A Hebraic worldview must lead to a Hebraic lifestyle

Two books on the Hebrew language.

Chaim Bentorah is a teacher of biblical Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic from the Chicago area. We review two of his books below.

Chris Foster reviews ‘Hebrew Word Study’ by Chaim Bentorah (Whitaker House, 2016)

On walking into any Christian bookshop, one will come across numerous devotional books with all sorts of slants. When I first saw the Hebrew Word Study, I was sceptical that this would be any different from or better than others. The size of it, and the cost (I bought my copy for just under £20 from Amazon), would normally be enough to put me off. But it had been recommended to me by someone who had spoken about the joys of the Hebrew language, and I was intrigued by the thought that delving into it could “reveal the heart of God”.

Indeed, Bentorah believes that “If we take the time to study the Hebrew language, we can see the true beauty of God’s word and come to know God and His heart in a much deeper way.”

So I bought the book and started reading. Within a few pages I knew that the title was justified in claiming to reveal at least a little of the heart of God - and I was engrossed.

Exploring Roots and Meanings

In each of the 90 studies, the author starts with a verse from the Bible, takes a key word or phrase, and looks at the original Hebrew word that has been translated into English. He then explores the root and various meanings of the Hebrew word, which often don’t make it through into the English translation. He looks at other passages where this word is used in the scriptures to compare and contrast. Then, finally, he revisits the passage he started with, illuminating it further using some of the meanings he has drawn out of the Hebrew.

If you are looking for a book that will take you into the riches of the scriptures without you having to learn Hebrew, this is a good place to start.

As an example, in one study (p145) we read Psalm 27:5: “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion”. We find that the word translated ‘trouble’ (ra’) is related to the word which David used for 'shepherd' (ra’ah) in Psalm 23:1 when he wrote “The Lord is my shepherd”. How can this be? Bentorah goes on to explore this in some detail, relating it to the trouble one feels when one’s shepherds let one down.

Positive and Uplifting

In each chapter, the author draws out meanings that are positive and uplifting. The studies are not set out in any particular order, so the book could be read every day as a three-month devotional series, or more sporadically. There is a Hebrew-English and English-Hebrew index at the back, as well as a glossary of terms.

One doesn’t need to have learnt Hebrew to read this book (though it may possibly deepen one’s understanding to have a grasp of Hebrew letters). The author takes the reader through step by step, so it is not at all difficult to read. If you are looking for a book that will take you into the riches of the scriptures without you having to learn Hebrew, this is a good place to start.

‘Hebrew Word Study: Revealing the Heart of God’ (448pp, hardback) is available from Amazon for £19.34. Also on Kindle.

Paul Luckraft reviews ‘Learning God’s Love Language’ (True Potential Inc, 2018).

This book is described as a guide to personal Hebrew word study and can be seen as a companion to Bentorah’s previous Hebrew Word Study devotional.

The complexity of the Hebrew language means that each word can have a wide range of meanings; any book which can help us to navigate through this variety of renderings is to be welcomed, especially if, as the author claims, he has written for individuals “regardless of his or her educational background, cultural experience or level of spiritual maturity” (p11).

Warning: Esoteric Influence

However, a warning should be sounded here as Bentorah states his intention to take us beyond the words and into the “ancient rabbinical esoteric meanings behind each letter of the Hebrew alphabet” (p12). Indeed, the bulk of the book is dedicated to a letter-by-letter exploration in which the author stretches each Hebrew letter into the realm of the enigmatic and cryptic. These rather dubious extensions at times seem fanciful and even rather worrying.

Bentorah explains that he draws from numerous ancient Jewish sources, admitting that “Some information does come from the mystical books of the Kabbalah” (p39). He adds that he does not embrace Kabbalistic teachings and has studied them only as “a reference to develop my skills with the Aramaic and not to gain any spiritual insights” (p39), but this nevertheless may still be off-putting for some, and may rather contradict his claim to appeal to readers regardless of spiritual maturity. Certainly discernment is needed here.

