Category Archives: original languages

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The Best Way to Keep up With Hebrew: Daily Dose

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What a joy to run into Adam Howell, the Daily Dose of Hebrew guy, at ETS!

I am currently on vacation this week following a wonderful first experience at the Evangelical Homiletics Society (more on that in another post).

Michele and I had the privilege to attend the annual ETS conference in Boston last week. On one of my breaks in between paper presentations, I ran into Adam Howell, the Daily Dose of Hebrew guy (kind of like the famous Capital One Bank Guy on TV). I thanked him for his work and told him I listen to him almost every morning.

If your Hebrew is a bit rusty or you simply want to keep your proficiency growing, nothing beats watching the Daily Dose of Hebrew. I get an email early each morning (there’s a Greek version too that’s excellent). The videos are about 3 minutes long. On your screen is a Hebrew Bible verse or part of a verse. Adam, who teaches at Boyce College, the undergraduate school at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY, highlights the text as he reads the Hebrew and explains some of the grammatical issues.

From the time I learned about Daily Dose I have been making it a part of my morning routine. I can’t speak highly enough about what Adam does and how helpful the videos are.

One of the things I notice in young preachers with little or no Hebrew training: they mispronounce the Hebrew that they refer to in their sermon. While it’s not a sin punishable by death–hey, I mispronounce English words for goodness sakes!–it does eat at your credibility with some listeners. Plus, you owe it to your faith-family to be a good student of the word of God. If you’re going to dabble with the original languages, dabble with some measure of skill!

Daily Dose is the way to go!

May our Lord receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21) as you expound the Word of God to your faith-family.

Randal

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Preaching Workshop, Unpacking Sacred Scripture, in Greenbelt, MD and Lancaster, PA

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Dr. Mark Meyer and I recording one of our first, Unpacking Sacred Scripture, videos.

Some of you know that, for many years, I have had the privilege of teaching Advanced Homiletics to masters level students of LBC|Capital. Through my association with the school, I met Dr. Mark Meyer, a premier Hebrew and Semitic Language scholar. Most recently, I had the joy of completing my Ph.D. in Biblical Studies under Mark’s leadership.

A few years ago I asked Mark to consider making some videos after the fashion of Daily Dose of Hebrew. He agreed and we began shooting some videos in LBC|Capital’s film studio.

In addition to those videos, I also envisioned holding periodic workshops where Mark and I could meet with a group of preachers and teachers of Sacred Scripture and discuss ways to sharpen our gift.

Lord willing, we are offering workshops in Greenbelt, MD (LBC’s D.C. location) on April 15, 2023 and in Lancaster on campus on April 29, 2023. The times are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. More details should be arriving soon, but we will be focusing on the Psalms, the subject of my dissertation and one of Mark’s favorite places in Scripture.

I hope your sermon preparation is off to a great start. Sundays comes so quickly!

Randal

P.S. Mark and I are also talking about the possibility of holding a two or three day retreat with a select group for the purpose of tackling how to preach through a book of the Bible.

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How Do You Handle All The English Translations Your Congregants Carry?

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Our parishioners have lots of English versions of the Bible to choose from. On any given Sunday I can count on our faith-family members to carry ESV’s, NIV’s, NASB’s, KJV’s, NKJV’s, and NLT’s. And I’m probably forgetting some.

Most weekends, I try to familiarize myself with how those translations read. I want to know what my congregants are reading while I’m teaching. Sometimes the differences are minimal; other times critical.

My training at Dallas Theological Seminary and post-doctoral studies at Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia) equipped me to read Hebrew and Greek during my sermon preparation. This gives me a platform from which to understand why English translators are doing what they’re doing. Sometimes I pass that information on to our folks.

But that can create a problem. My attempts to explain why, for instance, the NIV is not the “best” translation of that word/phrase/verse, can give the congregants holding that translation the notion that their Bible isn’t reliable. I don’t want to do that.

In his commentary on Luke’s Gospel, Fred Craddock writes:

Some parishioners will need help with such textual variants lest the mood of uncertainty about the text become erosive to faith. The preacher and the teacher want always to give the Bible to the listeners, not take it away (p. 289).
How can we explain the different English translations of our Sunday preaching portions and still instill confidence that this is God’s Word?
  1. Remind them that translators are wrestling with original-language sources that read differently. Sometimes, just knowing that helps. Sometimes.
  2. Show them why their particular version works. Avoid saying, “Your version is wrong!”
  3. Tell them that choosing between these exegetical options is all good: “It’s okay. Relax.”

Before Sunday, check to see if you have any places in your preaching portion that require this kind of interaction. Give them confidence in the Word of God and contribute to His glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

And preach a good sermon, will ya?!

Randal

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Preaching and the Original Languages: Maximum Benefit from Minimal Knowledge

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How’s your working knowledge of Hebrew and Greek? I hesitate to ask. I know how difficult it is to gain an elementary working knowledge. I know it’s even more difficult to maintain an elementary working knowledge. Then, there’s the debate about how useful such skills are for preaching.

I am going to assume that the vast majority of folks reading this blog are not able to proficiently read Hebrew and Greek. That means you are not doing much translating of your own. Thanks to great tools you can still boost your communication of theology. Here’s a few ways to maximize the information provided by the experts:

  • Pay attention to the Hebrew and Greek word-order in key sentences. After several years of reading through the Bible in a year (roughly 4 chapters a day), I’ve decided this year to slow down and read the Hebrew OT little by little. Immediately in Genesis 1, I noticed the Hebrew ends each day of the creation account with the words, “…day one….day two….day three”, etc. Not much different from saying “the first day…the second day…the third day…” But just enough to change the way parishioners hear the creation account.
  • Usually, when you think of word-order, you’re thinking of emphasis achieved through the placement of key words–either first or last in a sentence. Sometimes it helps to attack a verse by using the order of the original languages. I’m currently preaching a series on the “one another” instructions of the NT. A week ago Sunday was Romans 12:10. The Greek noun, philadelphia, begins the instruction.
  •  Allow the original language terms to brighten your word studies. Years ago a professor once said that using the languages was like watching color television (compared to English only, black and white). The Hebrew language is especially good at painting pictures. But Greek also does this. The noun referred to above is a good example. Let the experts enhance your word studies. And, despite what some will tell you, it is helpful at times to remind your congregants, ” Our English word, _____, comes from this Greek word.”
  • Allow the original languages to help you explain the different translations being read in the pews. More than likely, more than a few translations are being read in your church. It’s often helpful for you to know why their translations read the way they do.

If you’ve experienced additional benefits, please take a moment and share them with us.

Preach well for the sake of God’s reputation in the Church and in the world.