Newsletter 61

Newsletter 61, June, 2001

Hebrew Made Easy

If you are a serious student of the Bible, you no doubt want to learn some Hebrew and Greek. This will make it easier for you to use essential Bible Study Tools, such as The Interlinear Bible, Englishman’s Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance, Englishman’s Greek Concordance, and Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. The above four tools are available from Giving & Sharing for suggested donations of $56, $28, $24, and $28 respectively (plus postage). If you don’t already have these essential Bible Study Tools, please write for our free article, “Bible Study Tools,” which shows you how to study the Bible with these valuable resources.

Hebrew is a fun language. Years ago, I greatly enjoyed taking a course in Hebrew at the Portland, Oregon, Jewish Community Center. Hebrew reads from right to left. There are 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet (aleph-bet being the first two letters). Hebrew Made Easy, by Robert Hernandez, is an excellent primer workbook, which teaches you how to pronounce, read, and understand Hebrew. It is a delightful book, designed for folks from ages 5 to 105.

In Hebrew Made Easy, each lesson focuses on just a few letters of the Hebrew Alphabet along with the vowel points. Then, within each lesson, is a practice session that combines letters with vowel points so that the learner practices pronouncing Hebrew. After that, the learner then reads simple Hebrew words made by the letters just learned. After this the learner sees where these newly learned words are in the Bible. Then there is a review session to reinforce the learner’s Hebrew vocabulary base. There are also template pages in the back to make flash cards.

By the end of the workbook, the learner will know all the Hebrew letters, the vowel sounds, and have a vocabulary base of 174 words. The learner will thus have laid a solid foundation for reading Hebrew!

You may order Hebrew Made Easy, 78 pages, by Robert Hernandez, for a suggested donation of $15 from Giving & Sharing, PO Box 100, Neck City, MO 64849.

More on the Middle of the Bible

In our April, 2001 Newletter, we printed some numerical facts about Psalm 118, the “Middle of the Bible.” There is much more significance in this Psalm that has nothing to do with numerology.

Psalms 113 through 118 are called the Hallel, and they were the high point of the Temple liturgy at the Feasts of God. They are Psalms which directly refer to Messiah, and they were sung by the Levitical priests at the Temple services for all three pilgrimage Feasts. Psalms 113 through 118 were sung on Nisan 14 while the Passover sacrifices were being killed. The Temple mount acoustics were said to be such that the singing of the Levites could be heard as far away as Jericho under certain atmospheric conditions. Most likely the last thing our Master heard as He breathed His last on the crucifixion stake was the singing of the Great Hallel, Psalm 118.

In Mark’s account of the Last Supper, we read that the Master and His disciples sang a hymn before going to Gethsemane. It was the Hallel. See Bullinger’s Companion Bible (KJV, Leather), available from Giving & Sharing for a suggested donation of $61 plus postage, comment about the “hymn” in the accounts of the Last Supper events in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. — contributed by Marvin Root

Sharing Library

Write to our Sharing Library, John D. Crissinger, PO Box 581, Granville, OH 43023 for a catalog of materials available for free loan.

Bible Story Artist Wanted!

Basil Wolverton’s Bible Story was incomplete at his death. Keith Hunt of Calgary, Canada, is currently writing concluding volumes covering the New Testament. We need an artist to illustrate these volumes. If you have artistic talent and would like to volunteer, please contact: Roger Waite, PO Box 6177, Woodridge, QLD 4114, AUSTRALIA, E-mail: rwaite@optusnet.com.au.

He is a Fool Who Trusts His:

1. Soul to a Preacher, 2. Health to a Doctor, 3. Rights to a Lawyer, 4. Money to a Banker. Learn these four skills for yourself!

Kenya Church Building Need

Pastor Andrew K. Koech, one of our representatives in Kenya, reports that in the Trans-mara district of Kenya, they have gone from drought to abundant rainfall. However, excessive rains have damaged their produce and caused an outbreak of malaria. Currently, the Church worships under trees or at a school building. It will cost $1,500 to construct a timber Church building. Gifts may be sent to: “Kenya Church Building Fund,” c/o Giving & Sharing, PO Box 100, Neck City, MO 64849.

Giving & Sharing CD

Giving & Sharing Newsletters, articles, booklets, and much more, are available on our website, www.giveshare.org. A CD of our entire website, plus audio messages by Richard Nickels and others, is available for a suggested donation of $20.00.