Bentorah’s esoteric leanings rather contradict his claim to appeal to readers regardless of spiritual maturity – certainly discernment is needed here.

His foray into the murky numerical world of Gematria must also be read with caution. While this topic is certainly worth exploring, the author insists that “words with the same numerical value are in some way related” and could be the basis for fruitful meditation. Again, he is wanting to draw as much as he can from what he sees as a legitimate practice by the Jewish people who are the guardians of the ancient Hebrew language. He states that Gematria “has evolved over many generations of Jewish mysticism” but considers “their insights to be of great value” (p111). However, some of his examples left me floundering.

Some Valuable Information

Having said all that, there are some other sections outside of these central pages that are worthy of consideration: for instance, those on Jewish literature, the history of the Hebrew alphabet, and issues involved in translating from Semitic languages. The book provides very useful information in these areas.

The author, a Gentile who adopted a Jewish pseudonym, clearly enjoys exploring the delights and intricacies of what he calls ‘God’s love language’. Once you understand where his studies have led him then it is possible to make use of his ideas and decide how far to follow him.

‘Learning God’s Love Language: A Guide to Personal Hebrew Word Study’ (160pp, paperback) is available from Amazon for £11.54. Also on Kindle.

Continuing our series on the spiritual ‘manifestations’ of 1 Corinthians 12.

This article is part of a series. Click here to access the archive.

“Anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God” (1 Corinthians 14:2)

“Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good… to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues” (1 Corinthians 12:7-10)

Speaking in tongues is recorded in the New Testament as occurring at the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4) and on two other occasions (Acts 10:44-46 and Acts 19:1-6) as the early Church grew, but it is also listed as a spiritual manifestation by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12. It not only was misunderstood by believers in the early Church but also has created division in the Church down through the ages.

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul does list an accompanying gift of ‘interpretation of tongues’ to go alongside, so that others who hear the manifestation of tongues can also be blessed – that is, they are both intended to be for the common good. But even the understanding of this has led to some confusion.

What is Speaking in Tongues?

The word glossa (Greek for language or tongue) appears in the Greek New Testament more than 50 times, most of which refer to known languages. It is also used when referring to the flames of fire shaped like ‘tongues’ (glossa) which appeared over the believers at Pentecost (Acts 2:3) and at least once in a metaphorical sense when referring to speech, “my tongue (glossa, speech) was glad (joyous)” (Acts 2:26).

In academia, the term ‘glossolalia’¹ is used to identify the phenomenon of speaking in an unknown language, or with language-like sounds, and is made up of the Greek glossa and lalia (speech). Often this is used in reference to the pagan practice of ‘ecstatic utterances’ - unintelligible, language-like sounds given while in a state of ecstasy.²

There is an incident in 1 Samuel 10:5-11 which many biblical scholars believe to be an early example of glossolalia being used in worship. Before he became king, Saul met a procession of prophets playing a variety of musical instruments and “prophesying”. We don’t know exactly what was happening but some think it is reasonable to interpret this as an example of ecstatic praise and worship.

The gift of tongues was misunderstood by early believers and has created division in the Church down through the ages.

Ecstasy is observed in many pagan religions around the world, in which it involves the generation of mystical insights by holy men, often by entering a trance. It is an ancient practice found among the shamans in the Sudan, the Shango cult of the West Coast of Africa, the Zor cult of Ethiopia, the Voodoo cult in Haiti and the Aborigines of South America and Australia. Some care should be taken in creating a distinction between pagan ecstatic utterances emanating from a trance and the biblical gift of speaking in tongues.

To be more specific, ‘xenoglossia’ (or ‘xenolalia’) is the ability to speak spontaneously and fluently in a language the speaker has never learned, but is nevertheless a known language. This interpretation is taken from Acts 2:8 when believers were enabled to speak in the languages of the many other nationalities present in Jerusalem at the time of Pentecost. They “were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them…a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.”

Just Earthly Languages?

