The Hebrew Learning Revolution!

Transcription

1 The Hebrew Learning Revolution! Why use this method for learning Hebrew? --Interest is the key to learning. --Are you interested in taking a class, or to be able to read the scriptures in their original language? Why do you want to learn Hebrew? I wanted to, so that I could study YHWH s Word better. Why is learning Hebrew important? --Nothing lost in translation! --No more commentary and opinion inserted into scripture. (Every translation is a commentary and reflects the beliefs of the translator. This is almost unavoidable.) --Learning Hebrew changes how you think! Why did I create this translation? --To learn Hebrew, while studying the scriptures is where I ended up, after trying other methods. Will you have to wait years in order to read the scriptures in Hebrew? --No! How fast can you learn to read fairly fluently in Hebrew? --Possibly in six months, if you do it daily! --Whatever you do daily becomes natural. If you can only commit to one class a week, then you may as well accept that you may not understand enough, to read Hebrew for a very long time. If you will commit to reading every day, it won t be long before you are able to read and understand the Hebrew well

2 enough to only have to refer to the English translation occasionally to clarify words that are not commonly used. You will find that you use the English translation less and less as time goes on. How long will it take, till you can start to read the scripture in Hebrew? --Possibly one week! Why would this way be faster/better than other ways? --I believe that YHWH has guided me in making this way different than the common means of learning Hebrew that exist today. --This system removes the added parts that actually lengthen the process, and that make learning to read Hebrew much more difficult. My own attempt to learn Hebrew began by using college course materials and aids. When I first started learning Hebrew by the usual common methods, I found myself very challenged and hindered in the speed I was able to learn. Terms such as; passive, jussive, imperative, participle, infinitive construct, infinitive absolute, intensified action, strong, or weak, stative, sufformative, preformative, imperfect paradigm, hollow, geminate, cohortive, participle, and so on.only served to muddy the water for me. I soon realized that I needed to be an English Major in order to understand some of the material. It seemed out of my reach. Outside of a College degree in the right field, the average person will shrink away from the seemingly daunting task of learning Hebrew through some of the current methods, because of the placing of the knowledge out of reach. Also, the time to learn has been amplified by the many charts of the verb forms and vowel pointings, which go beyond the simpler use of the original prefixes and suffixes that were given in the Scriptures. I am a firm believer in putting the cookies on the bottom shelf, where everyone can reach them.

3 This course of learning will steer away from the man-made system of grammatical rules, vast amounts of charts and rules of vowel pointings, and instead use easy to understand definitions of the added prefixes and suffixes. I m sure the Charts and Volumes have their place, especially in today s world, but will slow your progress in understanding what you read in Hebrew. Perhaps after you have built a large vocabulary in Hebrew and have become proficient in reading Hebrew, you might want to apply for a job writing for a Hebrew newspaper or to become its editor. I m sure you would need to know this other information to function in such a job in our modern day. You can however read and understand the scriptures completely without this knowledge. Learning Hebrew is as simple as learning to identify 4 things in the text; 1.) Root words 2.) Prefixes (added letters to the beginning of root words) 3.) Suffixes (added words to the end of root words) 4.) Infixes (added letters into the middle of root words) and then to build a vocabulary through repetition while studying the Word of YHWH. This class focuses on teaching you to do these things, while avoiding added elements that confuse the subject. Added parts: --Vowel pointing --Language that is unfamiliar to the average layman. --Lengthy explanations to Hebrew Grammar rules that lose the reader. I believe that the current, modern methods for learning Hebrew have created a fog that hinders learning and greatly lengthens the time it takes to learn it.

4 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. Luke 11:52 (KJV) Is there any purpose to vowel pointing? --Yes, they have their place, and were created to help people to pronounce words. --They are a learning tool, though I don t believe they belong in scripture. --I think that learning to pronounce Hebrew and speak it, is a good separate study to go along with this one. Does vowel pointing bring anything negative to the Scriptures? --Yes, they act as a commentary, and insert an element of man into the Word of Yah that He did not intend to be there. And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. Ex 20:25 (KJV) Is vowel pointing the best or only way to learn to pronounce Hebrew? --My opinion I think that the best way to learn is how a child learns to speak! This is done by exercise of the mouth and ears. I believe the best way to learn is by hearing the language spoken, and by speaking it with your mouth. This may be achieved through phonetically reading how the words sound in the language you normally read in, and by listening to recordings of the scripture read in Hebrew. I also think that simply knowing how to recognize the vowel points and pronounce them can be helpful for pronouncing, though I am not a proponent of vowel pointing being used in the scriptures. Endless verb charts and other Hebrew charts have been created by man,

5 surrounding the man-made vowel point system. Studying the complicated rules for vowel sound changes is a very exhaustive study that requires extensive memorization of many charts. I consider these unnecessary to learning Hebrew, and believe they will substantially lengthen the time it takes you to learn Hebrew. However, learning the sounds of the vowel points is very simple and can be done in a very small amount of time. I encourage that. Was the text of scripture (especially Genesis) designed to help you learn the language? --I believe so. I am amazed at how the Scriptures start out with very simple forms of Hebrew words and slowly graduates to more complex forms as you move through the text chronologically (in order of time). It is as if the first 5 or 6 chapters of Berashiyt (Genesis) were purposely and intelligently made in such a way by the original Author of this Book, that He intended for us to learn Hebrew from the Beginning of the Book that He gave us. Prefixes and Suffixes- --Basic and simplified charts are provided in the Hallelu Version Torah, and will be referred to throughout this class. How to use and read this translation --It is very important to understand the symbols used in the key to this translation, otherwise you may find the translation not making sense to you. --Words are listed in order of frequency. --Multiple meanings of Hebrew words are all listed. --Completely Consistent

6 A good example of inconsistency in some translations is the Hebrew word asah which means to do, or to make. In the most common English translation this Hebrew word is translated into at least seventy-five different English words. It is translated with such words as: accomplish, advance, appoint, apt, be at, become, bear, bestow, bring forth, bruise, busy, have charge of, commit, deal with, deck, do, dress, execute, exercise, fashion, fighting-man, fit, fly, follow, fulfill, furnish, gather, get, go about, govern, grant, great, hold, keep, labor, maintain, make, be meet, observe, be occupied, offer, pare, bring to pass, perform, practice, prepare, procure, provide, put, requite, serve, set, shew, spend, take, trim, be a warrior, yield, use, etc. I think this list makes my point very well. It is therefore, extremely difficult to ever understand or memorize the meaning of that Hebrew word. There is an old saying that says repetition is the key to learning. It is through the consistent hearing or reading of a concept that it becomes well understood by our minds and hearts. It s not that some of the different ways that a word is translated are necessarily incorrect, but that the inconsistency does not lend itself very well to learning.