PaRDeS BIBLESTUDIES

 

Drs. Charles van den Berg

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

The Bible, Hebrew Language, and Hebrew Thought.

 

 

My name is Charles van den Berg; I am married to Neshera, and we live together in The Netherlands.

Including the time that I spent at the university, studying theology and exegesis, I have been full-time occupied, studying the Bible, and the world in which the Scriptures have originated.

Soon it became evident that the Church has torn the Bible loose from its Hebrew, Jewish roots and redefined her content on the foundation of the Greek-Hellenistic philosophy.

One day -about forty years ago- I laid my hands on a book that revolutionized my thought about the Bible: “Hebrew Thought Compared with Greek” by Thorleit Boman.

I always held it for evident that knowledge of the language in which the Scriptures are written, and equal knowledge of the cultural and historical background are essential for proper understanding of God's revelation. But I had not (yet) realized that the Jews maintained a style of thinking, completely different from what the Greek did. It dawned on me when I realized that the New Testament is written in Greek. Then I discovered that Hebrew Language and Hebrew thought are two completely different items, to consider.

The New Testament authors were ingrained in a Hebrew style of thinking, but wrote in the Greek language. That is the reason that the New Testament contains so many ‘Hebraisms’. It is good to know that the Greek language used in the Bible is the common people's KOINE Greek (in contrast to the Classical Greek), and that we could better speak of Judeo Koine Greek.

At the time of Yeshua also the method of hermeneutics was different from what is now commonly used. Rabbi Hillel (110BCE-10CE) wrote this method down in seven rules. It is clear that he did not invent these rules himself, because the application thereof can be found anywhere in the Tenach. However, he was the first to write it concisely down in structured rule. Later this Jewish hermeneutic method was assigned the name PaRDeS, hence the name of this website.

On this website I will share with you, and get you acquainted with, studies of the Bible rooted in the Hebrew and Judeo Koine Greek languages, the Hebrew Thought and Hillel’s hermeneutics. This will offer you surprising vistas on the Biblical reality, and answer questions that you pondered for a long time in search for an answer.

 

DISCLAIMER The author declares explicitly that he takes distance from any deviation from or extension to these JEWISH hermeneutics, that even under the name PaRDeS are added to the interpretation of the Talmud and other Jewish writings. In addition, the author acknowledges exclusively the authority of the Tenach and the New Testament