Purpose of Studying Hebrew

A place for those new to Biblical Hebrew to ask basic questions about the language of the Hebrew Bible.
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AlishaGuyen
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2023 12:40 pm

Purpose of Studying Hebrew

Post by AlishaGuyen »

Hi all! I am a new member of the forum and would like to share my opinion on the topic. I think that studying the history and culture of a people, which includes Hebrew, can help us better understand the language and its meanings. I also think it is important to study Hebrew in the area of worship and study, as many of us study the language for that purpose. I would love to hear the opinions of forum members on this topic!
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Jason Hare
Posts: 1920
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2013 5:07 am
Location: Tel Aviv, Israel
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Re: Purpose of Studying Hebrew

Post by Jason Hare »

AlishaGuyen wrote: Fri Mar 10, 2023 9:03 am Hi all! I am a new member of the forum and would like to share my opinion on the topic. I think that studying the history and culture of a people, which includes Hebrew, can help us better understand the language and its meanings. I also think it is important to study Hebrew in the area of worship and study, as many of us study the language for that purpose. I would love to hear the opinions of forum members on this topic!
I approved this tentatively. I don’t know that this isn’t some kind of bot AI trying to figure out the topic of the forum. This doesn’t really have much to do with the topic of this thread. I’m going to split it away from the current thread. If it isn’t spam, feel free to respond and include more so that it doesn’t sound like a tautology.
Jason Hare
Tel Aviv, Israel
The Hebrew Café
יוֹדֵ֣עַ צַ֭דִּיק נֶ֣פֶשׁ בְּהֶמְתּ֑וֹ וְֽרַחֲמֵ֥י רְ֝שָׁעִ֗ים אַכְזָרִֽי׃
ספר משלי י״ב, י׳
kwrandolph
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Joined: Sun Sep 29, 2013 12:51 am

Re: Purpose of Studying Hebrew

Post by kwrandolph »

Alisha: I simply want to know God’s Word. Nothing fancy there.

When I really started reading the Old Testament in Hebrew, the only translation we had in English was the KJV, I had difficulty understanding the KJV—it was not the words that had gone out of use, rather those still in use but whose meanings had changed in the last four centuries that made it difficult for me to understand the KJV. There were no warnings on those words saying that the meanings were not the same as when the translators wrote them. I found the Hebrew at first harder to understand, in the long run easier to understand.

I also read the New Testament in Greek.

Karl W. Randolph.
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Jason Hare
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Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2013 5:07 am
Location: Tel Aviv, Israel
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Re: Purpose of Studying Hebrew

Post by Jason Hare »

AlishaGuyen wrote: Fri Mar 10, 2023 9:03 am Hi all! I am a new member of the forum and would like to share my opinion on the topic. I think that studying the history and culture of a people, which includes Hebrew, can help us better understand the language and its meanings. I also think it is important to study Hebrew in the area of worship and study, as many of us study the language for that purpose. I would love to hear the opinions of forum members on this topic!
We haven’t heard back from you, Alisha. Are you still around? I really feel like this was an AI post. I mean, “studying the history and culture of a people... can help us better understand the language and its meanings.” You said, “which includes Hebrew” as if Hebrew were part of the history and culture of a people, assumingly the Jewish people. Beyond that, “it is important to study Hebrew in the area of worship and study.” To study something in the area of study? I don’t really understand what this is meant to be saying. I don’t quite understand anything that you’re saying here, and it makes me think that it’s AI content.

Still, I’ll try to treat this as if it is a real post and ask: Do you currently study Hebrew? How do you incorporate Hebrew into your worship? Do you study the history and culture of the Jewish people or the people(s) of the Bible?

I learned Hebrew in order to better understand the biblical text. Like Karl, I was raised to read the King James Version (KJV). I didn’t find it too difficult, but it was important for me to learn to read the original languages. I started Greek at 17 years old (my senior year of high school) and Hebrew at 19 (my second year of college). I’m still working on Greek, as I’ve never felt all that strong at Greek, but I’m certainly making progress at this point (studying Attic regularly).
Jason Hare
Tel Aviv, Israel
The Hebrew Café
יוֹדֵ֣עַ צַ֭דִּיק נֶ֣פֶשׁ בְּהֶמְתּ֑וֹ וְֽרַחֲמֵ֥י רְ֝שָׁעִ֗ים אַכְזָרִֽי׃
ספר משלי י״ב, י׳
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