"Hoshek, it's dark!"

Shalom dear friends! I am officially 40% done with my intensive Hebrew course... but really, that is only in amount of days, not quizzes/tests! Anyway, over the next two weeks I am probably going to be talking a lot about my Hebrew endeavors mostly because it consumes the majority of what I have been and will be doing (with the exception of the gym, basketball, meals, games, church, and a few town trips).

Hoshek, it's dark! Since I am in no way trying to convince you that studying Hebrew all day everyday is a good way to protect your sanity and guard your patience, instead I will share with some instances that made me think: "Clearly, they (or I) need a break from Hebrew..." The first one was the title of my last post: "How do you Hiphil that?" (2) "Kadosh!" simply meaning 'holy,' but when you yell it at your grammar book, it sounds like you're angry. (3)"Hoshek, it's dark" when the lights are off; hoskek = 'darkness.' (4)"You can tell from context..." Response: "If I hear that one more time... *mumble non-nonsensically in Hebrew.* (5)"This one is irregular." Response: "Can we just say they're all irregular and call it a day?! (6)"I didn't know what the word meant, so I just translated it as 'pizazz.'" Response: "Pizazz in the eyes of the Lord?!"

Circled words in Hebrew: "Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, Adonai" meaning Holy Holy Holy is the Lord.

Isaiah 6:3

Suspense. We have been doing a great deal of translating recently, more so than usual. The nice thing is that when we finish, we really feel like we've accomplished something... especially after an hour or two of nothing but translating. Most often, we have been working on familiar texts: Sarah and Abraham, Solomon's prayer for wisdom, the sacrifice of Isaac, Solomon settles the dispute, Samuel speaks to the Lord about appointing a king, etc etc. So, we know what is going to happen because we know the stories so well. But, we don't know the stories well enough to recite them. Plus, the literal Hebrew can be slightly different than the English. This creates a feeling of suspense, especially when you have to slow up your translating to look up an unfamiliar word in the lexicon. I distinctly remember saying, "What is the Lord going to say in response to THIS?!" In addition, I think the slower pace that we have been forced to read these stories at has brought with it thought-provoking effects. It makes us think more about what every word means and the intent of just a single verse (as opposed to a whole story, chapter, or book). Despite the grueling hours spent in a Hebrew bible trying to translate it all in a way that makes sense in English, I really like this suspense, and I really enjoy translating; it's much better than other types of written homework!

Another two weeks to go! Yay! By then, I hope to be able to translate straight from the Hebrew with minimal use of a lexicon. We're getting there, and the progress we've made in just a week's time has been incredible! I hope all is well with each of you, and trust me when I say that I will be looking for something else to write about when I get time to write again. I continue to pray for you all!

Barak Adonai atah (God bless you)!