Anyone Trying to Learn Hebrew to Understand the Old Testament?

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Hey everyone, I found this forum recently and thought it would be a good place to ask a question. I’m Catholic, and I’m very interested in learning Hebrew to increase my understanding of the Old Testament and how it laid the foundation for the New Testament and the Church today.

I think I found some possible good ways to do so, but I’m not sure… any help would be appreciated! Does anyone here have any experience with this issue?
  1. Is there any good software for learning to read and speak Hebrew – I found something called Rosetta Stone, but I don’t know much about it.
  2. I found The Israeli Network, a cable/satellite package that shows Israeli TV in Hebrew with English subtitles. But I’m not sure I’d be able to learn much. I heard that modern Hebrew is different than what is used in the Old Testament.
  3. I thought about looking at various colleges that have online Hebrew courses. These might be expensive, but perhaps it’s the best way to learn?
Again, thanks for any help, and it’s nice to meet everyone!

Sam
 
sbachman said:
Hey everyone, I found this forum recently and thought it would be a good place to ask a question. I’m Catholic, and I’m very interested in learning Hebrew to increase my understanding of the Old Testament and how it laid the foundation for the New Testament and the Church today.

I think I found some possible good ways to do so, but I’m not sure… any help would be appreciated! Does anyone here have any experience with this issue?
  1. Is there any good software for learning to read and speak Hebrew – I found something called Rosetta Stone, but I don’t know much about it.
  2. I found The Israeli Network, a cable/satellite package that shows Israeli TV in Hebrew with English subtitles. But I’m not sure I’d be able to learn much. I heard that modern Hebrew is different than what is used in the Old Testament.
  3. I thought about looking at various colleges that have online Hebrew courses. These might be expensive, but perhaps it’s the best way to learn?
Again, thanks for any help, and it’s nice to meet everyone!

Sam
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Biblical Hebrew is, in fact, different from modern Israeli Hebrew. For one thing, the Israelis no longer use the subscripts denoting vowels.

I’d find a course specifically for Biblical Hebrew. Those Bible college websites look good. I might try them myself.

ICXC NIKA
 
Hebrew, being a Semitic language, is very different from the Germanic and Romance languages that we are use to; that can make it very difficult to learn. I had to learn Arabic for my job starting back in '92, and that made the Hebrew look a little more familiar, but I’m still a long way from being able to read it fluently. A long, long way.
 
sbachman said:
Hey everyone, I found this forum recently and thought it would be a good place to ask a question. I’m Catholic, and I’m very interested in learning Hebrew to increase my understanding of the Old Testament and how it laid the foundation for the New Testament and the Church today.

I think I found some possible good ways to do so, but I’m not sure… any help would be appreciated! Does anyone here have any experience with this issue?
  1. Is there any good software for learning to read and speak Hebrew – I found something called Rosetta Stone, but I don’t know much about it.
  2. I found The Israeli Network, a cable/satellite package that shows Israeli TV in Hebrew with English subtitles. But I’m not sure I’d be able to learn much. I heard that modern Hebrew is different than what is used in the Old Testament.
  3. I thought about looking at various colleges that have online Hebrew courses. These might be expensive, but perhaps it’s the best way to learn?
Again, thanks for any help, and it’s nice to meet everyone!

Sam
Click to expand...
Modern Hebrew is indeed quite a bit different from Biblical Hebrew.

If you live in a large city, you might try classes at a local synagogue (they will likely be very welcoming) or at a Hillel center if you’re near a major university. These would be your least expensive options.
 
sbachman said:
Hey everyone, I found this forum recently and thought it would be a good place to ask a question. I’m Catholic, and I’m very interested in learning Hebrew to increase my understanding of the Old Testament and how it laid the foundation for the New Testament and the Church today.

I think I found some possible good ways to do so, but I’m not sure… any help would be appreciated! Does anyone here have any experience with this issue?
  1. Is there any good software for learning to read and speak Hebrew – I found something called Rosetta Stone, but I don’t know much about it.
  2. I found The Israeli Network, a cable/satellite package that shows Israeli TV in Hebrew with English subtitles. But I’m not sure I’d be able to learn much. I heard that modern Hebrew is different than what is used in the Old Testament.
  3. I thought about looking at various colleges that have online Hebrew courses. These might be expensive, but perhaps it’s the best way to learn?
Again, thanks for any help, and it’s nice to meet everyone!

Sam
Click to expand...
I had a tutor and also used *Teach Yourself Biblical Hebrew *(I think it was this book–I’m away from my books right now and the cover is different, so I’m not sure).

You could also find a local Christian college. I’d hope that Catholic colleges would have Hebrew courses–certainly evangelical ones generally do. Find the OT professor–he or she will usually also be the Hebrew prof and will probably be overjoyed that someone not an “official” student wants to learn Hebrew.

Another possibility is to find a rabbi/synagogue and ask if they are interested in teaching Hebrew to a Gentile. Again, most will be delighted to help, I suspect.

PM me if you would like some help via email as you work through a book, if you choose to go that route in the absence of other opportunities. I have a decent reading knowledge of Hebrew, though I’m not an expert.
 
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