Dear fellow believers:
Is it necessary to learn Biblical Hebrew to understand the Bible?
I have been in the Hebrew Roots movement for almost 30 years. However, since 2004, I have noticed a major focus among a significant amount of believers in reference to learning Hebrew. Some believers feel you can't understand the Bible without learning Hebrew. Unfortunately, there has been a significant amount of division because of this. Some believers think you have to speak Yah's name correctly to get blessed or to ultimately be saved.
Let's understand something.
God created different languages. This is found in Genesis 11:6-8. He also said He would speak to His people in a different language other then Hebrew:
"For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people." (Isaiah 28:11)
"In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord." (I Corinthians 14:21)
This prophecy has certainly been fulfilled. Many Jews around the world have mastered English and regularly use it. English is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. The others are: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish.
"As of November 2012 the full Bible has been translated into 518 languages, and 2,798 languages have at least some portion of the Bible." (Bible translations by Wikipedia)
Remember, God has promised to preserve His word through all generations (Psalm 12:6; Isaiah 40:8).
Certainly, God has chosen to preserve His word in several languages.
He gave the Apostles the ability to speak different languages to reach people who did not speak Hebrew (Acts 2:4-11).
Yah inspired mankind to translate the Bible into different languages to reach people who do not speak or read Hebrew in the 21st century.
For those who worry the KJV and other word from word translations can't be trusted without learning Hebrew and Greek please read the following quote:
"Even the degree of variation between the two manuscripts that differ the most of the 5300 we possess would not fundamentally alter the message of the Scriptures. In the small area where word differences among copyists do exist, textual critics of the Bible attempt to determine the most probable original reading. This means that Christians can fully trust their Bibles. If (1) the extant copies of manuscripts can be shown to be 99% original, and 2) the remaining inconsequential 1% still contains the original among the variants, then there is no reason to doubt we have the inerrant Word of God as the prophets and apostles delivered it to us . . . even when the text is certain, there is an honest difference of opinion among interpreters as to the precise meaning of the passage. Few Evangelicals, I would like to think, will claim infallibility for their interpretations of the Scriptures; they are prepared to live with the (relatively) small degree of uncertainty raised by such limitations. The doubt raised by textual uncertainties, I submit, is far, far smaller." (The Facts On The King James Only Debate by John Ankerberg & John Weldon, pg. 7-8, 11).
Paleo Hebrew
Is there some "hidden" meaning in the Hebrew text of the Bible? Some believers actually believe Paleo Hebrew gives a person the ability to find a secret code hidden in the Bible.
Is this true?
Dr. Michael Brown, who has a doctor's degree in Semetic languages and speaks Hebrew; reads Biblical Hebrew-did an interview with TorahResource. Click Paleo Hebrew to listen to the interview.
The author of the Hebrew4Christians.com website suggests a student of the Bible focus on the plain historical meaning of the text of the Bible.
The plain historical meaning involves understanding Jewish history and the Jews' correct interpretations of the Bible. It does not require you learn Biblical Hebrew.
Paleo Hebrew is interesting. However, be careful on how you study it and use it.
The main focus of religion or worship
The focus of religion is not trying to figure out the most perfect translation of a scripture. We should not debate about words and/or the correct pronunciation of God's and Jesus' name (Yeshua, Yahshua, Yahweh, YHWH, YHVH . . . etc.). Believers who debate about words cause strife and contribute toward the division of the assemblies (2 Timothy 2:14, 23; 1 Timothy 6:4). Remember, God's word is above His name (Psalm 138:2) and we should understand calling on His name involves making His deeds known to people (Psalm 105:1). Additionally, our main focus is doing good works NOT debating about specific words and the Torah (teachings) of Elohim (Titus 3:8-9; James 1:27).
Must you learn Biblical Hebrew to understand the Bible?
Please read the following quote by a Jew:
"You’ve stumbled upon one of the secrets to Jewish survival. As holy
as Hebrew is, and as central as it is to our prayer and study, it is not
what defines us as Jews.
"Ever since we were exiled from Israel, we have spoken many languages. Usually, the new language was a blend of Hebrew and our host language (Aramaic, Ladino, Judeo-Arabic, Yiddish). At other times, we simply adopted the local tongue, throwing in a few typical Jewish expressions (like this article).
