Intro to Biblical

Pastor Trey Graham Lesson 1 a Student of God’s Word • There is power in God’s Word. • How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law meditates day and night. Psalm 1:1-2 • All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 • There is power in reading God’s Word in any . • If you only know English and read the in English, there is power in reading God’s Word and your learning is not cheated or failing. • You can be blessed and your knowledge of God can expand if you learn the original biblical , especially Hebrew. Be a Student of God’s Word in Hebrew

• You can read the in a secular, academic, grammatical manner • You can read the Hebrew Bible as a religious, God-loving, Orthodox • You can read the Hebrew Bible as a disciple of , lover of God’s truth, lover of , looking for Promises of the Messiah Goals when learning a new language

• Knowing the names of the letters • Knowing the sounds of the letters • Knowing the numerical values of the letters • Knowing the meaning of the letters • the letters • Reading words and sentences • Saying words and sentences • Carrying on a basic conversation • Becoming fluent Our goals when starting to learn

• Knowing the names of the letters • Knowing the sounds of the letters • Knowing the numerical values of the letters • Knowing the meaning of the letters • Reading words and sentences in the Bible (not a newspaper or menu) Why do we need to learn a foreign language today? Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly.” And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. The Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth. Genesis 11:1-9 General Information on the Bible • 66 Books: 39 in Old Testament, 27 in New Testament • Old Testament books: 17 historical, 5 experiential, 17 prophetical • New Testament books: 4 Gospels, Acts, Christian Church Epistles, Pastoral Epistles, , Christian Epistles • Majority of Old Testament written originally in Hebrew • Small sections (268 verses) written in • :8–6:18 and 7:12-26 (67 verses), Daniel 2:4b–7:28 (200 verses), :11 written in Aramaic • New Testament written originally in Greek

General Information on the Bible

• Chapter divisions added in 1228 AD • Verse divisions added in 1448 AD (Old Testament) and 1551 AD (New Testament) • First hand-written translation into English by J. Wycliffe in 1380 AD • First printed English Bible by W. Tyndale in 1526 AD What was the language of the Old Testament? • Ancient Hebrew was the tongue of the ancient and the language in which most of the Old Testament was penned. :18 calls it “the language of ,” while other verses label it “Judean” and “language of the ” (:26; :11, 13; :18; :24). • Ancient Hebrew is a Semitic language that dates back past 1500 .C. • While Hebrew remained the sacred tongue of the Jews, its use as a common spoken language declined after the Jews’ return from exile (538 B.C.). • Despite a revival of the language during the Maccabean era, it was eventually all but replaced in everyday usage by Aramaic. can trace its ancestry to Biblical Hebrew, but has incorporated many other influences as well. • Many people assume that the New Testament was written in Hebrew as well, but by the time the gospels were being written, many Jews didn’ even speak Hebrew anymore. Rome had conquered Greece, and the influence of Greek culture had saturated the empire. Biblical Greek didn’t use a high- class or complicated style; it was written in koine (common Greek), a language that could be understood by almost anyone, educated or not. https://www.biblegateway.com/blog/2012/06/what-was-the-original-language-of-the-bible/

8 Things You Should Know About Hebrew 1) The Has 22 Letters. • There are 22 letters in the (commonly referred to as the -, after the first two letters, aleph and bet). In addition, the language includes five final letters. When the letters khaf, , , pey, and tzade are the last letters of a word, they are written differently. 2) It’s Related to and Aramaic — and Originally Had No . • Hebrew is a Semitic language — like Arabic and Aramaic — and like most ancient its alphabet has no vowels. However, sometime between the middle and end of the first millennium, known as the instituted a of dots and dashes to indicate how words were to be pronounced. scrolls and most contemporary Hebrew writing are still written without vowels. 3) It’s Read from Right to Left. • Unlike English, Hebrew is read and written from right to left. There are numerous types of Hebrew . The most familiar is the block letters used in Torah scrolls and most printed texts. This was originally referred to as ktav ashuri, or Assyrian script. It is contrasted with ktav ivri, which was an earlier script probably used until a few hundred years prior to the Common Era. 4) It Dates Back to the Second Millennium BCE. • The earliest Hebrew texts date from the end of the second millennium BCE. Hebrew was employed as both a written and spoken language until the fall of in 587 BCE. After that, Hebrew was used primarily as a literary and liturgical language. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-hebrew-language/amp/ 8 Things You Should Know About Hebrew 5) Not All Major Jewish Texts Are In Hebrew. • The Old Testament of the Bible (except for parts of Ezra and Daniel) is written in Hebrew, as is the , the corpus of Jewish law edited during the 2nd and 3rd century CE. • The — books of rabbinic legal discussions interpreting the Mishnah — is largely written in Aramaic with some Hebrew, while medieval is written primarily in a combination of Hebrew and Aramaic. 6) It Was Often Thought to Be the Language of — and God. • Because it is the language of sacred texts, Hebrew itself was often considered sacred. In post-biblical times, it was referred to as lashon ha-kodesh, the holy language. Hebrew was often thought to be the language of the angels, and indeed, of God. According to rabbinic tradition, Hebrew was the original language of humanity. It was spoken by all of humankind prior to the dispersion described in the story in Genesis. In addition, the was thought of as the tool that God used to create the world. A states that, “Just as the Torah was given in lashon ha-kodesh, so the world was created with lashon ha-kodesh.” Similarly, the mystical book , describes the creation of the world through the manipulation of the Hebrew alphabet.

