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Prepare to embark on an incredible journey into the very heart of God. When we make the assertion that the Bible is the Word of God, what do we actually mean? Do we mean that the Bible contains the Word of God, among other stuff and that some of this other stuff may be a bit iffy because that s what some scholars have been telling us? Or do we mean that the Bible is, in total, the absolute, complete Word of God, down to the last jot and tittle? Or is there some point in-between these positions that we can live with? Everything, from the big ideas to the little squiggles in God's Word to mankind are relevant, instructional and have been put there by the Divine Will for a Divine Purpose. You are going to gain a whole new layer of understanding of our wonderful God and His wonderful Book through our exploration of His wonderful language, Hebrew. You will do this through two journeys. Firstly, the journey of God's Word, where we are going to see how the Hebrew Scriptures were breathed out from God onto the pages of our Bibles. We are going to find out why God chose this strange language of Hebrew anyway and, by the time you finish reading, you will find yourselves marveling at this wonderful language and exclaiming: How could He not have chosen it! You will be introduced to the origins, development and basic grammar of Hebrew along the way as we explore how God used it to create His Scriptures, from His finger, to Moses endeavors, right through to the work of Ezra the scribe. Meshing together historical narratives with simple Hebrew word studies, we will follow through the story of how the Old Testament canon was set and how God's Word was translated into other languages first Greek, Latin and then English. We will follow the activities of Ezra and the early scribes, as they meticulously copied the Hebrew Scriptures from generation to generation, paying particular attention to the highly influential Masoretes, whose work still resonates through every Old Testament you will read. We will examine these men and their work and ponder on their legacy before rummaging through the pages of some popular English translations of the Hebrew Scriptures, looking at the good and bad points. In particular, we will focus on a brand-new translation, The One New Man Bible, written to highlight a Hebraic understanding of Scriptures, an exciting development that warrants its inclusion in this book. It will be the default translation used in this book, when Scriptures are referenced. The second journey is within God's Word, where we see how the Hebrew Scriptures breathe life into our understanding of God and His ways. Using the basic knowledge of Hebrew we gained from Part One, we will meander through a series of Hebrew Word Studies. We are going to allow the original Hebrew Scriptures to speak to us in a way that English is just not equipped to do, both because of the inadequacies of the alphabet and language and the shortcomings or agendas of the English translators. These Hebrew Word Studies are not only there to show us what we've been missing but they are going to give us great insights into how God sees us, His creation, and how He has sprinkled knowledge of His coming Messiah all through the words of Holy Scripture. We are also going to be introduced to that intriguing and complex method of Jewish Bible study, the Midrash. Then we are going to read about a real-life detective story involving the Hebrew Scriptures and their translations, taking us through many of the areas that we have covered in this book. Finally we are left to ponder the very heart of the material presented here: where is God's Signature and how can we read it and act on it? So sit back, polish your (physical and spiritual) spectacles and get ready for a fascinating journey ...
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