A History of Hebrew Part 2: The original language

A History of Hebrew DVD available through Amazon.Com - http://www.amazon.com/History-Hebrew-Its-Language-Philosophy/dp/1621370593

---------------------------

This is a segment of a much larger video production that I am working on and am looking for feedback (positive and negative) on the layout and content.

---------------------------

Many theological discussions, teachings and debates use phrases like "The Bible says," or "God says." From a technical point of view, the problem with these statements is that it assumes the Bible was written in English, which of course we all know is not true.

The Bible does not say "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

The more accurate statement would be, "The Bible says, 'bereshiyt bara elohiym et hashamayim v'et ha'arets,' which is often translated and interpreted as 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.'" (use paleo script for the Hebrew).

While this may sound trivial, it is in fact a very important issue as many theological differences, divisions and arguments are based on faulty interpretations of the text that could easily be resolved by examining the original language.

Once the Hebrew text is recognized, its meanings and interpretations can then be discussed properly. As an example, the Hebrew word reshiyt, often translated as "beginning" in Genesis 1:1, can be used for the beginning of an event, but it can also be used for the "best" of something such as we see in Numbers 18:12 - "All the fat of the oil and all the fat of the wine and wheat, the "best" of them which they will give to Yahweh for a gift. Also, the Hebrew word bara does not mean "create," in fact, you can see this same word being translated more accurately in 1 Samuel 2:29 where the KJV reads, "making yourselves fat." The Hebrew word translated as "fat" here is the very same Hebrew word translated as "create" in Gen 1:1.

Rather then attempting an interpretation from the English, one should at the least be attempting to understand the text from its Hebraic origin.

Through the use of an English Bible and a Concordance, the student is able to find the Hebrew word used in the text that lies behind the English. When using this tool, it quickly becomes evident that the English translators of the text were not very consistent in how they translated Hebrew words.

While it is true that one English word can not translate one Hebrew word perfectly and some translational liberties are necessary, this should only be done out of necessity and the change should be noted in a footnote to aid the student with proper understanding and interpretation.

---------------------------

Credits

Narration: Jeff A. Benner

Graphics: Jeff A. Benner

Music: Callen Clark, Jason Emory

Видео A History of Hebrew Part 2: The original language канала Jeff A. Benner