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-hebrew-language/amp/ 8 Things You Should Know About Hebrew 7) Secular Hebrew Journals, Newspapers and Literature Emerged in the 18th Century. • The , the Jewish Enlightenment, sparked a renewed interest in Hebrew, particularly biblical Hebrew, which the maskilim (the proponents of the Enlightenment) viewed as a purer form of the language. Journals, newspapers, and literature were written in Hebrew, but there were many problems with adapting this ancient language to the needs of modern prose. Many of these problems were addressed by S.Y. Abramowitz (better known as Mendele Mokher Seforim), who created an amalgam of rabbinic and biblical Hebrew that suited modern literary needs. 8) After Not Being Spoken for Two Millennia, It Was Dramatically Revived. • While the creation of a corpus of secular was impressive, the reinstitution of Hebrew as a spoken language was almost miraculous. Hebrew had not been a spoken language for two millennia, and yet at the end of the 19th century, European Jews dreaming of a cultural renaissance in Palestine began to resurrect the language. • Eliezer Ben-Yehuda is considered the father of Modern Hebrew. He developed a vocabulary for Modern Hebrew, incorporating words from ancient and , in addition to creating new words. In 1922, Hebrew became one of the official languages of British Mandate Palestine, and today it is a modern language spoken by the citizens of Israel and Jews around the world.

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-hebrew-language/amp/ Revival of an ancient language Eliezer Ben Yehuda • Born Eliezer Yitzhak Perlman in what is now Belarus on 7 January 1858 • Died 16 December 1922 • He was a Hebrew lexicographer and newspaper editor. He was the driving spirit behind the revival of the Hebrew language in the modern era. • Ben-Yehuda raised his son, Ben- Ben-Yehuda (the first name meaning "son of Zion"), entirely in Hebrew. He did not allow his son to be exposed to other languages during childhood. He even berated his wife for singing a Russian lullaby. Ben-Zion thus became the first native speaker of modern Hebrew as a mother tongue. • Ben-Yehuda was a major figure in the establishment of the Committee of the Hebrew Language (Va'ad HaLashon), later the Academy of the Hebrew Language, an organization that still exists today. He was the author of the first modern Hebrew dictionary and became of the Hebrew language, despite opposition to some of the words he coined. Many of these words have המחיה “known as the "reviver become part of the language but others—some 2,000 words—never caught on. His word for "tomato," for instance, was bandura, but Hebrew speakers today use the word agvania. • Ancient languages and were major sources for Ben-Yehuda and the Committee. According to Joshua Blau, quoting the criteria insisted on by Ben-Yehuda: "In order to supplement the deficiencies of the Hebrew language, the Committee coins words according to the rules of grammar and linguistic analogy from Semitic roots: Aramaic, Canaanite, Egyptian [sic] ones and especially from Arabic roots." Concerning Arabic, Ben-Yehuda maintained, inaccurately according to Blau and historical evidence, that Arabic roots are "ours": "the roots of Arabic were once a part of the Hebrew language ... lost, and now we have found them again"! • In his book Was Hebrew Ever a Dead Language, Cecil Roth summed up Ben-Yehuda's contribution to the Hebrew language: "Before Ben-Yehuda, Jews could speak Hebrew; after him, they did." Source: Wikipedia Fulfillment of Biblical Prophecy :9 • “For then I will give to the peoples purified lips, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord, to serve Him shoulder to shoulder.” (NAS) • “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord and serve him with one accord.” (ESV) • “Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve him shoulder to shoulder.” (NIV) • “For then do I turn unto peoples a pure lip, to call all of them by the name of Yahweh, to serve Him with one shoulder.“ (YLT) כִּֽי־א ָ֛ז אֶהְ פ ֹּ֥ ְך אֶל־עַמִּ֖ ים שָׂפָׂ ָ֣ה בְרּורָ֑הל רקְ א ֹ֤ כֻלם֙ בְש םֵׁ֣ יְהו ָ֔ה לְע בְ ד ִּ֖ושְ כֶ ֹּ֥ם אֶחִּֽ ד׃ • saphah] noun feminine; 176 occurrences; AV translates as “lip” 112 times, “language” seven] שָׂ פָׂ ה • times, “speech” six times

