# Hebrew in seminaries



## rembrandt (May 21, 2004)

Is Hebrew required in most seminaries?

Please say no.


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## Christopher (May 21, 2004)

In all of the good ones Hebrew is required. In good Bible colleges it is required as well.


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## Ianterrell (May 21, 2004)

&quot;Is Hebrew required in most seminaries? 

Please say no. &quot;

Don't like Hebrew?


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## rembrandt (May 21, 2004)

[quote:15a5c746ca]In all of the good ones Hebrew is required. In good Bible colleges it is required as well.[/quote:15a5c746ca]

Hopefully just introductions to the language... It doesn't have to be mastered does it?
I can see why it is important and should not be neglected.

[quote:15a5c746ca]Don't like Hebrew?[/quote:15a5c746ca]
I'm scared of learning Greek, Latin, [i:15a5c746ca]AND[/i:15a5c746ca] Hebrew. I've started Greek and have the basics (the [i:15a5c746ca]very[/i:15a5c746ca] basics- all the paradigms, basic word forms, enough vocab. to understand some things etc.) down. But I CANNOT imagine learning TWO MORE languages on top of the Greek that I don't even know yet!!! 

How much memory is in Hebrew compared to Greek? Anybody get use out of Hebrew? And has anybody learned all THREE (it seems impossible)?

Rembrandt


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## Ianterrell (May 21, 2004)

I dunno my experimental taste of hebrew was very pleasant. It seemed easy enough. A friend of mine says its very easy to learn. Be afraid of learning Mandarin Chines, or Kanji Japanese. Those are hard languages. 

The Hebrew should be easier than the Greek.


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## C. Matthew McMahon (May 21, 2004)

Yes, seminaries (good ones) will require language work - usually 1 year of Greek and one of Hebrew (I think that is a bit too short, but that is the norm). In Bible college I took 4 years of Greek, which even then, I feel like I have so much to learn.

If we desire to be good pastors and exegete's, then languages is a must. That was the essential cry of the Reformation, and why we are Protestants today - back to the sources!!

ANYONE can learn a language. It is mostly based on memorization. Some require more than others. Hebrew is less intense (in my opinion) than Greek. In Greek there are &quot;tons&quot; of exceptions. You have rules, but there are as many exceptions to the rule as there are rules. Lots of extra conjugations to memorize.

However, memorization helps one read. If you memorize all the &quot;squiggly&quot; lines in these languages, and force yourself to memorize, think how easy it will be for you to read a book in English after that?!!


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## panicbird (May 21, 2004)

For me, Hebrew was harder than Greek. I took Greek first, however, and have heard that whichever one you take second is the hardest. Greek (especially the vocabulary) is pretty easy if you are good with your English and have a decent vocabulary. Also, Hebrew is much easier to forget. I have a longer get-caught-up time with Hebrew than I do with Greek.
Though I do not know much Latin (hardly enough to say that I am a beginner), it seems to me that learning it and Greek at the same time would not be that difficult. They are quite similar.

Lon


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## Christopher (May 21, 2004)

Hebrew was harder for me than Greek. If you attend Southern Baptist Theo. Sem. and take Dr. Fuller or any of his &quot;offspring&quot; you will get to learn an uncommon way of learning Hebrew by learning &quot;Proto-Hebrew.&quot;


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## panicbird (May 21, 2004)

Christopher,

Explain this proto-Hebrew.

Lon


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## rembrandt (May 21, 2004)

[quote:98f57d973e][i:98f57d973e]Originally posted by webmaster[/i:98f57d973e]
Yes, seminaries (good ones) will require language work - usually 1 year of Greek and one of Hebrew (I think that is a bit too short, but that is the norm). In Bible college I took 4 years of Greek, which even then, I feel like I have so much to learn.

If we desire to be good pastors and exegete's, then languages is a must. That was the essential cry of the Reformation, and why we are Protestants today - back to the sources!!

ANYONE can learn a language. It is mostly based on memorization. Some require more than others. Hebrew is less intense (in my opinion) than Greek. In Greek there are &quot;tons&quot; of exceptions. You have rules, but there are as many exceptions to the rule as there are rules. Lots of extra conjugations to memorize.

However, memorization helps one read. If you memorize all the &quot;squiggly&quot; lines in these languages, and force yourself to memorize, think how easy it will be for you to read a book in English after that?!! [/quote:98f57d973e]

Only one year of Greek at seminaries?? Thats absurd...

