Why teach children Hebrew?

The mission/vision of Rooted Sapling Resources is to provide resources to assist in the high calling of raising up children who are passionate about scripture. Yet our first available resources and our first products available are related to learning Biblical Hebrew.  You may be asking yourself how those two are related. This article today will answer that very question.

Why Hebrew?

The foundational scriptures (old testament) were originally written in the Hebrew language. However, Hebrew is more than just the original language of the Bible and more than the semitic language that Yahweh’s people spoke. Hebrew is the original language of man given by Yahweh. Each letter has a special meaning, and together they combine into words with rich expressions, purpose, and meaning. If you’ve taken a few minutes to complete the Hebrew worksheet provided for free on our website, you’ve seen how the letters in a Hebrew word build on each other to create a word with meaning. For example, the word for father has two letters that mean “leader” and “family”. Certainly a language as rich and full of meaning couldn’t be a coincidence or merely a language that evolved over time.  

When reading an English Bible, it is a translation. These translations are from a person or a group of people who try their best (hopefully) to accurately portray the original meaning and intent of the author (Yahweh) without inserting their own personal bias. However, sometimes personal bias can get in the way or new information arises as more archeological advancements are made.

In order to get a more clear meaning of the translator’s intent, Christians will often do a word study which usually involves going back to the Strong’s Concordance to see the different ways the translators translated the word. Words might have several definitions and uses. When we rely on how the translators use the word we are assuming they have a deep understanding of Hebrew, regardless of information that has surfaced since translation. A much richer way to perform a Hebrew word study is to break down the Hebrew word into letters and see what characteristics are portrayed by the letters used to build a word. Rather than seeing the word through the translator's perspective, one can take a peek into the original intended meaning. Think of how words like “Righteousness” and “Truth” could be better understood from the perspective of the concrete Hebrew language. 

If we are instructed to teach our children diligently the ways of Yah, then we can easily make a case to teach them Hebrew. Teaching children Hebrew at an early age enables them to read their Bible in its original language.  Children are capable of deep thinking much sooner than we give them credit. If we are beyond the basics of Hebrew, we can introduce Hebrew word studies (such as the free resource on our website) much sooner and allow our children to take deep dives into Hebrew since the basics are already learned. 

Our Hebrew studies begin as young as two. If a child is learning to identify the English letters and sounds, the child can also learn the Hebrew letters and sounds. The younger a language is taught, the easier it is to learn. Preschool aged children who are taught that learning is fun will embrace memorizing the Hebrew letters. Young children love the satisfaction they get when they are displaying their knowledge of a topic. So why not make it a topic that will offer them kingdom benefits?

In summary, I believe teaching Hebrew is beneficial because children can have a deeper understanding of the Bible if they can take it back to the original language it was written and that a knowledge of Hebrew helps the child to do that efficiently and with more accuracy. The skill of understanding the Hebrew language and Hebrew thought will pay your Yah-following child dividends as he or she enters their adult life. 

To start your child’s Hebrew learning journey, we have created a book to first learn the aleph-bet and their sounds. We look forward to introducing, at a later date, our next Hebrew resource set, geared towards five and six year olds. The set will teach children how to write Hebrew letters, basic vocabulary, and how to read Hebrew at a pace slow enough to allow time for re-enforcement. Please stay tuned to rootedsapling.com.