NT Greek or OT Hebrew? Which should I learn first? 

I started studying the Greek language first but when I started studying Hebrew I wished I had started with it first. Hebrew, to me is much simpler than Greek and it has a unique structure that I enjoy learning about.

I started with Hebrew because I was drawn to it very strongly even though others told me that Greek was easier. Till now I haven't really started learning Greek though I can read the script, which is quite easy. I don't regret my decision at all, Hebrew is actually easier grammatically. Biblical Hebrew can be learnt together with Modern Hebrew which can be spoken, this I find it very very helpful. Unfortunately for Greek, biblical Greek is often taught so differently from Modern Greek, especially in pronunciation, making it very difficult to switch between the Biblical and the Modern one. I can switch between Biblical Hebrew and Modern Hebrew quite easily, without feeling like I have to switch to another type of pronunciation. It would be better if Greek was taught with Modern Greek pronunciation so that students can potentially learn Modern Greek as well, because having a the modern spoken version of the language can greatly help solidify the Biblical vocabulary, making it feel more alive than just for the purpose of deciphering and translating. I can also pray in Hebrew, which gives me a sense of a linguistic pilgrimage to the Holy Land since I can't physically travel there and speaking the language of the people of our Lord. This is why being able to speak a language is so important, it really feels alive, not dead.

I had 3 years of N.T. Greek before taking one of Hebrew. I found both to be great languages, but Hebrew was easier. Both are fantastic, but for different reasons. I love the light they each shed on the culture, and the people of their times. So, if I had the opportunity to choose, I'd learn Hebrew, then Koiné Greek.

Having studied both Hebrew and Greek, I find Hebrew much easier. It just makes more sense to me.

I had Dr. Barrick as a prof at TMS. He really challenged me but taught me a lot! I learned Greek first and it does click faster with a western mind. Although, Hebrew, to me at least seems easier in some ways (the direct object is nice since it has a marker for that sometimes and the verbs are less complex or so it seems). As you said in the comments somewhere, Greek was "easy" to learn and then I got into a second year course and felt overwhelmed. I have found what Dr. Barrick says is true, if you love God's Word, it will help you overcome any difficulties in learning the language. I am also currently teaching Greek and Hebrew, I am by no means an expert but I know that endeavor forces me to learn it better, for which I am thankful. Thank you for your channel.

סרטון מקסים. גם בתור דוברת עברית כשפת אם אני מוצאת את הטקסטים הקדומים ביוונית מרתקים למדי. הכי כיף לקרוא דברים בשפת המקור.

Thank you for introducing Dr. Barrick!!! A very well presented video... I'm interested in both NT Greek and OT Hebrew. Hope to master both before the rapture! Great video... Gilbert

These two are funny going back and forth! It is encouraging me to learn biblical languages. Just subscribed! 🙏

Such a fun video! I wanted to learn Greek but tackled Hebrew first since Aleph with Beth was further developed than Alpha with Angela. I'm most of the way through all of the videos for both of those programs and have to say that the Hebrew has been easier for me than the Greek. Granted, I have a looooooong way to go in my studies, so maybe I'll change my mind as I continue progressing, but that's where I land for now. Hebrew has seemed simpler, and Bethany and Andrew Case are pretty funny, so that helps too. (There have been numerous times when my husband has heard me laughing aloud as I'm studying and commented that it sounds like I'm having too much fun. That's an impressive feat for a language instructor!) One question I have regarding Greek and the Septuagint...how much additional vocabulary does one have to master to be able to read the Septuagint with ease (compared with say NT vocab)?

Such a delight to listen to you both. Thank you Dr. Very grateful for your videos are of great help in learning Hebrew. Watched again and again. Now watching the grammar 2 first one. The devotionals are an absolute delight.Has been such a great blessing 💖. Weak verbs are tough to get. I got stuck here,but the wrestling is on. God's love stirs up so that will continue to study.

Hebrew is on my "bucket list." I spent a decade reading through the Greek NT once a year for ten years, and am comfortable with that text, if not fluent. (I can read it for pleasure.) At the moment, I'm working on Turkish.

Wow. I was watching one of Dr. Barrick's Hebrew lessons on RU-vid when Greek popped into mind and I found this video! And you're from NZ too. I've really been enjoying the Hebrew lessons from him and I know where to go when it's time to learn Greek.

