Biblical Hebrew Blog by ClassicalHebrew.com

The Reign of Kings and a Prophet

In the years prior to the Babylonian destruction of the temple and city of Jerusalem, the Judahites had enjoyed a religious revival and cleansing that had been implemented by the hands of King Josiah (641-609 BCE) and had been encouraged by the voices of the kingdom’s prophets. This period of revival occurred in the lull between the fall of the Assyrians and the rise of the Neo-Babylonians of whom Nebuchadnezzar is perhaps the most memorable figure. From the time of Josiah until the end of the nation we see three of his sons (Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah) and one grandson (Jehoiachin) sit on the throne of Judah and throughout all this time we have one prominent prophet, Jeremiah, speaking to the kings and the people.

How Jeremiah became Public Enemy Number One

Jeremiah had not been satisfied with King Josiah’s reforms nor the heartening knowledge that the Assyrian Empire had come to an end. His mouth was full of prophecies of doom directed at the Israelites. These messages astounded the people who reacted with fists and imprisonment to his threats (Jer 19:14-20:3; 26). His message went completely against the trust they had, that God would save them as he had done in the days of Sennacherib and Hezekiah. Furthermore his message was a paradox they did not understand- surrender to a heathen king to save yourselves. The call to surrender had nothing to do with sin and repentance, but rather accepting that it was God’s will that every nation should put on the yoke of the Babylonians, and thus survive (Jer 27-28). However the notion of surrendering to the Judeans meant not trusting in God for their salvation and so they ignored and despised him as a raving lunatic. When the Babylonians finally besieged Jerusalem Jeremiah was being half-staved in a miry pit for inciting insurrection amongst the people and army.

Jeremiah’s Unknown End

The hard-necked people of Judea did not surrender and for their insolence, (as seen by the Babylonians), they were dealt with decisively. The age-old temple established by their forefathers was razed to the ground and the population, in a series of waves, was exiled into the east for work-projects. For thirty-eight years Jeremiah had cried a message that had fallen on unhearing ears, his logic being inconceivable to them. In the end he was forced against his will into exile in Egypt where he died in an unknown place.

His life was one of deep service not only to those in Jerusalem- his last recorded prophesy deals with the idolatry he found when he arrived in Egypt. Jeremiah should be remembered as a man whose heart was broken for his people. For he deeply believed in the sanctity of this nation and its covenant with God, and through this conviction was cut by the continuing blindness of the people. However Jeremiah should be remembered for the promise from God he imparted to them, that if they return to God with “all their heart” then God “will give them a heart” to know and fear him (Jer 24:7, 32:39).

 It may be asked what is the relevance of Learning Biblical Hebrew today in the age of multiple translations?

Depending on your preference you can choose a variety of texts that emphasize different aspects of the biblical hebrew text- some highlight the Bible’s roots of Judaism with particular attention to the ways the character and names of God are revealed. Other translations reflect the age we live in with gender conscious attention to the text, while others aim to give a translation of an idea rather than a straight word for word translation. At the end of the day all these materials are enriching for us and allow us to tap into some special resources that scholars have labored over for us to enjoy. However all these materials are but a reflection of the beauty of the original text. How many of us have read poetry in translation? Reading the works of Pablo Neruda or Khalid Gibran are drops of beauty, but reading their poems in the originals (even without understanding), one begins to feel the pace and rhythm that exudes from each sentence, a phenomenon difficult to capture in translation.

“Lost in Translation”
 What then do we in fact lose when we read only in translation? We have spoken about the difficulty with poetry but these problems can even extend into prose. For example when reading of Goliath’s approach to the river bed and his speech against the camp of Saul we feel the anticipation that is built up in the story- and this comes through clearly in the translations, however what we miss is how the text changes its rhythm and pace as it portrays Goliath. The very character of the Hebrew words are telling another story aside from the dual between Goliath and David- they are describing the laborious movements of Goliath in the change of rhythm, the pace of the sentences become short when Goliath is talking which gives us the impression that we are dealing with a giant slow in speech and not the agile and sharp warrior we may have envisioned otherwise.

All the more is to be gained from reading the bible in the original language.

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Biblical Hebrew - The Alphabet - Lesson 1