Whole Word Institute and Whole Word Institute launch 8-month School of Biblical Hebrew

Sep 30, 2016 | Latest News, Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dr. David Swarr, President & CEO of Whole Word Institute, and Dr. Randall Buth, Vice President, Institute for Biblical Languages & Translation (Whole Word Institute), have announced the launch of the School of Biblical Hebrew (SBH), an 8-month full immersion program beginning June 2017, in partnership with The University of the Holy Land, Jerusalem.

The School of Biblical Hebrew will take participants from beginner level to translation proficiency in Biblical Hebrew within 8 months, equipping them with the skills necessary for proficiency in translating the Old Testament directly from the source language. The SBH is a one-of-a-kind program that trains translators to make independent decisions about the meaning of the source text in Old Testament translation projects.

Through interdisciplinary and experiential courses, the participants are given the skills needed to address the diverse linguistic issues that translators face on the field. The program provides 48 credits in Hebrew, with 3 times more biblical Hebrew credits than the current general requirement for a Translation Consultant.

The 8-month program is unique in that it capitalizes on the surroundings in modern Israel to create the optimal environment for biblical Hebrew training, by combining 3 strands: biblical Hebrew immersion, biblical land and culture, and a live-learn environment. 90% of the biblical Hebrew training is taught in the language itself, at both the beginning and intermediate levels.

Chairman of the Lausanne Movement, Ram Gidoomal, has said:

“It is a delight to see this initiative to take on the challenge of accelerating the translation of the Old Testament to resource disciple-making movements among the Bible-less. This is a critical and foundational task which the Church cannot afford to neglect.”

About Whole Word Institute

The Old Testament is foundational for understanding the message of the kingdom and is critical to building and sustaining disciple-making movements. Yet, only 8% of the world’s languages have the full Bible, and only 1 in 5 Bible translation projects focus on translating the Old Testament. There are over 4,000 languages that still require translation for the Old Testament.

Whole Word Institute supports and resources existing translation initiatives as a learning and resource center, training translators and consultants in biblical and native Hebrew speakers as translation consultants. The Institute works strategically to accelerate the training process without loss of quality, drawing from both the expertise of premier institutions and programs and the unique context and culture of the Holy Land.