Thread on learning Biblical Hebrew and New Testament for Latter-day Saints :)

Learning an ancient language can be hard! Here's my advice:

For Biblical Hebrew, I recommend that you buy Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar by Pratico and Van Pelt (better if you haven't done college classes for a bit) or Introduction to Biblical Hebrew by Lambdin (better if you're in college classes rn bc of structure).

While you wait for those to come, you're going to want to learn the alphabet (). Memorize it until you have down to the point where if you wake up in the middle of the night at 3 am, you could write it backwards.

While you follow along in a textbook, watch theses videos as well: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA381F02B182DBCEB

They will help you to have someone explain the tricky grammatical functions to you.

Pretty early on in your Hebrew instruction, you'll begin translating full sentences. Start looking at Genesis when you are doing this. You might not *get* all of the grammar yet, but using the textbook to try to identify forms will be helpful.

https://biblehub.com/interlinear/genesis/1.htm

As you continue on, remember there's a learning curve and you're going to feel like you know nothing. And that's just how it goes. Start committing this list to memory once you get ahead in your textbook (beyond the words your textbook has you learn).

https://www.languagebird.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Hebrew-Vocabulary-hebr-500-engl.pdf

When you are about halfway through your textbook, order a copy of the Hebrew Bible (I use the Biblia Hebraica Stutgartensia or the BHS as it's called), but there are good editions out there.

And also order a lexicon, I recommend: Brown's or Pratico's Hebrew and Aramaic one.

Then, once you're 3/4 the way through your textbook, pick a section in the Hebrew Bible that you know well and one that you do not. Take your lexicon and your grammar and go to town on it.

After you have completed your textbook and read some selections from the Hebrew Bible, you have become more ready to analyze the text. This is going to require you to do lexical work, which means reading entries of words completely and researching the word's history and usage.

Now would be a good time to mention scholarship. I'm not one of humans who is like "don't read scholarship." Scholarship is useful! But not all scholarship is created equal and if you don't understand what's going on in it, it can be confusing.

There's good scholarship in and out of the Church (I'll admit for Hebrew, I'm a Donald Parry fan), but my advice here would be to recognize that sometimes scholarship takes a method of superimposing theories upon a text. Recognize this and don't be a theorist, be a philologist.

Solid discussions on how to do exegesis can be found at this blog http://scripturalmormonism.blogspot.com/  by @LDSApologian. Might as well follow him. He's a great friend and an amazing Latter-day Saint thinker.

Now for Greek, where I am more of a geek.

Same deal, you have to learn the alphabet. Learn it like it's the last thing you will do. My textbook recommendations are Luschnig or Hansen and Quinn.

Get yourself an NA28. https://www.academic-bible.com/en/online-bibles/novum-testamentum-graece-na-28/read-the-bible-text/

I would recommend starting off in the gospel of Mark for your reading as the text is more straightforward than other areas of the text. Start reading once you have covered indicative verbs (you'll know what the means in due time).

Then, do the same thing that you did with the Hebrew and pick one section that you know well and one you don't, then translate!

For lexica, I recommend Danker or Thayer.

Here are some YT videos to help you out with this:

Here's a vocab list that you should master alongside reading your textbook: http://dcc.dickinson.edu/greek-core-list 

General tips while reading:

1) Write down any vocabulary words you do not know, parse them completely, and write down where you found them in the lexicon

2) Read it aloud as well as in your head to get it to resonate more with you.

3) Make sure that you pay attention to any patterns that you see in the text.

4) Learn some literary devices. Cuddon's Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory is useful. You can also find adequate guides online.

5) Compare verses to verses in different places.

6) If it sounds weird or different to you than the rest of the text, make sure to make note of it.

7) Read commentaries of the texts that you read once you feel comfortable with your ability to read. You can typically find these at libraries.

Best of luck! Learning ancient languages is one of the best choices I've ever made!