Fall is on the way, slow but sure. I can’t tell so much by the weather or the leaves, but I know fall is approaching by the hordes of mothers with school supply shopping lists in hand at the local Wal-Mart and Staples stores lately.
Being homeschoolers, we happily avoid that rush. And besides that, the Zboran homeschool has already been up and running since July 1st (that’s the first day of the Missouri school year). We start slow and early so we’re running full-steam by the time September rolls around.
And full-steam this year will include the beginning of a Biblical Hebrew course of study for the kids. And so, as I’ll be leading the Zboran brood in those endeavors, I was hunting for some relevant supplemental study materials online the other day.
And did I ever come across a great resource for when they begin to really “hit the books” again! And, even better (they’ll think), this book will be a comic book! Since I know some of you are studying Biblical Hebrew, and many more of you know someone who is, I thought I’d point you in the direction of this free(!) and fun educational resource.
At www.animatedhebrew.com you’ll find a number of free educational resources for studying Biblical Hebrew. The one that really caught my eye was the Jonah comic book. Here’s the author’s description (I’ve highlighted what I especially like):
Every word of the Hebrew text is included in this Jonah comic in multiple scripts (square, cursive, paleo-Hebrew) and multiple forms (consonantal, pointed, cantillated). You can also listen to my slow, deliberate read of the Hebrew text, and pause or repeat at any time. At the bottom of the screen you’ll find ancient and modern translations that you can compare with the Hebrew text (Aramaic, Syriac, Greek, Latin, German, French, and 3 English translations). This comic is a great way to learn or practice your biblical Hebrew. It will help you develop an “ear” for the language and wean your dependence on pointed texts. For an extra challenge, use the ‘no text’ option to try memorizing the whole book.
Pretty impressive sounding! Does it live up to all that? I think so, but check it out for yourself. You can set it to manual or auto play and toggle between text scripts. It takes a little bit to figure out how to download and set up, but it’s worth it.
Viewing requires a free Adobe Shockwave player, which you probably already have on your computer. There is an option to view online, or to download for offline use. For off-computer use, screenshots (color or black-and-white) and their accompanying mp3 audios may be downloaded. Just load the audio to your mp3 player and print off the screenshots.
Here are some sample pages to look at now:
Sample page in square script.
Sample page in cursive script.
Sample page in paleo script.
And here’s a sample of one of the mp3 files that can be downloaded to go along with the printable pages of the comic book.
There are a number of links on the Jonah comic book main web page and it will take a few minutes to figure out all your options. Probably best, if you want to try it out first online, is to follow this link. It’s a 16MB file, so it takes a little bit of time to load. (There’s a game that plays while waiting, though!)
While you’re looking at the Jonah comic, be sure to take a look at the other free (not to mention impressive) resources offered by Charles Grebe, M.A., of Briercrest Seminary inSaskatchewan, Canada.
Just to mention another of his notable offerings:
…35 hours of audio/visual lectures covering the first 40 chapters of the textbook Introducing Biblical Hebrew by Allen P. Ross. In them I try to explain everything very carefully, including all the English grammar that so many people are missing and that most textbooks assume you already know.
If you happen to have the Ross textbook, or would be willing to buy one, this would be a good project to undertake in your spare time.
Hope you enjoy the Jonah comic, or at least hearing about it. With the summer season on the verge of winding down perhaps this will help you “fall” into some new Hebrew studies before too long!
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What do you think? Please leave a comment below and let me know! Thank you.
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Copyright 2010 Jim Zboran. All rights reserved.
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Just what I need!!Thanks so much…:)
I know nothing were do I start ? what is way before step one ? Help I do want to read and speak as YESHUA did. Let me know please one of your new friends. Pamela
Hi Pamela,
Always great to meet a new friend. And especially when they come with such an important and fundamental question! And the answer is just as fundamental. If we want to speak as Yeshua did, then we must have the same Spirit as Him and we must follow His example.
To have the same Spirit as Him requires that we have entered a New Covenant relationship with YHWH (see for example Jeremiah 31:31-33; Ezekekiel 36:26-28). I’ll assume you have done that already.
To follow His example we must get to know Him intimately. To know Him intimately requires that we learn everything we can about Him. That means knowing more and more about what influenced Him, how He applied and taught what was important to Him in earthly ministry, and what is important to Him in regards to our relationship with Him today.
What influenced Him was YHWH’s word. That includes Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings (the Tanach, or “Old” Testament as some call it). We learn what was important to Him in earthly ministry when we get to know the gospels intimately. We learn what is important to Him in regards to our relationship with Him in living under the New Covenant in the “New” Testament. There we learn that He interprets doing what He says as love for Him. What He said to do lead us back to Tanach. As we do today what He said long ago we should do, He promised we would know Him better:
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. (John 14:21 KJV)
And so we increasingly know Him more and more intimately and in the process we become more and more like Him.
So, to summarize: we must be “saved,” that is, we must enter into a New Covenant relationship with YHWH. Then we must read His Word, the Bible, and do what it says as good as we can and understand at the time. In so doing, the Spirit is encouraged (as opposed to being grieved as He is when we go against His instruction/Torah) to lead us into a more and more intimate relationship with YHWH. We become more and more like Yeshua.
It is a lifetime process, but it all starts today. What I have taught my congregation for years is to pick a book of the Bible and begin reading it through one chapter each day. During the reading, find one thing to do. Then go and do it. Keep up that process day after day, week after week, year after year. Don’t ignore the Tanach (“Old Testament) or you will never understand Yeshua and the “New” Testament.
From there, the Spirit will lead you to courses of study and to teachers that will move you along further. But you will be grounded in His word enough to recognize which courses of study and which teachers are Biblically in tune with the Spirit. Until you get to the point, trust only the Scriptures and do your best to follow what you believe it to be saying. Listen to what others say, but remember that there are many imposters and wolves waiting to get us off track.
Just stick close to your Bible and strive to do what you understand it to say. Your struggles with knowing truth will build the muscles you will need to do the truth in a spiritually deadly environment (of which our world is).
Hope that helps, dear sister. Many blessings to you in your journey with our Father.
Glad to know it, Jayne. You’re welcome
Shavua tov dear brother
Shavua tov, Ingrid! Great to see you again
I trust all is well for you and your family. Thank you for stopping by dear sister!