Hello folks! It’s been a busy week! My niece, Connie, and her boyfriend came to visit us on the Island. I had a family reunion in New Brunswick yesterday and today I’m off to Nova Scotia to visit my previous (Fergus Library) co-workers, Penny and Pat. This week was also hopping at work! As many of you know, I’m a library technician at the University of Prince Edward Island. This was the first week of classes which is always very busy training our new student employees and helping new UPEI students get acquainted with the library. We get a wide variety of questions, such as:
- How do I get onto the wifi?
- How do I book a study room?
- Where’s the washroom?
- How do I find a book on reserve?
- How do I print?
- Do you have my required textbooks?
- Where is my classroom?
I enjoy this first week of educational excitement! There are so many fresh students at the start of their scholarly careers!
I love working in an academic environment, but I’m also a little sad to see that the institution that I work at (and they are not alone) seems to have abandoned the “humanities”: history, theology, philosophy, literature, religion, music and fine arts. We have a veterinary school, a new medical school, engineering, the sciences, psychology and sociology, but Latin is offered very rarely and Hebrew and Greek are never taught. I’ve heard from numerous student employees that lament the loss of the humanities. Many of the courses that enticed them to come to UPEI are no longer (or very rarely) offered. I, regrettably, would never recommend that prospective students interested in history, theology, language and literature come to our institution… and that makes me sad. But I digress.
To study the Bible, in any sort of depth, is to dive into the humanities. It’s important to know the history of the time period in which each book was written; it helps to know the original languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek); it beneficial to understand literary formations found in the Bible, such as prose, poetry, and historic letter writing.
Over the next few weeks we are going to celebrate the study of the humanities by looking at some Hebrew “poetic” words, such as amen, melody, musician, and instrument. To kick off our month of poetry and song let’s learn a single, beautiful, line of poetry found in Isaiah 43:1b
[YHWH:] “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!”
“Al teera, kee g’al’teeka; karatee v-sheemka lee attah!”
אַל־תִּירָא֙ כִּ֣י גְאַלְתִּ֔יךָ קָרָ֥אתִי בְשִׁמְךָ֖ לִי־אָֽתָּה
If it’s easier, you may want to break down this sentence and learn it in two sections:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you”: “Al teera, kee g’al’teeka”
“I have called you by name; you are Mine!”: “Karatee v’sheemka lee attah!”
These are YHWH’s words to us: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!” It’s a poetic prayer worth remembering!
Whatever you’re going through, you have nothing to fear. YHWH is with you. He’s on your side and He’s got your back. You’re YHWH’s treasured possession, so be fearless and know that you are loved beyond imagining! You’re redemption will one day bring you home to the Father, where all will be well.
Next week: Amen and Amen!
Hebrew Word Lessons 