Many Christians who speak in tongues today believe that they are speaking a language that is not similar to any known earthly tongue but rather is a heavenly tongue. The usefulness of tongues as a personal prayer language is when we run out of human words to express our thoughts to God. This is what Paul refers to when he says “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans” (Rom 8:26). It may sound like gibberish to unbelievers, but God understands what we are trying to express.

The practice of speaking in tongues was heard frequently in the church at Corinth in the 1^st Century AD but has been experienced rarely down the ages, until the 19^th Century when it was accepted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) and then by Pentecostals in the early 20^th Century, followed by Charismatics as the century progressed, since when it is being much more widespread amongst Christians.

The usefulness of tongues as a personal prayer language is when we run out of human words to express our thoughts to God.

TO God – Not FROM God

It is important to understand that neither of these two manifestations, speaking in tongues and their interpretation, are God speaking to us, and so should not be confused with prophetic words. Speaking in tongues is a praise and prayer language addressed to God: “Anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God” (1 Cor 14:2).

This is the one manifestation of the Holy Spirit which involves us speaking to God, rather than God speaking to us. It enables us to praise God more than we can do in the flesh – it enables us to “utter mysteries by the Spirit” (1 Cor 14:2), which are not understood by others unless they are interpreted by those who are enabled by the Spirit to do so.

Private or Public? Both!

Speaking in tongues can be very uplifting, especially when used in private devotions, as believers can speak as often as they wish and are free to choose whether they will pray or praise with their minds or with their spirits, i.e. in tongues: “I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding” (1 Cor 14:15). This verse goes on: “I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding”. Singing in tongues is often very moving, adding greatly to any corporate act of worship as it becomes a shared experience.

In a public meeting Paul reminds us that this worship needs to be orderly, "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace" (verse 33). He recommends that only a few should share their worship in tongues at any one time and, in order that others can be edified and be able to say ‘Amen’ to these prayers to God, they should be interpreted or translated.

This is the one manifestation of the Holy Spirit which involves us speaking to God, rather than God speaking to us.

Worshippers should have control over how and when they speak in tongues as although it is a manifestation given as and when the Spirit wills, it is a phenomenon in which believers speak with God, without losing their own self-control and personhood.

Interpretation

The manifestation of interpretation of tongues is given so that the Body of Christ may not remain perplexed and unedified, but may be built up. A translation will enable the congregation to get the gist of what was expressed in the tongue, so that they too can share in the prayer or praise - without this it will be impossible to add a meaningful 'Amen!' (1 Cor 14:16). Neither tongues nor interpretation should ever disrupt a service, but should contribute to it.

Paul reminds the believers that “If the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?” (1 Cor 14:23). So interpretation is necessary when others are present. However, like tongues the interpretation will always be TO God – and never a message from him. It will enable all to praise God with their minds, which will enrich their own worship in the future.

Misuse – Ancient and Modern Errors

It is obvious from the letters that Paul wrote to the early churches, especially to those in Corinth (e.g. 1 Cor 11-14) that errors were coming into the Church on this subject and that it was causing division. Paul’s responsive teaching can help us from going astray.

James also reminds us of the danger of the physical organ the tongue, if uncontrolled:

…the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. (James 3:5-10)

Paul also reminds us that none of the gifts or manifestations are of any value unless they are manifested with love (1 Cor 13:1) – in fact, without love “I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal”.

Speaking in tongues enables us to praise God more than we can do in the flesh – it enables us to “utter mysteries by the Spirit” (1 Cor 14:2).

False Teaching

In the early days of Pentecostalism, in the 1920s, a tradition developed that tongues should be followed by a 'message' which was regarded as the interpretation. This was carried over into the charismatic movement of the 1960s and sometimes resulted in words purporting to be ‘prophecy’ being accepted without being either tested for their origin or weighed, with unfortunate results. This was directly against Paul’s teaching that “anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God” (1 Cor 14:2) and his instruction that all prophecy must be weighed (1 Thess 5:21).

God does not need to disguise his words to us in a strange language. He can and does communicate directly with believers in words that all can understand. Tongues can help in expressing our innermost thoughts and praise to God, when we simply do not have words to express what is in our hearts.

