Biblical Languages

Teachers must communicate in the language of the people they teach. They convey the Bible message by way of a translation from the original Biblical languages. Though studying these languages is not essential to being a teacher of the gospel, it is helpful. Sometimes a knowledge of Greek or Hebrew sheds valuable light on an obscure word or phrase. These languages are also abused by false teachers, and knowledge of them enables students to detect and expose such abuses. Also, translational theories have grown looser, and students trained in Greek in Hebrew are prepared to show the problems in such modern translations.

We thus teach Greek and Hebrew to our students not to enable them to dazzle audiences with their knowledge, but to provide them with the tools they need to ascertain the meaning of difficult passages. Our language courses take students from the ground level and gradually develop their ability to handle the original text.

Biblical Languages Course Descriptions

L151, 152, 153 New Testament Greek I, II, III – This will be an examination of the fundamentals of the original language of the New Testament.

L251, 252, 253 New Testament Readings I, II, III – The actual reading and exegesis from the Greek text of various New Testament books.

L261, 262, 263 Elementary Hebrew I, II, III – The language of the Old Testament will be studied from the basic principles of grammar and syntax to various exercises in reading and writing.

L361, 362 Old Testament Readings I, II – Reading and exegesis of the Hebrew text of various Old Testament books. Special attention will be given to grammatical forms, vocabulary, and Hebrew grammar and syntax. Prerequisite: L261, 262, 263 or equivalent.

L470 Theological German – Focuses on learning to read the Bible and other religious works in German, with minimum time devoted to listening, speaking, and writing skills. Open to those who have not previously studied German.