{"id":16184,"date":"2020-10-09T05:54:15","date_gmt":"2020-10-09T09:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/?p=16184"},"modified":"2020-07-04T05:58:09","modified_gmt":"2020-07-04T09:58:09","slug":"hebrew-for-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/euangelion\/2020\/10\/hebrew-for-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Hebrew for Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Adam J. Howell, Benjamin L. Merkle, and Robert L. Plummer<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>
\nHebrew for Life: Strategies for Learning, Retaining and Reviving Biblical Hebrew <\/span><\/strong>
\n<\/em>Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020.
\nAvailable at Baker<\/a><\/p>\n

Review by Jill Firth<\/p>\n

At last, this eagerly awaited \u201cone-stop shop\u201d for gaining and retaining Biblical Hebrew!<\/p>\n

75% of the Christian Bible is in Hebrew, as Miles Van Pelt reminds us in the \u201cForeword.\u201d Yet, sadly, many are cautious about beginning to study because they fear Hebrew will be too difficult to learn, and others who study Hebrew forget all they have learned.<\/p>\n

Adam Howell proposes Hebrew learning strategies based on the very successful Greek for Life<\/em> by Benjamin Merkle, and Robert Plummer, with an additional Aramaic chapter. Chapter 1, \u201cThe Goal of the Harvest\u201d answers the question of why we should bother with Hebrew, by answering that this study will firstly advance your goal to know and love God and others, and secondly, make you a better interpreter and preacher of God\u2019s word. Philip Melanchthon (1497\u20131560) suggests that Greek and Hebrew are needed \u201cto understand Christ rightly,\u201d and Martin Luther argues that they bring \u201cfreshness and vigour\u201d in preaching. The author suggests that you take at least one semester beyond your introductory year in order to develop your Hebrew well.<\/p>\n

Chapter 2, \u201cWeighed in The Balances and Found Wanting\u201d gives practical tips, such as building study habits and routines. Short, repeated chunks of time are easier to find and more effective than a long session, so half an hour each day is better than an extended blitz on the evening before class. Like sports training, some helpful strategies are variety, meeting with a group, and cross training. As James K. A. Smith says, we are driven by desire, and we will become what we love.<\/p>\n

Chapter 3, \u201cReview the Fundamentals Often\u201d offers strategies for gaining and retaining vocabulary and paradigms. Dominic O\u2019Brien, a former memory world champion, needed at least 5 repetitions for memorisation, and most people require to review a word 10\u201320 times, including several times on Day 1, then on successive days till mastery is obtained, beginning with 5\u201310 words at a time. Teaching others is the best memory strategy, with a 95% success rate, so working with a buddy or small group (or teaching your children, or a group at church) is an excellent idea.<\/p>\n

Chapter 4, \u201cDevelop a Next-Level Memory\u201d suggests using the senses, and a variety of methods including reading, writing, listening to, and singing Hebrew.<\/p>\n

Chapter 5, \u201cStrategically Leverage your Breaks\u201d offers graded texts and exercises, including a summer reading plan.<\/p>\n

Chapter 6, \u201cRead, Read, Read\u201d encourages the use of Hebrew in daily personal devotions, including Scripture memorization, beginning with 10 minutes a day, and building up to 30 minutes as fluency improves.<\/p>\n

Chapter 7, \u201cThe Wisdom of Resources\u201d reviews print and software resources.<\/p>\n

Chapter 8, \u201cHebrew\u2019s Close Cousin\u2014Aramaic\u201d offers practical advice on learning Aramaic, a close cousin of Hebrew.<\/p>\n

Chapter 9, \u201cGetting Back in Shape\u201d has suggestions for re-entry into Hebrew. Adam Howell introduces the term flawsome<\/em> \u201csomething that is totally awesome but not without its flaws\u201d to remind us that studying Hebrew is marvellous, but it is OK not to be perfect.<\/p>\n

The book concludes with \u201cSources of Featured Quotations,\u201d \u201cDevotional Contributor Biographies,\u201d and Name, Scripture, and Subject Indices.<\/p>\n

Hebrew for Life<\/em> admirably offers inspiration for students, ideas for lecturers, and a call to return to the Hebrew Bible for those whose ministry cares have led to the depletion of their Hebrew reading ability. Students, lecturers, and graduates wishing to strengthen, refresh, or rediscover their Hebrew will benefit from this book.<\/p>\n

Jill Firth<\/p>\n

Lecturer in Hebrew and Old Testament, Ridley College<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Adam J. Howell, Benjamin L. Merkle, and Robert L. Plummer\u00a0 Hebrew for Life: Strategies for Learning, Retaining and Reviving Biblical Hebrew Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020. Available at Baker Review by Jill Firth At last, this eagerly awaited \u201cone-stop shop\u201d for gaining and retaining Biblical Hebrew! 75% of the Christian Bible is in Hebrew, as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":16187,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHebrew for Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Adam J. Howell, Benjamin L. Merkle, and Robert L. 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