As tongues is a manifestation, given as the Spirit wills, and not a permanent gift, many churches today allow it but do not encourage it in public worship. Cessationists, on the other hand, believe that all the gifts and manifestations were restricted to the New Testament period only.

Does Speaking in Tongues Come with Baptism?

Paul indicated that new believers would receive the Holy Spirit when they first believed (Acts 19:2). New Testament teaching is that whoever believes, repents and is baptised will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Repentance and conversion are essential pre-requisites for this.

However, the ability to speak in tongues, though given by the Spirit, is not an essential sign of receiving the Spirit. Though this is often taught in Pentecostal churches, it cannot be supported from the New Testament.

In the biblical record of the early Church, tongue-speaking was not seen as a common every-day occurrence, but rather a miraculous sign for special occasions (as at Pentecost) as the apostles preached the Gospel and the Church extended. Paul’s teaching was that the gift of tongues is not important for salvation although it can have some importance for edifying the individual and the Church. But even in this role he said that prophesying is much more important: “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church” (1 Cor 14:4).

The ability to speak in tongues, though given by the Spirit, is not an essential sign of receiving the Spirit – neither is it a permanent gift, but a manifestation, given as the Spirit wills.

It would appear that Paul’s practice was to use tongues privately in his personal intercessions, but not in the assembly of believers (the church). He says, “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church, I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than 10,000 words in a tongue” (1 Cor 14:18-19).

Mark’s version of the Great Commission (Mark 16:15-18) lists the signs that will accompany the baptism of those who believe, many of which are other gifts of the Holy Spirit that might enable witnessing to be more effective. Next week we will move on to looking at the last three of the manifestations from 1 Corinthians 12, focusing especially on how they are given for the common good.

References

1 'Glossology' is that department of Anthropology which has to do with the study and classification of languages and dialects.

2 Unlike the biblical gift of tongues, some research conducted by the Lutheran Medical Centre has demonstrated that glossolalia can be learned by following simple instructions or by imitating a semblance of words said by others. See Got Questions' page on glossolalia, here.

Paul Luckraft reviews 'The Routledge Introductory Course in Biblical Hebrew' by Lily Kahn (2014, Routledge).

This is a good investment for the serious student of biblical Hebrew and for those wanting to get a flavour of what such study would entail.

It provides a comprehensive introduction to the language and texts of biblical Hebrew, covering all the topics usually found in a first-year university course, including the writing system, pointing rules, parsing, and strong and weak verb paradigms.

Structured Around Stories

As would be expected, the essentials of vocabulary and grammar are presented in detail throughout the 40 units. But where this course differs is that after the first two introductory units, each of the remaining units is structured round a brief story, which sets up the vocabulary and grammar points to be studied.

Each unit also contains supporting exercises to reinforce the main points, and ends with a specific biblical text, which gives the student a good sense of progress towards the main aim of being able to read the Tanakh.

This is a good investment for the serious student of biblical Hebrew - and for those just wanting to get a flavour of what such study would entail.

The stories are constructed to form a graded cycle, featuring characters and storylines similar to those found in the Hebrew Bible. After each story comes a section explaining the new grammatical points introduced, followed by a variety of exercises including gap-filling tasks, analysis of biblical words and translating English narrative passages into biblical Hebrew.

The biblical passages chosen to round off each unit are narratives rather than legal or poetic passages, and contain some of the most famous stories of the Hebrew Bible in roughly sequential order, starting with the creation story and progressing through to Esther and Daniel. These passages may be abridged (though never re-written), especially in the earlier units, in order to prevent the student being overwhelmed with too many new items at once.

Well-Organised and User-Friendly

Although designed as a one-year course, for many it will take longer - but that is not a negative point. It can be used for self-study at one's own pace or to encourage group study (maybe even just in pairs). The aim is that by the end, the student will "have been familiarised with all of the main points of Biblical Hebrew grammar, have been introduced to the most frequently appearing biblical vocabulary, and have acquired the skills necessary to read the Hebrew Bible independently as well as to progress to intermediate courses" (p.xvi).