How well have you been able to retain Hebrew while still adding to and recalling Greek you learned? Also, webmaster, have you learned latin (enough to read it)? If so, how hard is it to retain all three languages?

Greek is coming very easy so far (thanks to Mounce), but adding two more languages seems like alot!

Rembrandt


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## fredtgreco (May 21, 2004)

A seminary that does not require Greek and Hebrew is not worth going to. Period. End of story. Don't waste you time. Get it? Really. Yes, I do mean it! :tomb:

First of all, you don't NEED to learn Latin for anything. It is good, and helpful, but not necessary.

Second, Hebrew is NOT easier than Greek. Yes, I mean that. Only one thing needs to be said: ZERO cognates verses a plethora of cognates (get it ? - both plethora and cognate ARE cognates! )

If you have done some Greek Latin will be much easier and Hebrew will be easier than if you did not have a language.

Don't take short cuts, you'll regret it later.


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## rembrandt (May 21, 2004)

[quote:d374d0c187]A seminary that does not require Greek and Hebrew is not worth going to. Period. End of story. Don't waste you time. Get it? Really. Yes, I do mean it![/quote:d374d0c187]

yes. yes. I get it. 

[quote:d374d0c187]First of all, you don't NEED to learn Latin for anything. It is good, and helpful, but not necessary.[/quote:d374d0c187]

not necessary. but I want to. I'd rather learn Latin than Hebrew.


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## fredtgreco (May 21, 2004)

[quote:52c79bb479][i:52c79bb479]Originally posted by rembrandt[/i:52c79bb479]
[quote:52c79bb479]A seminary that does not require Greek and Hebrew is not worth going to. Period. End of story. Don't waste you time. Get it? Really. Yes, I do mean it![/quote:52c79bb479]

yes. yes. I get it. 

[quote:52c79bb479]First of all, you don't NEED to learn Latin for anything. It is good, and helpful, but not necessary.[/quote:52c79bb479]

not necessary. but I want to. I'd rather learn Latin than Hebrew. [/quote:52c79bb479]

I understand. Believe me, I do not want to denigrate Latin. I have 10 years of formal study in Latin and another half dozen in informal study. When I had more time years ago, I could read 15-20 pages of Caesar a night in my bed. Latin is good. But if you want to be a seminarian, and more important, a minister of the gospel, Hebrew is essential. Not extra or nice. Essential.


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## panicbird (May 21, 2004)

Re: Hebrew cognates. While I agree with the spirit of what Fred said, it is not exactly true. There are some (though VERY few) Hebrew cognates with English (none of which, as far as I know, are very helpful. English cinnamon is cognate with Hebrew [i:16e89c0672]qinnamon[/i:16e89c0672], and English gopher is cognate with Hebrew [i:16e89c0672]gopher[/i:16e89c0672]. To be sure, [i:16e89c0672]qinnamon[/i:16e89c0672] occurs all of THREE times in the Old Testament and [i:16e89c0672]gopher[/i:16e89c0672] occurs exactly ONCE.
Other than these (and I am pretty sure a few more...I cannot recall), it is all new and unusual vocabulary. But you never know, you might be one of those freaky geniuses that takes to Hebrew right out of the starting gate.

Lon


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## Ianterrell (May 21, 2004)

Hebrew is definitely more important to learn than Latin. The sources Paul, think about the sources.


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## rembrandt (May 21, 2004)

[quote:0f70d19c41]But if you want to be a seminarian, and more important, a minister of the gospel, Hebrew is essential. Not extra or nice. Essential.[/quote:0f70d19c41]

What if I'm not going to spend [i:0f70d19c41]tons[/i:0f70d19c41] of time exegeting the Hebrew text? I mean, for the pastor and teacher to preach or teach from the OT, I can see where it would be essential. But, what if I don't plan on teaching from the OT at all? I can atleast see where [i:0f70d19c41]basic[/i:0f70d19c41] Hebrew would be essential for my purposes. I mean, if I can understand it with a little help (lexicon etc.), why do I still need to be able to read it verbatim? Its not like I carry around a Hebrew Bible with me everywhere...

Perhaps, I am not interested because I haven't spent alot of time in the OT in the past year... maybe I just need to spark the Jewish fire...