Translating vs. Transliterating

A translation tells you the meaning of • La casa words in another language. • House = translation

A doesn't tell you the meaning of the words, but it helps you

שלום• .pronounce them • Shalom = transliteration Transliteration changes the letters from • one alphabet or language into the Peace = translation corresponding, similar-sounding characters of another alphabet.

https://www.familytreemagazine.com/premium/now-what-translation-vs-transliteration/ Transliterating Transliteration is more an art than a science, and opinions on the correct way to transliterate words vary widely. This is why the Jewish festival of lights (in Hebrew, Chet-Nun-Kaf-Heh) is spelled Chanukkah, Hannukah, Hanukkah, and many other interesting ways. Each spelling has a legitimate phonetic and orthographic basis; none is right or wrong.

חנוכה

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-hebrew-alphabet-aleph-bet A few helpful modern Hebrew phrases

Translation Remember

•There is a difference between being able to read a word and knowing the meaning of a word •Example: English words “noctambulist” or “piscatorial” What is this English letter?

G g G G Hebrew Alphabet

Sometimes called the “aleph-bet” because those are the first 2 letters https://theisraelbible.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Hebrew-Chart-full-logo.jpg.pagespeed.ce.mt8yQdhIe_.jpg Hebrew Alphabet Chart

• From The Israel Bible • Download from https://theisraelbible.com/wp- content/uploads/2016/01/Hebrew- Chart-full.jpg • Scan this QR Code If you want to buy a Hebrew-English Bible

The Israel Bible 70th Anniversary Hardcover Edition from Tuly Weisz and Israel365

The Israel Bible is the world’s first Tanakh, Hebrew Bible, to highlight the special relationship between the Land and the People of Israel. Through traditional and contemporary Jewish sources, The Israel Bible seeks to present God’s eternal and unchanging love for the Promised Land and His Chosen People from biblical times until today.

Next class… we will have a special purchase link to use! Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters with 5 final letter forms and some with and without , so we study as if there were 32 letters

https://theisraelbible.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Hebrew-Chart-full-logo.jpg.pagespeed.ce.mt8yQdhIe_.jpg Why is Hebrew written right to left? • One popular theory is that Hebrew is written from right to left because, in ancient times, when chiseling out words on a stone tablet, the engraver would hold the hammer in his stronger hand (usually the right hand) and the chisel in the left hand, making it much easier to write from right to left. • The third Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel (the Tzemach Tzedek), explains that writing from right to left is in keeping with the general rule in that we give precedence to the right side, e.g., we put on our right shoe first and wash our right hand first. Once we have written the first letter on the extreme right of the parchment or page, we move on to the next available on the right side, which is to the immediate left of the letter we just wrote. And so it happens that we are writing from right to left. • Why is the right side given precedence in Judaism? In kabbalistic teachings, the right represents the attribute of chesed (kindness) and the left, gevurah (severity). Just as there is a general rule that the right takes precedence in Jewish life, so too, whenever faced with a situation where you need to decide between kindness or severity, kindness comes first. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2920308/jewish/Why-Do-We-Write-Hebrew-from-Right-to-Left.htm Let’s learn the Hebrew letters Understanding the chart

Numerical value of the letter How to write the letter

Name of the letter

Sound of the letter Let’s learn the Hebrew letters

DAGESH () Grammar rule: Presence or absence of a DAGESH depends on where the letter appears in a Hebrew word and whether it begins or ends a https://theisraelbible.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Hebrew-Chart-full-logo.jpg.pagespeed.ce.mt8yQdhIe_.jpg Let’s learn the Hebrew letters