Course units present the essentials of Hebrew vocabulary and grammar structured around Bible stories.

This is a well-organised and clearly-presented course, with a user-friendly text design in which the Hebrew script is slightly enlarged to make it stand out more easily. The book ends with an extensive grammar reference occupying 28 pages, two glossaries (Hebrew-English and English-Hebrew) and a short but useful index.

Companion Website

Another significant plus point is the free companion website, which not only makes the cost seem less steep but also provides the student with a wealth of extra learning opportunities. Here the student can find audio versions of all the stories and biblical texts, 'flashcards' to help test knowledge, a vocabulary guide listing words by parts of speech and much more.

Lily Kahn is Lecturer in Hebrew at UCL where this course has been trialled extensively. The Routledge Introductory Course in Biblical Hebrew (446 pages) is available to purchase from the publisher for £38.99.

Paul Luckraft reviews 'God's Signature' by Steve Maltz (2012)

God's Signature is the first of a trilogy of books by Steve Maltz in which he turns his attention to the Hebrew scriptures. Subtitled 'The Wonders of the Hebrew Scriptures', the author claims that we will gain "a whole new layer of understanding of our wonderful God and His wonderful book though our exploration of His wonderful language, Hebrew" (p11).

His aim is to find God's unique signature within the scriptures. This is not a book about man's ideas and interpretive approaches to God's word, rather it explores how God chose to say things, the method and manner by which he communicated his divine will and purpose. When God decided to speak to mankind through people like Abraham and Moses, he had to give them the best language possible to reveal his thoughts and feelings. And that language was Hebrew.

Dip into the Delights of Hebrew

Maltz assures us that his book is not intended as a Hebrew primer or a series of tutorials. Rather, it is a dip into the delights of the Hebrew language and how it can help us understand God's word. We are treated to a series of word studies, plus several insights into how Hebrew works as a language and why it is so different from English.

However, he does rather dart around and the overall impression is one of 'bits and pieces', rather than an organised journey. Patience is required to cope with his diversions and asides (some of which don't really go anywhere) and comments such as 'more on this later', 'we will ask again later' and 'it is time to have another look at...'. This makes it a complex, rather than straightforward, read (there is no index to help you if you want to go back to something mentioned earlier) and it may leave you wondering what to do with all these titbits.

But Maltz does explain that "Like a meandering stream, we are now going to wander through the Hebrew Scriptures, unearthing little gems on the way" (p155) and once we realise the author's intention, we can sit back and enjoy what he serves up.

This is not a book about man's approaches to interpreting God's word – but about how God chose to say things.

Helpful Sections

Towards the end of Part One, there is a good discussion of the Masoretes who produced the Hebrew (Masoretic) text of our translations, and some excellent sections on ancient manuscripts and modern translations, which he surveys very well. For me, the book is worth it for these chapters alone.

In Part Two we are back to a collection of word studies, roughly grouped into chapters entitled Men, Messiah, Mysteries and Miscellany. Here there are often echoes of things considered earlier in Part One and again there is a rather miscellaneous feel about the whole section. Some of these studies may be a bit too detailed for some readers, but others are very meaningful.

Perhaps the most helpful are those which shed light on 'sin' and 'Messiah'. There is also an interesting introduction to the idea of 'midrash', a particularly Jewish way of connecting up scriptures via key words in order to squeeze more meaning out of individual texts. This method of study is a consequence of the nature of the Hebrew language, and is perfectly valid once we accept there is one overall author, a Divine signature behind all the scriptures.

The discussion of the Masoretes is good and the sections on ancient manuscripts and modern translations are excellent – it's worth it for these chapters alone.

During the book Maltz also introduces us to a new translation, the One New Man Bible, and quotes from it regularly. He explains why this version is worth promoting and includes an excerpt from a review by Peter Sammons which, with his permission, we reproduced in full last week.

