Page from William Bradford, Of Plimoth Plantation . Archived at the State Library of Massachusetts.
Copyright Page
2020 by Adam J. Howell, Benjamin L. Merkle, and Robert L. Plummer
Published by Baker Academic
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakeracademic.com
Ebook edition created 2020
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-2224-1
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture translations are the authors own.
Scripture quotations labeled ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2016
Scripture quotations labeled HCSB are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible, Holman CSB, and HCSB are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
Scripture quotations labeled NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.
Photo on p. 127 is of page 1081 from Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia: A Readers Edition by Donald R. Vance, George Athas, Yael Avrahami, copyright 2015 by Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, LLC, Peabody, Massachusetts. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Contents
Cover
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Foreword by Miles V. Van Pelt
Preface
Abbreviations
1. The Goal of the Harvest
2. Weighed in the Balances and Found Wanting
3. Review the Fundamentals Often
4. Develop a Next-Level Memory
5. Strategically Leverage Your Breaks
6. Read, Read, Read
7. The Wisdom of Resources
8. Hebrews Close CousinAramaic
9. Getting Back in Shape
Sources of Featured Quotations
Devotional Contributor Biographies
Name Index
Scripture Index
Subject Index
Back Cover
Foreword
Like the authors of this book, I love to teach the biblical languages. It is one of the great joys of my life. Each year I am reinvigorated as I watch students emerge from the flood waters of paradigms and vocabulary memorization to experience Gods word in a completely new way. But lets be honest, teaching and learning these languages is really the easy part of the process. We set aside time together in class, we have introductory resources shaped to our various levels and needs, and we are invested with the excitement of being able to read our first verse without recourse to a grammar or lexicon.
No doubt, learning the basics requires hard work, but the real challenge lies beyond the basics, in the land of life and ministry after we have completed our education. The classroom is behind us, our classmates have dispersed, and the demands of life and ministry begin to reshape our priorities and commitments. This is the moment of decision, the edge of the cliff. Sadly, it is at this point that the hard-fought treasures of the biblical languages are regularly jettisoned over the cliffs of pragmatism and lost forever.
In the twenty-first century, however, it appears that winds of providence are blowing in our favor. There is what seems to be a healthy and exciting resurgence of the appreciation, study, and use of the biblical languages both in the United States and in other parts of the world. This is exactly why we need a book like Hebrew for Life . Why? Because Hebrew is life! Over 75 percent of the Christian Bible was originally written in Hebrew, and this portion of Gods word is both living (Heb. 4:12) and life-giving (Ps. 119:50, 93). The word of God in the Old Testament restores the soul, makes wise the simple, gladdens the heart, brings light to the eyes, endures forever (Ps. 19:810), and, most importantly, bears witness to the person and work of Jesus Christ (Luke 24:44; John 5:3940, 46).
I wonder how many of us who serve as ministers of the word of God reflect the true value of Gods word in our time and study as we give ourselves to maintaining and improving skill in the biblical languages? We are fortunate to live in a day of unprecedented print and electronic resources to aid us in our study of the languages. We are without excuse, and so we ought to follow this scriptural admonition: Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15 ESV).
Miles V. Van Pelt Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages and Director of the Summer Institute for Biblical Languages, Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi; coauthor of Basics of Biblical Hebrew and author of Basics of Biblical Aramaic
Preface
We want you to love the God of the Hebrew Bible. Therefore, we want you to read, study, and enjoy the Hebrew Bible for the duration of your ministry. We want you to look back at the end of your life and say, I was faithful with the knowledge and training the Lord gave me.
The authors of this book have been teaching Greek and Hebrew for many years. During that time, we have seen many students begin to use the biblical languages effectively, only to watch their skills slowly erode after graduation from college or seminary. This book is one of our efforts to arrest such linguistic apostasy before it takes place.
This book has several potential readers:
- If you are a seminary or college student , we hope to inspire you with many quotes and devotionals throughout this book, as well as equip you with the best study skills and lifetime habits to make reading the Hebrew Bible a regular part of your life.
- If you are a teacher of Hebrew , we hope this book provides ideas to incorporate into your classes. Perhaps you will consider using this book as a supplementary textbook for your Hebrew courses.
- If you are a pastor or Christian leader who is using Hebrew in ministry, we want this book to encourage and sharpen you.
- If you are among the Hebrew exiles wandering amidst a nation whose language you do not know (Jer. 5:15), we are looking for you! If you are reading this sentence, we are calling you out of exile to the joys of the language of Canaan ( )! After reading this preface, you might consider turning directly to chapter 9, Getting Back in Shape. It is never too late to return to the Hebrew Bible, or even to venture there for the first time.
Regardless of your background, this book includes elements to both instruct and inspire you. In each chapter, you will find sidebars with inspiring quotes about studying Hebrew or devotional insights from the Hebrew Bible. Just as a chef-in-training is encouraged to keep laboring in the kitchen after tasting the delicacies produced by chefs who have completed their training, we hope these insights will nourish your mind and spirit.
Below is a brief description of each chapter. Adam extensively revised Greek for Life to prepare it for an audience of Hebrew students. Ben originally wrote chapters 1, 3, 4, and 6, and Rob originally composed chapters 2, 5, 7, and 9. But in this volume, Adam has now put his personal Semitic touch on those materials. Chapter 8, Hebrews Close CousinAramaic, has been added by Adam. In each chapter, the first-person references are from Adam unless otherwise noted.