Recognizing Hebrew Verbs in Scripture

When you're first learning biblical Hebrew, one of the best ways to memorize verbs is to see them in scripture. You already know what the verse says in your native language, so that's a great context for learning these new words. As you look for those words in your Hebrew Bible, you'll get used to …

Psalm 1:1 – Why Biblical Hebrew Makes a Difference

Today I was reminded of why I love learning biblical Hebrew. I'm just a beginner, but every time I discover something interesting in a Hebrew Bible verse, it makes me want to dig deeper. Grab your Bible and read Psalm 1:1. The first word of Psalm 1 is well known. "Blessed" is how it's often …

Refreshing Ways to Connect with God: The Blessings of Learning One Biblical Hebrew Word

One of the many benefits of learning the Hebrew alphabet is to be able to look up individual words in the Hebrew lexicon. Hebrew is such a rich language. Individual words have such depth of meaning, usually more than can be expressed with one single, English-word equivalent. Even in the same Bible passage, when the …

Basics of Biblical Hebrew and Greek Can Help Your Christian Writing

As a Christian writer, it's important to be immersed in scripture and interpret biblical passages well. You will often refer your readers to Bible truths, so you want to get hold of those truths for yourself before you write. While you will discover many spiritual practices that can help (prayer, worship, Bible Study, lectio divina, …

Praying the Psalms in Biblical Hebrew: Psalm 90:1

A student of my Beginning Biblical Hebrew class expressed interest in praying Bible verses in Hebrew, especially from the Psalms. I asked her to choose a few verses that she would like to pray in Hebrew. Psalm 90:1 is one of these. It is noted as the beginning verse of a prayer of Moses. I …

Shalom: A Biblical Hebrew State of Being

"Shalom" (peace) is one of my favorite words in biblical Hebrew. I yearn for God's peace, especially in areas of my life where I don't have it. It's an interesting journey to look up "shalom" in the lexicon. I encourage you to try it, and use this opportunity also to pray for greater "shalom" in …

Biblical Hebrew Alphabet: The Letters “Sin” and “Shin”

Near the end of the biblical Hebrew alphabet are two interesting-looking letters: שׂ The name of this letter in biblical Hebrew is "sin" (pronounced: "seen"). The letter itself makes the sound "s." שׁ The name of this letter in biblical Hebrew is "shin" (pronounced: "sheen"). The letter itself makes the sound "sh." These letters are …

“If My People” – Biblical Hebrew Words for Intercessors

Biblical Hebrew is a wonderful language for intercessors to learn. That doesn't mean we have to learn many words or entire verses in Hebrew. It doesn't have to be a daunting task. Just learning a few words from the Hebrew Bible -- from verses related to prayer or verses intercessors often turn to -- can …

Learning the Biblical Hebrew Alphabet: The First Four Letters

Learning the biblical Hebrew alphabet can be a challenge, especially if you try to learn it all at once. I had studied Russian, Greek, and Japanese (all of which use a different alphabet than English) before I learned biblical Hebrew. Even with my experience with other alphabets, I found the Hebrew alphabet overwhelming. Many letters …

Biblical Hebrew Mini Lesson: The LORD Is God

In biblical Hebrew, often the verb "to be" is implied rather than included. At other times, the verb "to be" is included. When there is no verb "to be," there may be nothing at all to link the subject and predicate. You have to look at the context to find the meaning -- which is …