Protestant Reformation

Roderick C. Meredith’s article, “The Plain Truth About the Protestant Reformation,” is available on 30-day LOAN for a suggested donation of $3.00. In the next issue, we plan to review this excellent history.

Preserving Your Main Study Bible

You’ve heard the saying, “You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.” Generally, it is true that something torn up and nearly ruined cannot be resuscitated. But, there are exceptions. My main study Bible, a 1969 Moroccan Leather Oxford KJV Wide Margin Bible, has served me well for thirty-two years. A KJV Wide Margin Bible is the #1 Bible Study tool of the seven essential tools we recommend (see our free article, “Bible Study Tools,” #018). Although I use several translations in my Bible Study research, my main Bible is almost as valuable as my right arm. After years of constant use, the binding began to fall apart, and the whole structure of the Bible was precarious. I was worried I was going to lose my constant companion.

Thanks to Tom Bellino of The Bookmenders, my old Oxford Wide Margin Bible has been resurrected to a new life. For only $40, including postage, my “sword” has been sharpened. If you do not see the value of preserving your main study Bible, then you are not a student of God’s Word. It is extremely valuable to me to know on which side of the page to find key scriptures. My notes, though not necessarily inspired, do often help me recall important information and cross references. I am extremely pleased to have my Bible repaired. I want to keep alive the fast disappearing handcraft of Bible repair. Contact: Bookmenders, 14007 White Oak Lane, Bentonville, AR 72712, Phone: 501-787-6326, Internet: www.bookmenders.com. They also reconstruct Bibles with genuine cowhide.

Bookmenders gives some care tips to prevent you from losing or having to repair your precious Bible. Here are the four don’t’s of Bible care: (1) Keep your Bible away from pets; they love to chew on them! (2) Don’t drop your Bible, as this causes both the cover and pages to loosen and come apart. (3) Keep your Bible away from water. (4) Don’t leave your Bible in the car or on a sunny window ledge, as heat and direct sun makes it deteriorate rapidly. Contact Bookmenders for more information how to preserve your Bible, which shows you how to clean soiled pages, refasten loose pages, mend torn pages, tighten loose covers, and care for leather covers.

Although the Oxford Wide Margin is not currently in print, you can obtain the Cambridge KJV Wide Margin Bible ($85 for Bonded Leather, or $120 for Calfskin Leather), and the NKJV Wide Margin Bible (Bonded Leather, $60) from Giving & Sharing.

Hitchcock’s Bible Names

What’s in a name? Plenty! God names people and places for what they are. “Israel” means “who prevails with God,” and Elijah means “God the Lord, the strong Lord,” while Beth-lehem means “house of bread.” Do you know what Samuel, David, Stephen, Melchezedek, and Nazareth mean? Look it up in Hitchcock’s Bible Names. Knowing the meaning of Bible names is essential to understanding the Bible. Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary was originally published in the late 1800s. It contains more than 2,500 Bible and Bible-related proper names and their meanings. Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary, a 33-page reprint, itHiHitis available from Giving & Sharing, PO Box 100, Neck City, MO 64849, for a suggested donation of $3.00 plus postage.

Why People Have Stopped Memorizing Scripture

(The following is written by David W. Daniels, and appeared in the November/ December 2000 issue of Battle Cry, published by Chick Publications, PO Box 3500, Ontario, CA 91761-1100.)

Scripture memorization is a lost art. I found out why. I spent over six months asking people the following questions. “Would you tell me from memory John 3:16?” “Could you quote the Lord’s Prayer?” “Can you tell me some or all of the 23rd (shepherd’s) Psalm?” Over the months I made an amazing discovery. I spoke to people from all walks of life, from non-Christians to Christian bookstore employees, who handle every kind of Bible imaginable. Nearly every person did the same thing: they quoted the King James. But many of these people do not read the King James. They read other Bible versions. Why then are they quoting the King James Bible?

It’s an established fact: people quote the last version they memorized. These people stopped memorizing when they switched Bibles! Why did they stop memorizing? About every two years the modern translations change. (The NIV is notorious for this.) And in the churches, pastors regularly switch Bible versions when they preach. Since Church members don’t have anything clear and consistent to memorize, they stop trying.

But there is a translation that stays the same: the King James Bible!

And it is more than consistent: it is the preserved words of God in English. [Editor’s comment: it’s not perfect, but the KJV is still the most accurate English translation!]

It is so easy to memorize the King James. Just read your Bible out loud each day and write down your favorite verses. You will begin to notice how much scripture you are remembering. It’s important how much you are getting into the Word. Even more important — how much of the Word is getting into you!