Biblical Languages Galore

As I entered into my 6th year of teaching, I have become more insistent that students pay more attention in acquiring a proficiency in both Hebrew and Greek. The median age of students is 35 years old and unfortunately for some over 35 years, it is not ideal to start learning new languages when one is nearing 40 years old. I would want to suggest to Christian leaders and theological educators to shift in our thinking that biblical languages must be acquired by early twenties or even during high school years (Junior College).

I am keen to start a pilot project for those finishing O or A levels and having a few months off before University study, to consider enrolling in a semi-intensive Hebrew and Greek courses. Even if they have done just one Semester of Greek, by the time they enter theological education they can begin Greek 2 and study the NT texts in Greek or OT texts in Hebrew as the case may be. There is a lot to be done for the advancement of Asian biblical scholarship and one key factor is to start them young in learning biblical languages.