DAGESH (dot)

https://theisraelbible.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Hebrew-Chart-full-logo.jpg.pagespeed.ce.mt8yQdhIe_.jpg Let’s learn the Hebrew letters

DAGESH (dot)

https://theisraelbible.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Hebrew-Chart-full-logo.jpg.pagespeed.ce.mt8yQdhIe_.jpg Let’s learn the Hebrew letters

DAGESH (dot)

https://theisraelbible.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Hebrew-Chart-full-logo.jpg.pagespeed.ce.mt8yQdhIe_.jpg Vowels

*We will discuss vowels more in later lessons

https://theisraelbible.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Hebrew-Chart-full-logo.jpg.pagespeed.ce.mt8yQdhIe_.jpg NO HEBREW VOWELS IN ISRAELI STREET SIGNS OR NEWSPAPERS

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-hebrew-alphabet-aleph-bet https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-hebrew-alphabet-aleph-bet ׁש example Hebrew words – all starting with 3

Letter ׁש ׁשְׁ מַׁ ע ׁשַׁבָּת ׁשָּ לֹום ׁש example Hebrew words – all starting with 3

Letter Shin makes “” sound ׁש Shema ׁשְׁ מַׁ ע Shabbatׁשַׁבָּת Shalomׁשָּ לֹום For He (God the Father) rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Jesus) , in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. Colossians 1:13-20

*We should not be surprised when creation, even language, points us to Messiah Jesus Ancient Hebrew letters each had a specific meaning

Ancient Hebrew consisted of pictographs. The pictographs were rooted in the daily life of ancient society. They can even be seen in the surrounding ancient languages such as . Many of the ancient Semitic languages have very similar pictographs/letters.

https://www.christianforums.com/threads/the-hebrew-word-et.7513571/ Ancient meanings of Hebrew letters We can represent the Word of God, Ancient meanings of Hebrew letters right down to the letters. • Alef – Yoke yourself to the strength of God • Bet – His spirit dwells in us • – We are a bridge of God’s loving kindness to this world • – We can open the door to Christ for others • Hey – How do others behold Christ in us? • Vav – We can nail down God’s teaching for others • – We must know how to properly use the Sword of the Spirit – the Word of God • Cheth – We hedge others in • Tet – Be aware of the serpent and do not fall to his temptation • Yod – We are the hand of God – do you offer His power to others? • Kaf – We are the serving hand of God • Lamed – We are to teach and lead others

http://www.lthompsonbooks.com/blog/jesus-alef-and-tav/ We can represent the Word of Ancient meanings of Hebrew letters God, right down to the letters. • Mem – We are to offer the Living Waters to others • Nun – We recognize the Life we have in Christ • Samech – We are to support each other • – We are to look to others without sin and judgment • Pey – Speak His word • Tzade – Do not be hooked and led away; do not cause this for others • Qof – Follow behind Christ, allow Him to lead • – Surrender to God leading as our authority • Shin/Sin – Chew on His Word • Tav – Leave a Cross-shaped mark or sign in your life so others will recognize Jesus

http://www.lthompsonbooks.com/blog/jesus-alef-and-tav/ Richness of the Hebrew language

It can be argued that the first thing God created was the Hebrew alphabet. Richness of the Hebrew language

Rabbis teach that the Hebrew letters are the way the world was created. The letters were the instrument through which God created the world.

This is reflected in a prayer of praise called (without vowels) ברוך שאמר (with vowels) בָּרּוְךׁשֶׁאָּמַׁ ר Barukh she'amar

A daily morning prayer that begins…

“Blessed is the One Who spoke and brought the world into existence.” ברוך שאמר והיה העולם baruch she-amar vehaya ha-olam

Richness of the Hebrew language

By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. Hebrews 11:3

What do magicians around the world say when they seem to make something appear or materialize? Abracadabra

Hebrew (Aramaic) Avra kehdabra which means “I will create as I speak”

The Hebrew Alphabet was given prior to the creation of heaven and earth and subsequently used to create all things.

http://www.minimannamoments.com/tag/alef-tav/ Richness of the Hebrew language

The Hebrew letters were the instrument through which God created the world.

