Things to consider if you’re wanting to learn Biblical languages

“If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.”

– The New Testament, “The First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians,” Chapter 14, Verse 27 (as translated by the King James Version of the Bible)

This might seem a strange way to begin a blog post about Biblical languages … but most versions of contemporary Islam require their adherents to learn Classical Arabic. This is because they are expected to read the Quran in the original. To Muslims, translations of the Quran are not even the “Quran” at all. Reading the “Quran” in English would thus be unsatisfactory to them. Some versions of Judaism have a similar reverence for the Hebrew language, with even the characters of the Hebrew alphabet being considered sacred. By contrast, most Christian religions would be totally fine with their members reading the Bible in translation. More to the point, reading the Bible in translation does indeed count as “reading the Bible” in most Christian denominations.

The caves at Qumran, where the famous Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered

Is college right for me? (It depends)

Which things are best learned in a classroom? Which are best learned somewhere else?

It’s an all-too-common refrain today: “college is good for everyone.” Some tell us that “everyone” should go, and that people are “failing” in life … if they choose not to go. But, if “everyone” is going, it seems to mean a little less if someone does have a degree. Even when the degree is a real one, rather than the fake kind sold by diploma mills, college degrees have nowhere near the value that they once held. More to the point, college is not inherently better for everyone. It is indeed good for some people, but it is not good for others. There are other ways to realize your potential besides going to college. And, although college might be best reserved for people who are unusually smart (as well as academically inclined), many smart people have never set foot in a college classroom. There are other ways to do smart things, and do some great deeds to boot. Some of the greatest minds of history were self-taught, and moved forward on their own willpower without the aid of a formal classroom. Thus, there is certainly a role for self-education. That being said, there may be some other things that can only be learned in a classroom. Laboratory science might be one of these things. You can read about biology and physics, and see videos of chemists using beakers and test tubes. But, unless you perform some laboratory science for yourself, you won’t really learn much about how it actually works. Self-education, although very valuable, can only go so far.

A Crookes tube in chemistry (two views): light and dark

Why I would like to learn Biblical Aramaic

“The king [Nebuchadnezzar] answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.”

– The Hebrew Bible, “The Book of Daniel,” Chapter 2, Verses 5 and 6 (as translated by the King James Version of the Bible) – one of the few parts of the Hebrew Bible to be written in Aramaic, rather than Hebrew

Religious schools are among the most prominent schools (usually at the college level) to offer entire programs in Bible Studies. For example, BYU has a major in “Ancient Near Eastern Studies” (more about that here), which is basically the same thing. Usually, such programs require you to take either Greek, or Hebrew, or both. Hebrew is the primary language of the Old Testament, while Greek seems to be the original language of the New Testament. Many of them will offer a class or two in Aramaic. However, very few of these programs will require their Bible Studies students to take such classes. I should acknowledge that this is perfectly understandable – and maybe even reasonable. This is because Aramaic makes up only 1% of the Old Testament – and far less than 1% of the entire Christian Bible. This, it is often offered as an elective, but is seldom required.

Aramaic inscription from Tayma, containing a dedicatory inscription to the god Salm

What should I study to become a writer?

“Learning to write by trial and error not only calls for patience on the writer’s part, it also taxes the patience of wives, landlords, and creditors. Whenever someone, especially a young person, tells me of an ambition to become a writer, my heart goes out to him or her immediately—and my spirits sink. There is seldom a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, even for those who become established writers eventually—and a lot can happen between now and eventually, like broken marriages, eviction for non-payment of rent, and the like.”

– The economist Thomas Sowell, in “Some Thoughts on Writing” (2001)

Being a writer may have been my most-stubbornly-held childhood ambition. I had this dream from a very early age. I wanted to be a professional writer, and sell popular novels that I hoped would make me a fortune. At that time, I tended to imagine myself writing a science fiction novel of some kind. It’s not unusual for kids to have dreams like this, but it is unusual for people to ever realize such ambitions. Certainly I have never made any significant money from my writings, and I’ve been blogging for more than a decade now.

My interests have largely shifted since I was a kid, since I now tend to write more about history and politics. Readers of this blog are likely to notice this quickly after visiting my blog. It’s possible that my efforts (successful or otherwise) to write good fiction stories as a kid may have helped me in my later efforts to write non-fiction, even though these two genres (obviously) have very different writing styles. The sorts of things that you want to write … may influence your decisions about college. That is, your decisions about what to study in depth, what to study in passing, and even whether to be attending college in the first place. Many different kinds of programs can help you in this endeavor – or, at least, they’re fairly likely to do so if you study them in the right kinds of schools.

So, without further ado, I will now give my thoughts on what college majors (or minors) are most appropriate for aspiring writers. To be clear, there is no guarantee here that you’ll make any money with any of these majors – let alone that you’ll do so as a successful professional writer. But, if you’re interested in writing for a living, here are a few college majors to consider:

Ernest Hemingway, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature

What languages did our Founding Fathers know?

“I was educated at William and Mary college in Williamsburg. I read Greek, Latin, French, Italian, Spanish, and English of course, with something of it’s radix the Anglo-Saxon.”

– Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Joseph Delaplaine (12 April 1817) – which seems to show that Jefferson thus studied what is now known as “Old English” (or, as he calls it here, “Anglo-Saxon”)

Our Founding Fathers were quite a knowledgeable group, who knew many foreign languages

The Founding Fathers of the United States are among the most brilliant collection of individuals in all of world history. Seldom, if ever, has there been such a remarkable collection of talent anywhere else. Our Founding Fathers were particularly well-versed in things like history – particularly that of Ancient Greece (including Athens), the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire, the British Isles, and our own Colonial America. They also studied the greatest Greek and Roman philosophers, as well as relatively modern philosophers from Britain and France, with great skill. They studied prior laws from the British Isles (such as the Magna Carta), and the great British jurists who expounded on those laws. And, if I may offer an opinion, they helped to create the most successful Constitution that the world has ever known. Nonetheless, many of them were also accomplished polyglots, who attained fluency in a notable variety of foreign languages. Here, too, their genius shines through – with both ancient and modern languages.

Thomas Jefferson

To save time here, I’ll be focusing on some of the most prominent of our Founding Fathers

I have covered their accomplishments in these other spheres elsewhere. Thus, I will instead be focusing here on their attainments in the realm of foreign languages. Here as elsewhere, the Founding Fathers’ record can speak for itself, since I will be trying to use their own words here as much as possible. To shorten this discussion, I will focus entirely on some of the most prominent of our Founding Fathers. This will help to keep our discussion to a more manageable length. It will also help to showcase the knowledge of our Founding Fathers, which stands up well to any reasonable standard.

Thomas Jefferson

The Case of Proclamations created a political uproar

“I was sent to attend the Lord Chancellor, Lord Treasurer, Lord Privy Seal, and the Chancellor of the Duchy; there being present the attorney, the solicitor, and recorder: and two questions were moved to me by the Lord Treasurer; the one if the King by his proclamation may prohibit new buildings in and about London, etc; the other, if the King hath answered, that he will confer with his Privy Council, and his Judges, and then he will do right to them … I did humbly desire them that I might have conference with my brethren the Judges about the answer of the King, and then to make an advised answer according to law and reason.”

– The decision written by Sir Edward Coke, in the Court of King’s Bench, in the Michaelmas Term of the year 1610 – better known today as Sir Edward Coke’s “Case of Proclamations” (1610)

The Case of Proclamations was the brainchild of Sir Edward Coke, and angered King James

In 1610, Sir Edward Coke was a judge in the Court of King’s Bench. He had been appointed there by King James the First of England. The king’s Lord Chancellor approached Sir Edward Coke about a court case that Coke was then hearing. This court case is now known as the “Case of Proclamations.” When Sir Edward Coke made his decision, Coke noted the Lord Chancellor’s prior requests to him in the decision itself. The relevant part is as follows: “the Lord Chancellor said, that every precedent had first a commencement, and that he would advise the Judges to maintain the power and prerogative of the King; and in cases in which there is no authority and precedent, to leave it to the King to order in it, according to his wisdom, and for the good of his subjects, or otherwise the King would be no more than the Duke of Venice: and that the King was so much restrained in his prerogative, that it was to be feared the bonds would be broken: but to apply his medicine according to the quality of the disease: and all concluded that it should be necessary at that time to confirm the King's prerogative with our opinions, although that there were not any former precedent or authority in law: for every precedent ought to have a commencement.” (see source) Sir Edward Coke then offered his response, which would not exactly please this same King James.

Sir Edward Coke

How little-known European conflicts sucked in Britain’s American colonies

Note: This post covers a number of conflicts in various parts of the world. But all of them are arguably part of a larger pattern of European wars during this period. Thus, many of my other mentions of these conflicts are directed to this post, which tries to discuss these various conflicts (and sub-conflicts) in this broader colonial context.

Dutch colony of New Netherland (America), and the First and Second Anglo-Dutch Wars

It was only seven years after the 1607 founding of the Jamestown Settlement … that Holland created its own colony in North America. It was called “New Netherland,” and it was founded in 1614. Only six years later was the Pilgrim colony created at Plymouth Rock in 1620. French Canada had begun to fight the Beaver Wars back in 1609. These Beaver Wars would then be fought for the next 90 years or so. In 1635, the Acadian Civil War also began in French Canada. But, elsewhere in North America, the Netherlands would soon be fighting a war against the native peoples, known as “Kieft’s War.” It was fought from 1643 to 1645, in what are today the American states of New York and New Jersey. But Holland would soon be at war with a much greater threat: the mighty “English” Empire (not to be confused with its eventual successor, the “British” Empire). Thus, in 1652, the First Anglo-Dutch War began, over disputes about trade. This particular war was fought almost entirely at sea, in various bodies of water – from the English Channel to the Persian Gulf. In 1654, the war ended with the Treaty of Westminster, where the Dutch made some minor concessions to the English. The aforementioned Acadian Civil War also ended in 1654, although the aforementioned Beaver Wars continued. But, in 1665, the Second Anglo-Dutch War began. Like its predecessor, this war was fought mainly at sea. However, there was also some land fighting in West Africa, the East Indies, the Guianas, and the Caribbean. In North America, the war also involved the city of New Amsterdam surrendering to the English. Thus, in 1664, New Amsterdam was then renamed “New York City,” the name by which it is still known today. In 1667, the Second Anglo-Dutch War ended with the Treaty of Breda. Thus, the Dutch colony of New Netherland temporarily ended in 1667. However, England also ceded English Guiana, Fort Amsterdam in Ghana, and Run to the Netherlands. The stage was thus set for a rematch.

The Battle of Scheveningen – part of the First Anglo-Dutch War, 1653

The Four Days’ Battle – part of the Second Anglo-Dutch War, 1666