SIMPLIFIED GREEK & SIMPLIFIED
HEBREW SEMINARS
With regards to the simplified biblical
language courses, over my thirty years of being in
the ministry, I have observed that there is a great
need for pastors and serious Bible students to have
a basic working knowledge of Greek and Hebrew. After
teaching Greek and Hebrew for Fuller Theological Seminary’s
extension school in Colorado Springs for ten years,
I came to realize that for the vast majority of busy
pastors and lay people, there is very little time available
for the necessary hours to learn the complete grammars
of Greek and Hebrew on a seminary or Bible college
level. Thus, the Lord led me to write a simplified
Greek and a simplified Hebrew grammar. These grammars
bypass the necessity of having to learn the full grammars
of the biblical languages in order to be able to use
and understand Hebrew and Greek. Instead, they enable
the student to know how to effectively use the available
study tools for each of those languages, which are
the Greek and Hebrew interlinear English Bibles, the
Greek and Hebrew Analytical Lexicons and the Greek
and Hebrew Lexicons.
Many pastors are able to read and pronounce
some Greek and Hebrew words, and they have some familiarity
with the various tenses in Greek and Hebrew. However,
they do not understand how those tenses and nuances
actually impact the interpretation and bring to life
the Living and Abiding Word of God! Please understand,
however, that apart from the Holy Spirit bringing life
to God’s Word, no amount of Greek and Hebrew
will help ANYBODY! In addition, the illumination that
the Holy Spirit gives comes only through prayer, fasting,
daily surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus and abiding
in God’s Word. When those elements are there
then the Greek and Hebrew tools you learn how to use
for your study can open up a cornucopia of truth whereby
you may feed and nurture your flock with the richness
of God’s Word. I have had the privilege of teaching
both these seminars several times, and it has been
a great joy for me to see those who have taken them
to begin to utilize the training and understanding
they have received in order to feed their flocks, or
to share with others on an individual basis a greater
dimension of truth God has opened up to them through
the Greek and Hebrew.
The following is an example of how this
course will enable you to use and apply the above named
language tools. Let’s say you are reading in
I John 1:7:
But if we walk in the light as He Himself
is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all
sin.
You see the word "cleanses" and
you want to find out just what that means syntactically
and in practical application. Your first step is to
look in your Interlinear Greek/English New Testament,
and you will find the following entry (the Greek is
transliterated into italics):
kai to haima
Iesou tou huiou autou
and the blood of Jesus the son of Him
katharizei hemas
apo pases hamartias.
cleanses us from all sin.
The next step will be to look up the
word katharizei, in the Analytical Greek Lexicon (you
will be able to read the Greek word itself). There
you will find the following entry:
katharizei,
3 pers. sg. pres. act. indic. . . . . katharizo
Not only will you be able to read and
correctly pronounce the Greek word, but also you will
also completely understand what the above means. The "3
pers." is referring to the person performing the
action; thus, it is the third person singular, which
in this case is referring to the "blood" of
Christ as the agent. The word "pres." refers
to the present tense, which you will know indicates
continuous action. The word "act." means
the "blood" is actively performing this action,
and the word "indic." means the action of "cleansing" is
an actual, not potential occurrence in a believer’s
life. The Greek word katharizo is merely pointing out
the root word, which in turn leads us to the next step,
the Greek Lexicon.
In this next step, you go to the Greek-English
Lexicon, and there you will find the full, in depth
meaning of the word. You will learn how to read this
as well and see what meaning best fits the context.
After you find the most appropriate meaning (which
is "cleanse and purify"), you then put it
all together. That which is being stated is that for
the believer in Christ, the blood of Jesus is "continually
cleansing/purifying" him from "all sin," both
sins of omission and commission. This "cleansing/purifying" includes
God’s loving discipline and correction of His
children through repentance and brokenness which causes
them to "share His holiness" (Hebrews 12:10).
The same is true for the Hebrew. You
are reading in Psalm 23, and you come to verse three: "He
restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake." You want to look up
the phrase, "He guides me." Your first step
will be to look in the Hebrew-English Interlinear Bible
(you read Hebrew from right to left, and the Hebrew
is also transliterated into italics):
yancheni yishobeb
naphshi
He guides me He restores My soul
shemo lemaan
bemagele-tsedeq
His name for the sake of in the tracks of righteousness
Once again, you will be able to read
the Hebrew words and pronounce them correctly. You
will now look up in the Hebrew Analytical Lexicon the
Hebrew word yancheni. There you will find the following
entry:
yancheni Hiph.
fut. 3 pers. sing. masc. with suff. 1 pers. sing. nachah
You will know what all of these things
mean, the same as with the Greek. Without going through
all the steps as above with the Greek, you will know
that the Hiph. is the Hiphil verb stem, and it emphasizes "causative
action," that is, action that someone else causes
to happen. You will also know that the root verb is
nachah, and that means "to guide or lead," and,
therefore, this passage is stating that God is actively
causing me, His child, to be guided and led in the "paths
of righteousness for His name’s sake." He
in turn does this in me by the indwelling Holy Spirit
in my life because I am His child.
If this is of interest to you, and you
would like to pursue this approach toward learning
and using the biblical languages, then please let me
know. The course for each language will consist of
24 hours of class time. Here too, I have taught these
classes in two format: 1) A week long intensive, beginning
on a Sunday afternoon or evening and going through
the following Saturday. 2) An eight to fifteen week
course, meeting one night a week for a 1 1⁄2
up to a 3-hour session each night. This latter option
is entirely tied to each pastor’s personal preference
as to the needs of his congregation. I will be happy
to work within your time constraints and needs for
your particular situation
The cost for the language seminars is
$100.00 per student, which includes my textbook and
the class tuition. The cost for the other books will
be about $70.00 per student (this includes an interlinear
Greek/English or Hebrew/English Bible, a Greek or Hebrew
Analytical Lexicon and a Greek or Hebrew Lexicon).
Thus, at your location, the total cost would be approximately
$170.00 per student. For those students who may have
a financial hardship, I will be more than happy to
work something out with them.
Janie and I would be honored to serve
you in any way we can. If you have any questions, please
do not hesitate to contact us, and may the Lord continue
to bless you in every way. Thanks for your consideration
of and prayers for us.
Sincerely in Christ,
Justin T. Alfred
Contact Information
Address: Justin T. Alfred,
39778 Daphne Dr., Murrieta, CA 92563-6538
Phone: (800) 219-2390
Cell: (951) 834-4814
Fax:
(951) 696-7140
E-Mail: jtamin@aol.com