Rembrandt


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## fredtgreco (May 22, 2004)

[quote:772b0baed6][i:772b0baed6]Originally posted by rembrandt[/i:772b0baed6]
What if I'm not going to spend [i:772b0baed6]tons[/i:772b0baed6] of time exegeting the Hebrew text? I mean, for the pastor and teacher to preach or teach from the OT, I can see where it would be essential. But, what if I don't plan on teaching from the OT at all?[/quote:772b0baed6]

Paul,

Please take this in the pastoral spirit that it is intended. If that is your purpose and intent, you have non business in the ministry. If you made that statement (which I have a hunch was for effect rather than reality) in my examination committee, you would never see the floor of presbytery, regardless of your other gifts or skills.

The OT is absolutely necessary, and Hebrew is necessary to preach from the OT. You cannot even properly understand the NT without it. How would you preach on Romans 4? 1 Timothy 3:16 ? Hebrews? 1 Peter 2:9ff ?

The minister must be a minister of the WORD first and last of all. Perhaps the single greatest lack in ministers that causes bad teaching is an inability to interact with the text.


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## rembrandt (May 22, 2004)

[quote:0c051e687e]If you made that statement (which I have a hunch was for effect rather than reality) in my examination committee, you would never see the floor of presbytery, regardless of your other gifts or skills.[/quote:0c051e687e]

I don't want to be a pastor, or a 'minister of the Word' in that sence. I do not believe I am called to do that. If I made any prior references (that might be what you are thinking about) to that occupation, I no longer find it agreeable to my purposes (though I don't think I ever said anything like that).

I can DEFINITELY see where that would not go over too well if one did desired this ministry.

Must one be an ordained minister in order to teach church history, historical theology, and the likes?

Rembrandt


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## Wannabee (May 22, 2004)

I have a love/hate relationship with Hebrew. I hate the process of learning it, but I love what I'm learning and the depth it gives my understanding of God's Word. Reading ABOUT what the Hebrew says is nothing like working the text yourself. And I only have one year under my belt. Also, if I can learn to parse Hebew verbs (not very well) then anyone can.

We have/get to take one year of intro Greek and Hebrew, one semester of Hebrew exegesis and two of Greek exegesis. I'm hoping to take at least two more semesters of Hebrew and Greek. We'll see if I'm up to it.

We discussed this not too long ago in another thread.


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## Contra_Mundum (May 22, 2004)

*People are Different*

One of these languages is going to be &quot;harder&quot; than the other for you to learn. For some people, they take to both like a duck to water. I'm one who had great difficulty with Greek, and relatively little with Hebrew. It helped [i:0cf8802072]some[/i:0cf8802072]in my case that I had learned a little Arabic as a MK. But I also studied two western languages as well before the biblical ones. And I can't speak any of them, and can only read the biblical ones. 

Hebrew is &quot;simpler.&quot; The memorization through use of cognates is not there (generally), but there are other tricks. And the structure or grammar is less complex. This will not necessarily make it easier. The alphabet is totally foreign, and the writing goes &quot;backward,&quot; and the normal word order is verb-subject. Greek grammar is more complex, and exceptions are the rule. DON'T LET THESE CONCERNS DEFEAT YOU!

If I can learn Greek and Hebrew, then you probably can too. The matter comes down to willingness to put forth the effort, and conviction that it is the right thing to do. Don't sell ourself short. And it isn't as hard as it sometimes seems. Really.


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## Ranger (May 25, 2004)

I had a biblical languages minor and was required to take 4 semesters of one language and 6 semesters of another. I took 4 in Greek and 6 in Hebrew since I knew that more Greek classes would be offered in seminary and I would get a chance to make up for the fewer greek classes in my undergrad.

Hebrew isn't that bad. It's just different than Greek or English for that matter. It isn't as systematic as many of us western thinkers would like. For instance, the word for &quot;anger&quot; can also mean &quot;nose.&quot; This would be okay for a few words, but the fact that most Hebrew words have many very different meanings can cause rigorous trials in translation. You can't just learn the basic grammar and vocabulary to get by, but you really have to learn your syntax as well.

I love Greek though. Now that I'm done with a good amount of my seminary Greek classes and exegetical courses, I much prefer translating it over Hebrew. In fact, I'm usually guilty of checking LXX before BHS, just because I prefer translating Greek.


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