Hebrew Prepositions

Thanks to Dr. Heard at Pepperdine

This is cool.

G. Mark Sumpter

Hebrew Next Fall

Going back to work on Intro to Hebrew I

It's time to prepare for teaching Hebrew in the fall. The course covers 16 lessons in a basic grammar, and students have a blast with some conversation. Stay tuned and I will give you the details on this course, the costs and what not.

I have offered it as a weekly class in the past; we meet at a facility in Grants Pass.

Shalom.

G. Mark Sumpter

Playing Triple A Ball

Come again...What did you say?

What is God like? We say Triune (In one God there exists three Persons). We say Immanent (He is near). We say Transcendent (He is far). There are many times when what we say to express what God is like, we succeed!—we use Biblical terms and explanations coming from the Bible. We use terms and we readily understand.  Things hum along. When we do theology this way, we are using cataphatic speech—we say what we can say about God in appropriate ways: our grammar, comparisons and contrasts, and expressions are on target. On the other hand, there are times when we sputter. We know limitations of our grammar and expressions. When we search, when we grope, and when we’re in neck deep, we say things in an apophatic way—“well, let me tell you what I don’t mean… and that’s right too…..God isn’t like that either… and yes…you’re right again….. the Bible doesn’t mean that.” Sometimes our words do not quite pinpoint how to speak of God who is higher, greater, and loftier beyond our human comprehension. Here we say, “What I’m trying to say is He really is more unlike—He’s quite different—than this thing or idea in the world.”

“He is our rock (Psalm 18:2); and yet…. He’s not exactly a rock.”

Cataphatic—more positive words we use.

Apophatic—more negative words we use.

BIG terms—cataphatic expressions of God and apophatic expressions.

G. Mark Sumpter

Is Genesis 1 Poetry?

Young on Writing Style of Genesis 1

Brothers who are proponents of non-literal views of Genesis 1 set forth that the grammar and syntax call for a non-literal interpretation of the text. At Westminster Seminary we read Henri Blocher’s IVP 1984 publication, In the Beginning—The Opening Chapters of Genesis. He elaborates on the style in Genesis and offers a proposal saying it is “…like the utterances of a Wisdom writer…” (p. 34). Usually we think of wisdom literature as poetic.


E. J. Young writes, “Genesis one is written in exalted, semi-poetical language; nevertheless, it is not poetry. For one thing the characteristics of Hebrew poetry are lacking, and in particular there is an absence of parallelism. It is true that there is a division into paragraphs, but to label these strophes does not render the account poetic.” See WTJ Vol. 25 (1963), “The Days of Genesis Second Article” (pp.148-149).


G. Mark Sumpter

Go-To Guy

Dr. Steve Baugh of Westminster Seminary

Steve taught me Greek in his home in 1982-83. I get to visit with him in 2010 roughly once a week in this 2nd Edition.

He's pictured here in the back left.

G. Mark Sumpter

Words and Christian Humanism

Taking a refresher in English Grammar and Creative Writing has the juices flowing. I sat in class thinking this is stout-hearted and stout-fingered sanctification, the real stuff. Our Triune God spoke creation into existence; Jesus Christ is the Word made living; God the Spirit carried men along as they penned the Book of the Covenant, the Bible. Man made in God's image speaks, writes and interpretes. He exercises dominion and in so doing, it's very creaturely. May this creaturely mandate be one that we do with faith and obedience in Jesus Christ. As we heard so often a few decades back, "Write On, Brother, Write On," or something like that.

G. Mark Sumpter

Biblical Hebrew Language Helps

Our class on Thursday nights is using a variety of techniques to master about 200 nouns, adjectives and verbs. We're using the ear-gate, the eye-gate, and the total physical response.

Take a look here! It's Jonah, as a beginner-friendly comic book story!



Go to the web address and jump in with another form of practice.

http://www.animatedhebrew.com/jonah/index.html

G. Mark Sumpter