God Chose Hebrew for Good Reason

Overall, Maltz makes a convincing case that God's signature "could not have been in any other language" (p117) and that "God chose Hebrew as His language of revelation for a good reason" (p118). We can agree with this even if by the end of the book we are still a little unsure exactly how it all works and where it leaves those of us who are non-Hebrew speakers/readers.

Certainly we will gain the sense that if we look hard enough, we will discern God's personal signature written all over his word and get to know him better.

God's Signature (revised 2014, 190 pages, Saffron Planet) is available from Saffron Planet Publishing for £10. We will be reviewing the other two books in Maltz's trilogy over the coming weeks.

Why is the language in which Scripture was first written so important?

The original language of the Old Testament is Hebrew. The language through which the New Testament came to the Gentile world was Greek. This is because Greek was the language that was widespread at the time of the first apostles - not because Greek was to replace Hebrew as the language of Scripture.

A lot can be gained by understanding the scriptures through the Hebrew language and with a Hebraic way of thinking. You may already study Hebrew as an aid to Bible study - if not, why not consider doing so?

Hebrew Language and Culture

Language has a powerful effect on the lives of people. Before the advent of widespread communication, and after the dispersion at the Tower of Babel, language was probably the most important barrier keeping communities of people separate from one another. Language fenced them in, as it were. Each group's community traditions and culture then developed within this framework, interacting with and influenced by their language.

Hebrew is one of the Semitic group of languages, which also includes Ugaritic, Canaan-Phoenician dialects and Aramaic (it is also closely related to Ethiopic and Arabic dialects). As we study the growth of the societies of the Semitic nations in the Middle East, we find that language and culture were closely interwoven as the people-groups developed through the centuries. Thus when we are seeking to understand the background of the Bible we need to look at both the language and culture of the people.

The language of the Bible influenced the interpretation of the Bible. Israel is closely defined by the way Torah is interpreted linguistically, and this has been so for thousands of years. This was the case through the wilderness years, at the time of the judges and in the kingdom years, and on to today. In other words, the scriptures of the Tanakh (Old Testament) were interpreted into laws and customs of the community – and so Hebrew language was related to action. Understanding the Hebrew language is therefore key to understanding both Scripture and its application.

The Hebrew language is closely interwoven with Hebrew culture, and has long influenced the interpretation of Scripture.

In the chapter 'The Power of the Word' in his book Heritage: Civilization and the Jews, (1984, Summit Books), Abba Eban says:

The Hebrews entered history suddenly, without much storm or drama. Indeed, history barely noticed that the Jews had entered it at all. Why should the powerful, sophisticated empires in the rich green valleys of the Nile and the Euphrates be impressed by those ragged, wandering tribes? They had no cities, no temples, no buildings, no armies. All that they had were ideas expressed in words.

All subsequent history bears witness to the unconquerable power of those words. A few thousand Hebrew words uttered in Israel a few thousand years ago have been sending sharp impulses of thought and feeling into mankind ever since. We cannot imagine the history of civilizations, of religion, of philosophy, literature, drama, science, art, with acknowledging the potency of those words.

The words preserved the people in their separate identity... (p31)

This is well known to those who make in-depth studies of the power of language. Some branches of the modern science of linguistics concentrate on the psychological, cultural and social effects of language, so important is the link between language and culture. Language is far more than words that convey information. It forms the framework of personality, of society and of culture, both through the nature of the language itself and the practices that are described by it. Language and culture are inseparable.

Language is far more than words that convey information. It forms the framework of personality, society and culture.

With all the implications of this, Hebrew was the chosen language of God to convey his teaching to Israel. Their whole existence, and therefore the background to Christianity, is influenced by this. We gain a workable understanding of the background of the words of Scripture through scholarly translations, but there are other depths to consider through familiarity with the language of Scripture itself.

This is an immense subject on which we can only touch briefly, so we will illustrate with a small number of examples of the specific characteristics of the Hebrew language.

