Hebrew Blitzkrieg
It’s the weekend before our Old Testament History and Theology midterm, which involves thorough knowledge of about 150 verses from the Pentateuch. We’ve covered about six of them in class, which feels a little frustrating[1], but looking from the long view I know I’m the richer for it. Doug Green’s thoughtful examination of and always-interesting speculations about the opening verses of Genesis were worth the price of admission. The main value of those “speculations,” as I see it, is not in whether or not they “solve” any of the “problems” of that text, but rather in getting to watch the mind and heart at work of someone who is deeply immersed in the idea that the Bible ulitmately has one Author who clearly wants to say some things to us. Doug helps get our heads up out of the particulars of the text to see the glorious Big Picture that makes tinkering with appocopated hiphil participles actually worth it.
And my “blitzkrieg[2]” title? Well, this weekend will be my “lightning war” assault on those 150 verses. I’ve got nobody to blame but myself, of course. While I’ve been diligent in most of my studies this semester, the Hebrew translations kept getting pushed aside. It’s a matter of choices, as my LSW lovingly and gently reminds me. In my case, I’ve chosen some opportunities to socialize with fellow Westminster students. Last night, for example, my friend Stephen called just as I was ready to settle down with Genesis in hand and BibleWorks on my screen to invite me to a weekly gathering at Union Jack’s Tavern in Glenside. He said that it’d go on for about an hour, so I figured, hey, a nice short break and then down to the Hebrew! Five hours later, after discovering a wonderful new dark beer (the name of which I’ve completely forgotten…and no, not because I had too many!) and my first exposure to Office Space (suddenly hundreds of odd phrases my friends spout now make sense), I was back home. The Hebrew was right where I’d left it, but BibleWorks had gone into sleep mode, and I decided to do the same.
But in between the beer and the culturally-iconic movie, I had the chance to make several new friends. I certainly enjoyed meeting Josh, Gretchen, and Laura, along with the opportunity for Andy to become someone other than the guy with the piercings and tattoos who fixes my computer problems. But the highlight of the evening was my conversation with Dave, a first-year Westy. No matter how many times it’s happened, I’m continually re-surprised by the extent to which many people twenty years my junior will open up to me at their first meeting with me. It was a joy to hear Dave’s story, along with his dreams for the future.
All this sounds by now like I’m “blowing off” the Hebrew. And I suppose I am. But I don’t do that casually. I honestly don’t think “it’s just a dead old language; people are more important.” Well, actually I do think people are more important, but that does not mean that Hebrew is unimportant. Last night I chose beer and buddies, but that means that I’ve missed the opportunity to witness the beauty and mystery of what the Hebew would unfold to me. More and more I’m seeing that the struggles of our finite existence are not just the choices between good and evil; sometimes the worst struggles are over the choices between good and good. There is not enough time to do (or at least do well) all the things we could do.
So if the grade on my Hebrew midterm is more toward the right of the (English!) alphabet, that won’t be a “good” thing, but at least I’ll clearly know why. My heart will sink a little at what I missed, and then perhaps lift a little if I see Dave or Andy or Gretchen in the hallway after the test. wa y’hie
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1Prof. Doug Green’s words of “comfort” to our class: “Don’t worry, many students fail this midterm, but go on to do just fine.”
2 Yes, I realize that it is a bit weird to juxtapose blitzkrieg and a picture of Nazi tanks with a post partly about (Jewish) Hebrew.
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October 22nd, 2005 at 1:01 pm
Mark - your posts are always so fun to read. Don’t worry, I think I failed pretty miserably on that exam, despite a blitzkrieg of my own last year, but still did ok in the course.
Life IS often about choosing among many good things. Our choices are easier when we remember what God has called us to - obviously you are called to your studies at WTS right now, but I think you also have a lifetime calling to developing relationships, and you fulfill that beautifully.
p.s. We have had Office Space in our netflix queue for a while… somehow we never saw that either!
October 22nd, 2005 at 1:23 pm
Fair warning…lots of “language” in Office Space, and I don’t mean Greek or Hebrew!