Then God said, “”; and there was light. Genesis 1:3 וַׁי ֹּ֥אמֶׁ ר אֱֹלהִ ִ֖ים יְׁהִ ִ֣י א ֹ֑ ור וַַֹֽֽׁיְׁהִ י־א ֹֽ ור

When God says something, He is projecting His will that is captured and reflected in those letters.

Richness of the Hebrew language •In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 בְׁרֵאׁשִִ֖ית בָּרָּ ִ֣ אאֱֹלהִ ֹ֑ים אֵֹּ֥ת הַׁשָּמַׁ ִ֖יִם וְׁאֵֹּ֥ת הָּאָֹּֽרֶׁ ץ•

Richness of the Hebrew language

• In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 בְׁרֵאׁשִִ֖ ית א בָּרִָּ֣ אֱֹלהִֹ֑ ים אֵֹּ֥ ת הַׁשָּמִַׁ֖יִם וְׁאֵֹּ֥ ת הָּאָֹּֽרֶׁ ץ • et” is a word that does not mean anything specific in Hebrew. It is a“ אֵֹּ֥ ת The word • grammatical term that precedes the definite direct of a sentence. et’ is the most frequent word in Hebrew. It constitutes over 2% of the‘ א ֵ֥ ת The word“ • words in any text – making it more than twice as frequent as the next word on the list. And it doesn’t even mean anything. It is a structural word that tells us something about the comes before a definite object. It has no equivalent אֵֹּ֥ ת grammar of the sentence. The word in the English language – and therefore is difficult to translate.” .et” in the sentence“ אֵֹּ֥ ת You don’t need the word • .et” is not translated in the English version of Genesis 1:1“ אֵֹּ֥ ת The word • https://myhebrewwords.wordpress.com/2014/03/07/1-%D7%90%D7%AA-et-the-most-common-word-in-the-hebrew-language/

Richness of the Hebrew language • In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 בְׁרֵאׁשִ ִ֖ ית בָּרָּ א ִ֣ ֹ֑ אֱֹלהִ ים אֵֹּ֥ת הַׁשָּמַׁ ִ֖יִם וְׁאֵֹּ֥ת הָּאָֹּֽרֶׁ ץ •

• The understanding by rabbis is that the first thing God created was not aleph and tav, the first and last … אֵֹּ֥ת the heavens and the earth but letters of the Hebrew alphabet (summing up all the letters). With these letters, the world was created.

Richness of the Hebrew language • In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 בְׁרֵאׁשִ ִ֖ ית בָּרָּ א ִ֣ ֹ֑ אֱֹלהִ ים אֵֹּ֥ת הַׁשָּמַׁ ִ֖יִם וְׁאֵֹּ֥ת הָּאָֹּֽרֶׁ ץ •

in Genesis 1:1: “Et is an untranslatable word את Rabbi Dov Ber explains the use of the word • used to indicate that “a definite direct object is next” (so there needs to be an et before the heavens and the earth).” The Hebrew text literally reads: In the beginning, .the earth את the heavens and את created God denotes the Hebrew alphabet, Rabbi Ber reasons, “In the beginning God created the את As • Aleph-Bet. Since God did this before creating the heavens and the earth, the letters are considered to be the primordial ‘building blocks’ of all of creation.” https://www.oneforisrael.org/bible-based-teaching-from-israel/a-little-word-with-a-big-meaning/ Richness of the Hebrew language (Apostle John wrote) Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. Revelation 21:1-6

Richness of the Hebrew language And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. Revelation 21:5b-6

John originally wrote Revelation in Greek. Did Jesus speak to John in Greek or Hebrew? Likely, Jesus spoke to John in Hebrew and John wrote in Greek. So, quite likely, Jesus did not originally say Alpha and Omega… He would have said “I am the Aleph and the Tav.” Richness of the Hebrew language And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. Revelation 21:5b-6

John originally wrote Revelation in Greek. Did Jesus speak to John in Greek or Hebrew? Likely, Jesus spoke to John in Hebrew. So, quite likely, Jesus did not originally say Alpha and Omega… He would have said “I am the Aleph and the Tav.” The leader/teacher (God) signs a , goes to the Cross Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2 In Hebrew, the is titled (first words of 1:1)

http://www.minimannamoments.com/tag/alef-tav/ fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross Hebrews 12:2

http://www.minimannamoments.com/tag/alef-tav/ Questions? Finally… a familiar passage A familiar passage

Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! Deuteronomy 6:4 Homework… memorize this prayer