The Alphabet

There are 22 consonants in the Hebrew alphabet. Each letter is a word picture. For example, the Aleph is a representation of an ox, a Bet represents a house, a Gimel represents a camel, a Dalet a door, a Heh a window and a Vav a hook. Words of the scriptures were originally formed with consonants only. The readers and writers of Scripture would have been familiar with how to say each word and so vowels were not developed until much later.

Of all the languages on earth, Hebrew was the language God chose to convey his teaching to Israel, influencing their whole existence and the background to Christianity.

As Menachem Mansoor writes in Biblical Hebrew, Volume 1 (1990, Baker):Hebrew Alphabet, see Photo Credits.

The Hebrew Bible was originally written without vowels. The Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls, dated between the second century B.C. and the first century A.D., has no vowels. When Hebrew had ceased to be a spoken language, several systems of vowel signs were invented by Jewish grammarians to help the public read Hebrew accurately. Our present system was probably adopted about the ninth or tenth century A.D. and is known as the Tiberian – developed by Jewish scholars of Tiberias... (p31)

Vowels were written beneath, above and within the existing consonants, so that the original form of the words without vowels was preserved. The vowels consist of patterns of dots or lines. As Mansoor implies, oral tradition preserved the pronunciation of words, before it was considered necessary to preserve the Hebrew language in written form.

This indicates that though Scripture was written, it was also linked with oral traditions, being connected more to the doing of what was written than philosophising about it. It was primarily a spoken language. The written word was related to the spoken word, which in turn was related to lifestyle and culture.

Hebrew was primarily a spoken language, preserved through oral traditions before it was ever preserved in written form.

The Verb Structures

The verb structure of the English language and other languages is far more complex than Hebrew. There are less variations of a verb in Hebrew; generally speaking, the various tenses of a verb are formed by adding prefixes or suffixes to verb roots of three letters.

The verb is to be found at the beginning of a sentence, indicating its priority - as opposed to the priority of the noun in other languages. Hebrew is a 'doing' language, not a philosophical language. The tenses of the verb are also simple, related (in general terms) to completed, continuing or uncompleted action. If we consider the relationship of language with culture we have another clue as to the characteristic of a Hebrew speaker, who speaks in simple and straightforward ways relating to the activities of life.

In Hebrew, verbs are prioritised at the beginning of sentences. Hebrew is a 'doing' language, not a philosophical language.

Figures of Speech

EW Bullinger's book Figures of Speech in the Bible (1993, Baker) is over 1000 pages long, containing hundreds of examples drawn from the whole range of literature to be found in the Bible. Figures of speech reflect aspects of the Hebrew mind. We cannot say that every Hebrew speaker will use anything like that range of figures of speech, any more than every English person will be a literary expert at the level of William Shakespeare. But the Hebrew language nevertheless gives us some insight into the Hebrew culture and mindset.

We will take three examples for illustration: Ellipsis, Parallelism and Hyperbole.

a) Ellipsis

Ellipsis is the figure of speech in which there is an omission of some part of a sentence, which gives the sentence a special emphasis. Generally speaking, a sentence has three components: a subject, a verb and an object. Omission of any of these three is possible. Bullinger put it this way:

The omission arises not from want of thought, or lack of care, or from accident, but from design, in order that we may not stop to think of, or lay stress on, the word omitted, but may dwell on the other words which are not emphasized. For instance, in Matthew 24:19, we read that the Lord Jesus, "gave the loaves to His disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

There is no sense in the latter sentence, which is incomplete, "the disciples to the multitude," because there is no verb. The verb "gave" is omitted by the figure of Ellipsis for some purpose. If we read the last sentence as it stands, it is read as though Jesus gave the disciples to the multitude!

This at once serves to arrest our attention; it causes us to note the figure employed; we observe the emphasis; we learn the intended lesson. What is it? Why, this; we are asked to dwell on the fact that the disciples gave the bread, but only instrumentally, not really. The Lord Jesus Himself was the alone Giver of that bread. Our thoughts are thus, at once, centred on Him and not on the disciples. (p1)

There are a very large number of examples of ellipses in the Bible. With a mind tuned to this aspect of Hebrew, the reader naturally draws a particular emphasis because of the omitted words. This is an aspect of Hebrew culture as well as something we should understand in the reading of Scripture.

