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Hebrew for the Nations : Sown in the Land, Harvested Among the Nations

The greater part of God’s word was written in Hebrew, and what wasn’t written in Hebrew was written from the perspective of Israeli culture. What a great gift God has given Israeli believers who grew up in the land speaking Hebrew. It is a great blessing to be able to read God’s word in the original language and, after thousands of years, to understand the words of King David and the prophets. 

However, many Bible translators the world over don’t know Hebrew at all, or only very little, therefore many Bible translations are based on translations from other languages and not on the original text. More so, there are many languages that still do not have translations of the Hebrew Scriptures. Israeli believers are a small community, but Hebrew for the Nations is working to help share what they have, Hebrew, to aid the worldwide effort of Bible Translation.

With the help of God, Israeli believers can be part of the solution of this need. The gift of knowing Hebrew is also a calling to bless the nations, to open a window for them to God’s word in Hebrew and make it possible for them to relate to God in a personal, natural and as unmediated way as possible. 

Our goal is to support Bible translation efforts around the world, and through the teaching of Biblical Hebrew to help the body of believers to understand the Hebrew context of God’s word.

Through Hebrew for the Nations’ different course offerings, students learn Biblical Hebrew as a living language, similar to the popular immersive “ulpan” style for Modern Hebrew – Hebrew in Hebrew. They learn the language naturally, not unlike how children acquire a language, and start to communicate in the Hebrew of the scriptures with their teachers and friends in the class. Thanks to our Israeli teacher’s deep connections to the language, and to the culture and thinking of Hebrew, the students also learn the historical, cultural and geographical context of Biblical Hebrew.

Many translators of the Old Testament and translation consultants don’t have the ability to come to Israel in order to learn Biblical Hebrew in its cultural and physical context, and we feel led to send our Israeli teachers abroad to the heart of the need. It is on our hearts to equip translators, and the teams that support them, with a deep connection to the language of the Bible so their translation will be the most accurate and effective for their people group.

In 2018 we started an annual Teacher’s Training Course in Biblical Hebrew for local Israeli believers who feel called to serve in this ministry. The participants learn various aspects of Biblical Hebrew over the course of six months, as well as tools, skills and experience in teaching the language as a living language.

We hope and pray that this vision will take root in the congregations in Israel, and that we will contribute, from our home in Israel, out to our brothers and sisters in faith around the world, and to the spreading of the gospel. Due to the small nature of the body in Israel, we treasure the support and partnership, first through prayer and also financially, of the wider body of believers in the Kingdom all over the world. To join and partner with us, click here. Funds may be specially designated to the School of Hebrew:Hebrew for the Nations. For more information please be in contact with us.

Find out more about the co-founders of the School of Hebrew: Hebrew for Nations (Talia Podkamenski and Baruch Kvasnica) and get to know the H4N staff (Jochanan Löwenstein, Talia Podkamenski, Crystal Ovadia and Natanel Gerloff), by visiting our faculty and staff pages.

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