Discovering the Beauty of Ancient Languages: My First Week of Biblical Greek and Hebrew
Why I Enrolled in Biblical Language Studies
About a month ago, I was driving to church and praying. I remember saying something along the lines of, "Lord, if I start this journey, it's because we're going. Let's do this together, but if you don't want to go, I'm not going either."
This prayer was related to a growing desire in my heart to learn to read the Bible in its original languages. There are a few reasons why I believe this was happening:
- I love languages and believe God gifted me with the ability to learn them well. I want to be a good steward of the gifts He has given me.
- I repeatedly hear that English translations cannot capture the rich meaning and poetic nature of the originals. I longed to read and experience this beauty myself.
- Every translation is an interpretation. Therefore, when we read an English translation of God's Word, we essentially read someone's interpretation of it. I'm not saying English translations aren't sufficient or accurate, but to have the best understanding of God's truth in this life, I believe it is important to go straight to the inspired source.
I had completed a short introductory course on the Greek alphabet and wanted to know what my next step should be. I considered self-studying, but I felt that guided instruction would be more effective for learning efficiently. Another option was enrolling in a seminary, but I found that biblical language courses in seminary often use outdated learning methods that don't lead to fluency. I wanted to achieve fluency so that I wouldn't have to translate in my head or refer to a lexicon every time I read something in Greek or Hebrew. Additionally, seminary is typically for someone seeking a theological degree like an MDiv, which is not my current goal.
I did some research on a few different options. I wanted to enroll in a program, but not just any program. I knew a good one could be expensive. I found one that I was genuinely interested in that seemed to have the results I was looking for. Still, they had no available courses, and it didn't look like they would anytime soon. So, I prayed the Lord would keep guiding me in this desire, and I trusted He would lead me.
A few days later, the program I was most interested in, which previously had no available courses, suddenly announced that they were reducing the cost of all their services and opened multiple live courses to start that very month! I felt amazed and overjoyed when I read the news. I knew that this was no mere coincidence. God confirmed in His perfect timing that we were doing this together. As soon as I had the opportunity, I enrolled in two classes for Greek and Hebrew (I will reveal the name of this program later once I've had a chance to evaluate it). And that's how my journey began!
Initial Thoughts
Here are my initial thoughts after Week 1:
In all seriousness, I am absolutely loving it! The classes are small and personal, containing only 3-4 people. The first couple of weeks, we are focused on learning the alphabet, and I'm blown away by how quickly I've picked up some of the material.
Speaking Improves Fluency
One of the interesting components of the course is fluency drills. In these, we read some sentences really fast out loud. It's only the first week, and they have us reading sentences already! Why learn to speak a language that is no longer in use, one might ask? Speaking is one of the most important ways to build connections in the brain that help you comprehend a language fluently. In the sense that you can translate something without giving it a second thought. In a 2018 study, researchers discovered
If traditionally favored, comprehension-stressing teaching practices were better at teaching students comprehension of their new language, the group that practiced through listening would do best on listening comprehension tests. However, the researchers found the opposite. On tests of many different kinds of comprehension, the group that had speaking practice was more accurate and a great deal faster — even though they had never completed a single comprehension exercise while they were learning the language.
So, speaking is one of the best ways to improve comprehension, speed, and accuracy.
Course Material
We also have at-home lessons that we must keep up with daily to learn the languages best. These lessons contain memorization techniques for the letters, grammar, and vocabulary. They cover speaking, reading, and writing practice.
Sometimes, the course material can seem very repetitive. I can't tell you how many times I've repeated phrases like άνθρωπος κράζει (the human shouts) in various ways just this week! But this is part of the learning process, and I believe it will pay off.
Pronunciation
I find that Hebrew resh (ר) is proving to be the hardest letter to pronounce so far. I'm struggling with words like בּוֹרֵחַ (boreach, to run away) and כּוֹרֵעַ (korea, to bow). The k and ch sounds are also interesting because they are pronounced more guttural.
The Greek language has a more straightforward pronunciation. For instance, the rolling of "r" in the word "άνθρωπος" (Anthropos, which means man) is exciting and reminds me of my high school Italian days. However, what really overwhelms me about Greek is the variety of pronunciations available. There are four pronunciations: Koine, High Koine, Erasmian, and Modern. I've narrowed my choices down to Koine and Modern at this point. Maybe I will learn both!
Final Thoughts
I didn't think much about how taking two languages simultaneously on top of my current workload may be challenging. I may have to make sacrifices in some areas of my life for now. In any case, I am up for the challenge. My journey has just begun, and I'm excited about what the future holds! I am also thankful to God for the work that He is doing in me through learning the biblical languages. I pray that this journey will give Him glory.