we sat on the bed, looked into each other’s eyes, and began to cry.

We knew vaguely what we signed up for and the journey we just began, but we were overrun with emotion because in that moment, the end goal of parenting was not clear to us. Sure, we knew the intended outcome we wanted from our parenting. We wanted to raise children who love the Lord and who desire to honor him by living for his kingdom. But in that precise moment on our bed, this vision wasn’t driving our emotions.

Several years later, my wife was at a class for wives of students at our seminary, and she heard about “the law of the harvest.” It was presented as a way to persevere in parenting, knowing that there is a goal in the end—namely, the “harvest” of children who love the Lord. She learned that the journey to that harvest would be hard work. It would be dirty labor in muddy fields. It would involve hard soil that requires regular tilling and care. But all of this tedious labor is worthwhile because it leads to an intentional, tangible, and desirable goal. The task of parenting (for us) is more joyful or less joyful to the degree that we keep that goal of the harvest at the front of our minds. There are setbacks and difficulties for sure, but the small progress we see toward the harvest keeps us pressing on. Parenting is not the end goal, but it is the pathway to the end goal.

Likewise, the study of Hebrew is not an end in itself. The end goal of studying Hebrew is to know the God who has revealed himself through his word. God chose to use the Hebrew language to convey his will for his people through the Law, Prophets, and Writings. The goal of learning Hebrew (or Greek) is not to parade one’s knowledge before others, seeking to impress a congregation or friend. Rather, the goal is first and foremost to behold unhindered the grandest sight—God himself revealed through his inspired word. Therefore, the journey of learning Biblical Hebrew has as its goal the most important thing in all of life: the knowledge of God as revealed in the Scriptures. Although we don’t need to read the Bible in the original languages to learn about God, some things are lost in translation. In addition, for those who are planning to preach or teach God’s word on a regular basis, the need for reading the Bible in its original languages is of utmost importance.

Many students ask me if the acquisition of Biblical Hebrew is difficult. The acquisition of any language involves hard work and requires constant attention, but Hebrew seems to need more nurture and care along the way. When we get wrapped up in the jots and tittles of the text, we may feel discouraged or tempted to cast Hebrew aside. However, one of the joys I find in Hebrew is the richness it adds to the “flavor” of the Old Testament. The words I use in classes to describe Hebrew are thick and robust. It is as if Hebrew is rich molasses, so that when it hits the tongue, it provides full-bodied flavor to the text you’re enjoying. This thick joy of seeing God’s character revealed in the Old Testament is worth every minute that you invest in learning and retaining your Hebrew. If we don’t keep that end in sight, we will certainly lose motivation and consider abandoning the path. We don’t need to wait a semester or year to experience the delight of Hebrew. There is joy in the journey! But we also must remember that a solid knowledge of Hebrew will produce a lifetime of benefits both to us and to those we can influence.

The remainder of this chapter consists of three sections. First, we will offer four reasons why the study of biblical languages (focusing on Hebrew) is needed. Second, we will answer three common objections to studying biblical languages. Finally, we will encourage readers to take the responsibility and privilege of studying the original languages seriously. Throughout the chapter we will bring in the testimony of others who likewise see the importance of knowing the languages that God chose to use to convey his word to the world.

Why Study Hebrew?

Hebrew Is the Language of the Old Testament

In the New Testament, God chose to reveal his word (and thus his will) to his people in the Greek language. But the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and Aramaic. Although we have dozens of good English translations of the Bible, all translations are interpretations. This is because no two languages are the same. There are lengthy conversations about why translation committees choose to translate certain words, phrases, and verses the way they do. Most (if not all) of these explanations are influenced by theological presuppositions and grammatical restrictions of the target language, leading to the translation chosen. Something is inevitably lost when one language is translated into another.

“Reading the Bible in translation is like kissing your new bride through a veil.”

—Jewish poet Haim Nachman Bialik (1873–1934)a

Translations are good and helpful, but they are God’s word only insofar as they accurately reflect the Hebrew and Greek originals. John Owen (1616–1683) says, “Translations contain the word of God, and are the word of God, perfectly or imperfectly, according as they express the words, sense, and meaning of [the] originals.”2 Bruce K. Waltke expresses the importance of this: “Shortly after I began the study of Hebrew, . . . I became motivated to comprehend the biblical languages when I realized that most of my knowledge of God was derived from Holy Scripture, and the accuracy of that knowledge was contingent upon the correctness with which I handled its languages. . . . The logic of this Christian theology, that God revealed himself through the Scripture, inescapably led me to the conclusion that the authenticity of that knowledge rested on a precise understanding of the biblical languages.”3

“To be sure we have good translations, but as the Italian proverb goes, ‘Traduttore tradittore,’ ‘translations are treacherous.’”

—Bruce K. Waltkeb

In a very real way, then, the biblical languages are the means by which the gospel message is preserved throughout the canon. The great Reformer Martin Luther (1483–1546) testified to this reality:

We will not long preserve the gospel without the languages. The languages are the sheath in which this sword of the Spirit [Eph. 6:17] is contained; they are the casket in which this jewel is enshrined; they are the vessel in which this wine is held; they are the larder in which this food is stored; and . . . they are the baskets in which are kept these loaves and fishes and fragments. If through our neglect we let the languages go (which God forbid!), we shall . . . lose the gospel.4

Luther later added, “It is inevitable that unless the languages remain, the gospel must finally perish.”5 For Luther, it was while reading the original language of the Greek New Testament that his eyes were opened to the reality of God’s righteousness being revealed in the gospel. Because we believe in the inspiration of all sixty-six books of the Bible, Luther refers to a gospel that can be seen throughout the canon. For our purposes, then, to put aside the Hebrew language is to put aside our surest guide to the truth of the gospel from the Old Testament.

“As we value the gospel, let us zealously hold to the languages.”

—Martin Lutherc

Hebrew Helps Us to Rightly Interpret the Bible

Although knowledge of Hebrew increases our ability to rightly interpret the Bible, we don’t mean that knowledge of Hebrew guarantees that we will come to a correct interpretation. Knowing Hebrew does not solve all the interpretive questions. It does, however, help us to eliminate certain interpretations and allow us to see for ourselves what are the strengths and weaknesses of various possible positions. Jason DeRouchie rightly notes, “Knowing the original languages helps one observe more accurately and thoroughly, understand more clearly, evaluate more fairly, and interpret more confidently the inspired details of the biblical text.”6 The goal of the exegete is to be able to carefully evaluate the text by using all the tools at one’s disposal. Likewise, the goal of the pastor is to be able to deliver that careful evaluati...