Associate Professor of Old Testament jason DeRouchie has published a new article in the latest edition of the online Christian theological journal Themelios in which he commends study of the biblical languages by ministers of the gospel. The essay, “The Profit of Employing the Biblical Languages: Scriptural and Historical Reflections,” can be read for free at the Themelios site, or downloaded as part of the entire edition PDF.
DeRouchie cites the great reformer Martin Luther who, of the Hebrew and Greek of the Holy Scriptures, said, “Although the gospel came and still comes to us through the Holy Spirit alone, we cannot deny that it came through the medium of languages, was spread abroad by that means, and must be preserved by the same means. … If God did not despise [Hebrew and Greek] but chose them above all others for his word, then we too ought to honor them above all others.”
We at Bethlehem College & Seminary agree with Dr. DeRouchie: all students who participate in any of our degree programs are required to study biblical Greek, and those students in both our Master of Divinity program and our Bachelor of Arts in Biblical and Theological Studies program study biblical Hebrew as well.