"Is this ideal?
"No. In a perfect world, we would all be speaking Hebrew.
"But the rabbis understood that it is not Hebrew, but the Torah, that
sustains us as a nation. Our language, country of residence, culture,
and accent have changed numerous times throughout history. But we are
still here today. For the Torah has been studied and its mitzvahs observed in all times, lands, and circumstances.
"Let the language be compromised, but not the message.
"Beyond this, there’s another crucial point: translating the Torah is
not only a plan to survive exile. It is also a strategy towards the
Messianic ideal.
"To explain, let me take this step-by-step:
As we stood poised to enter the Land of Canaan, the Torah tells us that Moses “explained the entire Torah.” What sort of explanation was this? According to our sages, it was a translation of the Torah into the seventy languages.
"But why did the Jews need to hear the Torah in Afrikaans in order to conquer the promised land?
"Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter of Ger (in his classic work, the Sefat Emet)
expounds on an answer provided by his grandfather, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir
Alter (known for his work, the Chidushei HaRIM), that the plan was much
grander than that. Moses, in his prophetic vision, foresaw that the Jews
would one day be exiled from that promised land and would require the
Torah in other languages.
But this too needs clarification: Why did Moses himself, thirty-seven
days before his passing, feel the need to personally translate the
Torah? Why couldn’t he leave that job for future leaders?
"The answer is profound:
"The Torah is more than a sum total of letters, words, and ideas. It is G‑d’s Torah. It is holy. As a good author invests his very life and being into his work, so G‑d is found in His Torah.
"But only a Torah spoken and written in the very same manner assumes
this holiness. The problem is, G‑d revealed the Torah to Moses in
Hebrew. Moses, in turn, recorded the Torah in Hebrew.
"Sure, anyone could translate Torah ideas. It would make for a good
read, possibly even become a bestseller. But it would belong in the
self-help section at Barnes & Noble, not the synagogue. Such a book
would not be the Torah. And studying it would not be a holy experience.
"Unless, of course, the very same person who received the Torah from G-d offered the translation.
"So Moses translated the Torah personally, thereby imbuing its
holiness into all translations that would follow. So that when I learn
the Chumash in English today,
I am in fact connecting to God and studying His wisdom.
"And with that, something perhaps even greater is accomplished: the
English language itself becomes sublimated. Because every time the Torah
is studied in a particular language, secular letters and words become
sacred. So much so that the footers on many of our pages say: “The text
on this page contains sacred literature. Please do not deface or
discard.”
"Gradually, as Jews study Torah in every language, the entire world is
raised higher into a Torah realm, making us one step closer to the time
when “the entire land will be filled with the knowledge of G‑d.”
"May that time come very soon." (Is It Torah If It’s Not In Hebrew? By Yisroel Cotlar)
I am teaching myself Hebrew because I want to communicate to my Jewish brothers in Hebrew and I would like to read the Hebrew Bible. I am not doing it to uncover a "secret" meaning in the text. It is possible to understand the Bible in any language if it is a word from word translation. Plus, there are Bible concordances and software programs like e-Sword and Logos to help you dig deeper into the Bible and learn the original Hebrew or Greek word without learning the languages.
For those who desire to learn Biblical Hebrew at home, I recommend Tim Hegg's home study course.
- Our main goal when we Bible study should be to understand the message not to learn Biblical Hebrew. For example, I successfully challenged a Jewish conservative Rabbi about Yeshua being the Messiah without knowing how to read the Bible in Hebrew. This Rabbi can eat Biblical Hebrew for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A professor of Jewish history once told me if I could locate a particular scripture by memory, then it would not be necessary to learn Hebrew. He should know because he mastered Hebrew.
Herbert W. Armstrong, one of the pioneers of the Hebrew Roots movement, did not learn Biblical Hebrew. However, he understood and taught a lot of Biblical truth. This certainly proves it is not necessary to learn Biblical Hebrew to understand the Bible. Ultimately, knowing and understanding the scriptures is more important then knowing Biblical Hebrew.
Shalom.
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