"50 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know" (Rose Publishing)

TITLE: 50 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know
AUTHOR: Rose Publishing Group / Hendrickson Publishing Group
PUBLISHER: Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishing, 2023.

The Old Testament is written originally in Hebrew while the New Testament is in Aramaic and Greek. Since then, there have been translations into many different languages for the masses. Not only is the Bible the bestselling book in the world, safe to say, but it is also the most translated book in the world. Those of us who have studied Hebrew would know that Hebrew and Greek are a lot more nuanced than the English language. In fact, Hebrew words like "hesed" and "lev" are not easily translated into English. The word has to be considered in the context of the passage, and the passage in the context of the way it is being used. Plus, there are grammatical considerations on how the word is used. While the ordinary layperson might not be expected to learn biblical Hebrew like seminarians, it is beneficial for them to know some. That is where this book comes in. The publisher has chosen 50 words to help us appreciate the beauty of biblical Hebrew.  From "Adam" to "YHWH," "Shalom" to "Amen," this book comprises the words, followed by their definitions, where they are found in Scripture, and insights into the word from the way they are used in the Bible. Arranged in a table format, readers can reference each word with ease. The purpose of this book is to give the general readers an appreciation of the beauty of the Hebrew words used in the Bible. We learn how to spell and pronounce it with the help of transliteration. Arranged alphabetically according to the English alphabet, the words are arranged from A-Z, making it an easy reference for English speakers.

My Thoughts

Are the 50 words truly words that "every Christian" should know? Not really.  If we really want to appreciate the Hebrew language, we need to learn the Hebrew alphabet first. This guide does not offer that basic requirement. So, readers will end up just reading off the transliteration rather than the Hebrew word per se. Knowing the Hebrew word entails knowing the alphabet. Plus, there are many other words in Hebrew that are not included in this reference. So this selection can be seen as merely a sampling of the Hebrew words used in the Old Testament. Hopefully, this could spur beginner readers on to study more words and perhaps learn more basic Hebrew. Even without a formal school, we can still learn from Hebrew resources on the Internet. Are these words really those that Christians "should know?" On the language level, that is debatable. However, I feel it is more of a "marketing rhetoric." Having said that, the merit of such pamphlets is to give readers a feel for the language. Not many Christians would have been to Bible School to study ancient biblical languages. With the many different translations, paraphrases, and well-regarded commentaries available to us, laypersons can get by without having to take any course in Hebrew or Greek. Some Bible schools do not even require the study of ancient languages for their degrees at all! So why should anyone want to know Hebrew? Answer: To know God better and to make Him known wider. Those who call themselves disciples of Christ will have a high motivation to study God's Word and to know more of God. They will be eager to go into the original languages to glimpse the impact on the original hearers. Unfortunately, that is not what is happening in the real world. In reality, many people who call themselves "Christians" do not even read the Bible, let alone study the original languages! They could let pastors and preachers do the heavy lifting of exegesis and hermeneutics while they could learn the necessary from the lectern. For that matter, they might not even want to consider picking up this book. So besides pastors, teachers, Bible school students, or any interested individuals, why should anyone else pick up this book? For general knowledge of course! This is another of Rose Publishing's popular pamphlet series. Containing theological information accompanied by illustrations and brilliant colours printed on glossy paper, it is a convenient resource to help us understand the words whenever we come across them during sermons or other talks. There is another group that might benefit from this resource. This is the group that has learned Hebrew in the past but has mostly forgotten the language. 

This is a good resource to have. Perhaps, one might start a collection of other words and use the same framework provided in this book.

Rating: 4 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Hendrickson Publishing Group and Tyndale House Publishing via NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.