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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. If you are a pastor or Christian leader who is using Hebrew in ministry, we want this book to encourage and sharpen you.
4. 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 (שְׂפַת כְּנַ֫עַן)! 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, “Hebrew’s Close Cousin—Aramaic,” has been added by Adam. In each chapter, the first-person references are from Adam unless otherwise noted.

• Chapter 1: “The Goal of the Harvest.” This chapter shows students why knowing Hebrew matters in the life and ministry of a future leader in the church. If a student’s primary goal is to be a better interpreter and preacher of God’s word, then the intermediate goal should be to have a working knowledge of Hebrew.
• Chapter 2: “Weighed in the Balances and Found Wanting.” This chapter grounds the student in the proper study habits in order to start learning Hebrew on a firm footing.
• Chapter 3: “Review the Fundamentals Often.” This chapter stresses the value and importance of reviewing vocabulary and paradigms. It will give the student the proper strategy for how to most effectively build vocabulary and retain memory paradigms.
• Chapter 4: “Develop a Next-Level Memory.” This chapter emphasizes the need to use as many senses as possible to learn Hebrew, including reading, writing, listening to, and singing Hebrew.
• Chapter 5: “Strategically Leverage Your Breaks.” This chapter provides specific texts that students can read over the summer (or any other extended break), along with exercises to work through to maintain their Hebrew.
• Chapter 6: “Read, Read, Read.” This chapter highlights the value (and necessity) of reading Hebrew daily. We suggest ways to use Hebrew in personal devotions and in Scripture memorization as a method for both knowing the Bible better and knowing Hebrew better.
• Chapter 7: “The Wisdom of Resources.” This chapter provides an overview of resources (including software) that can aid one’s use of the Hebrew language as well as strategies to best utilize them.
• Chapter 8: “Hebrew’s Close Cousin—Aramaic.” This chapter gives some practical advice on learning the Aramaic of the Old Testament.
• Chapter 9: “Getting Back in Shape.” This chapter offers practical ways to reenter the arena of Hebrew if it has been neglected for some time.

At the end of each chapter, you will find a devotional reflection from the Hebrew Bible. We hope these brief meditations whet your appetite for a devotional life spent in the Hebrew text. We also want to keep before you the ultimate goal of your Hebrew study: to know and love the Triune God and to love people who are made in his image.

This book would not exist without the input of many people besides the three authors whose names appear on the cover. First, we give thanks to the Triune God, who graciously saved three sinners and then gave us the privilege of serving him. Second, we thank our teachers, colleagues, and students. The best ideas in this book are the fruit of communal learning and reflection. Third, we thank Jim Kinney, Bryan Dyer, and others at Baker who believed in this book and helped bring it to fruition. Fourth, we thank various friends and publishers who allowed their work to be quoted or featured within: Miles Van Pelt, Peter Gentry, Bruce Steventon, Daniel Wilson, Michael Austin, Rob Starner, Andrew Yates, Jodi Hiser, Nancy Ruth, Will Ross, Steve Hallam, Tom Blanchard, Rusty Osborne, Dominick Hernández, Greg Wolff, Baylor University Press, Crossway, Hendrickson, and all others who have contributed to the joy of this project. Fifth, gratitude is in order for various friends, research assistants, and secretaries who shared historical quotes, searched for citations, and carefully proofread the manuscript.

Last of all, we dedicate this book to our families, who lighten the burdens of life and keep us grounded in the most important matter of loving God and loving others.