Bullinger demonstrates that there are complex examples of ellipses as well as more simple ones. For example, he perceives a 'Complex Ellipsis' in Romans 6:4: "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father..."

He writes, "The complex Ellipsis here may be thus worked out: "Therefore we are buried with him by His baptism-unto-death (and raised again from the dead), that like as Christ was (buried and) raised again from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (p113).

b) Parallelism

Parallelism is another of the figures of speech that gives a sentence a certain emphasis. In this case it is through the repetition of similar, synonymous, or opposite thoughts or words in parallel or successive lines. Bullinger distinguishes seven kinds of parallelism, each bringing their own form of emphasis. Often this figure of speech is considered poetic, but its use is more general than that – it is simply another aspect of the Hebrew way of communication. Here are a few examples.

Psalm 1:1:

Blessed is the man
That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor standeth in the way of sinners,
Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

Bullinger states: "Here we have three series of gradation:- walketh / standeth / sitteth; counsel / way / seat; ungodly / sinners / scornful. These gradations point us to the fact that there is a mine of truth contained in the verse, on which a volume might be written." (p350).

Proverbs 10:1

A wise son maketh a glad father;
But a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

Here the emphasis is made with a contrast in two lines opposed in sense to one another.

Proverbs 18:24:

There are friends to our own detriment:
But there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Bullinger says: "The point of the parallel lies in the plural, "friends"...many friends in contrast with the faithfulness of one 'friend'" (p353).

These are simple examples, but the Hebrew language contains examples of growing complexity.

c) Hyperbole

This important figure of speech involves emphasis being given through exaggeration. More is said than is meant to be literally understood, in order to heighten the impact of the phrase. Here are a few of the simpler examples noted by Bullinger (pp423-428):

Genesis 2:24

'Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife.' This does not mean that he is to forsake and no longer to love or care for his parents. So Matthew 19:5

Deuteronomy 1:28:

'The cities are great, and walled up to heaven,' to express their great height.

Judges 20:16:

'Every one could sling stones at an hair and not miss': to describe the wonderful proficiency which the Benjamites had attained in slinging stones.

These few, of the many examples of Hebrew figures of speech in the Bible, illustrate the character of the language in conveying ideas and forming the way of thinking of the Children of Israel, which in turn determines the character of the people and the nation as well as being a framework for our understanding of the scriptures.

The Hebrew Basis of Scripture

Apart from a few places where Aramaic was used (Dan 2:4b-7:28, Ezra 7:12-26, Gen 31:47 and Jer 10:11) the Tanakh (Old Testament) was passed down to us through the Hebrew language. It was faithfully copied from generation to generation in the scribal traditions, so that one small mistake would render the whole manuscript obsolete and require a fresh start to preserve accuracy.

Because the language used for the New Testament was Greek and because we have the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament), we have insights into the Hebraic background of the New Testament. We can compare words and phrases in the New Testament with the words and phrases of the Septuagint. However, it is always the original Hebrew that is at the root of the scriptures. The authors of the New Testament were entirely Hebrew in their outlook (and, for the most part, background) despite the fact that the message of the Gospels is recorded in Greek.

Every part of Scripture should therefore be read through the mindset of Hebrew. This is to understand both its meaning and its intent for our lives. Through faith in their Hebrew Lord, Christians join the historic community of the Hebrews and accept its Scripture, which is Hebraic in both word and deed.

In summary, then, the construction of the Hebrew language has its own characteristics which must be understood in order to discover the true meaning of Scripture. We have discussed how language and culture are related and suggested that the Hebraic culture is not one of philosophising but one of doing. The whole character of the Hebrew people, as intended by God, is linked to the study of the Hebrew language. We have also mentioned the important fact that the Greek of the New Testament should be understood through Hebrew eyes.

For Reflection and Comment

What benefits are there in reading the Greek New Testament through a Hebrew mind-set?

Next time – final in the series: Timeline and Bibliography