Very interesting. I just started (again) to study greek in the morning & hebrew at night. Both are a struggle. I'm Indonesian. Indonesian nouns have no gender & for number we just write them twice for the plural, e.g. 'buku' is book, n for books we write 'buku-buku.' Indonesian verbs have active n passive voice & if we need reflecsive we just add an adverb before the verb. No tenses, we just use adverbs of time to indicate time. No case, the context have to tell the case. So even at the very beginning it is difficult to learn both hebrew & greek. First we need to understand that nouns have gender, etc. & verbs have all these aspects. Added to that is our order of word determined which noun is subject n which is object, unless we are using passive voice which implicitly tell which is the subject. It is fortunate that most Indonesian learned English as our second language. But to really get to the biblical languages we have to go through English, since we dont have many Hebrew / Greek references in Indonesian language. So many of us are discouraged because it is so difficult n take a long time to master Hebrew Greek, so that after finishing our bachelor's degree in theology or ministry, we don't touch the grammar books anymore. I was one of those many years ago, but this year I have committed myself to read n study Hebrew Greek all over again from scratch: I have forgotten all Hebrew & Greek, to the point that I have to learn to read every consonants & vocals all over again. So sad that I have wasted so many years forgetting about the languages our Scripture are originally written. Quite happy that I have advance in the learning though. Thank you for your videos, I have learned much from you.

I personally found Hebrew to be easier but I studied classical Greek in college, which is a lot more difficult than the koine Greek of the New Testament. Had I studied Koine, my opinion may be different. I found classical Greek to be extremely hard because it’s so irregular and it seemed like there was an exception to every rule. It was very grammatically unpredictable. Its also possible that I found Hebrew to be easier because I already had that preexisting foundation and knowledge of grammar of ancient languages through studying Greek, which may have made learning a second ancient language all the more easier.

I first started learning Hebrew, Lason Hakodosh. Respect and love to Dr. William D. Barrick. I really feel proud of being his student.

I'm learning English to learn New Testament's Greek, but I wanna learn Hebrew too! XD Great channel!

I would want to learn Koine Greek first, though I love both testaments.

If you pursue Greek but forgo Hebrew, you’ll always be missing a huge influence on the NT. To truly understand the Greek New Testament fully, and especially the Gospels, you need Hebrew-arguably more than you need Greek itself. Aramaic is important for NT studies, as well, and a trilingual approach, which matches the trilingual environment of the Land of Israel in the 1st century (with Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek), is ideal and highly recommended.

Glad to hear Dr. William D. Barrick,. My First Hebrew Teacher..

Thanks for this dialogue between this two gentlemen. I guess I prefer to think that greek help us introduce into the richness of the Bible, but Hebrew allow us to know it's depth.

I have been working on both Greek and Hebrew for many years and for me the Greek seems to come easier. I think it is partly because of the familiarity of the alphabet ( I was a math and physics major in college) and the similarity of the vocabulary and grammar to other Indo-European languages including English. Sometimes the differences in Hebrew intimidate me thus requiring more effort on my part to keep at it.

I love Hebrew, both modern and biblical, and the way the language sounds. But I find that biblical Greek fits much easier into my native English brain.

Nice video! Dr. Barrick, the best of the best

I started with Greek, because of the relation to the NT, would love to master both though.

When I was deciding the determining factor was Greek because of the Septuagint. I figured I could at least largely read the OT in Greek. Hebrew is on the list though!

Great video! I’m currently working on Greek, I’m trying to get fluent on it. After that I wish to learn Hebrew for a better understanding of the whole Bible.

Study Classical Greek especially Koine for Scriptural studies. The New Testament (oldest) copy is Greek, Old Testament in Greek is older than any surviving Hebrew copy. Not to say Hebrew is not important. Also, Greek furthers study in other periods of ancient Greek writings, Plato, Socrates, Homer, etc.

Great discussion! And I agree. Also, nice to learn about Dr. Barrick and his Hebrew course. I've watched a few of your videos now. Excellent content on helpful issues. Well done.

In Hebrew, what I find confusing, so far, are some irregular nouns with suffixes, imperfect regular verbs, imperative regular verbs. Somewhere in the midst of those I feel like I've hid a roadblock. But i'm going to keep at it.

I'd say it depends on your goals. The two main difficulties with Greek are the participles. The Greek Participle takes everything that drove you nuts about conjugating verbs with everything that drove you crazy about conjugating nouns. I've only worked myself to half of a Hebrew Text (Basics of Biblical Hebrew by Pratico and Van Pelt), but I think I can say this. Part of Learning Biblical Hebrew also involves learning Tiberian Vocalization (those are the little extra symbols underneath the Hebrew letters, such as the patah, and the shureq. There is a whole set of these you need to memorize from the beginning (and that isn't the hard part I'm referring to). These symbols, as these Scholars know, are there to help the uninitiated make the correct vowel sounds when reading Hebrew. The problem is that words, including verbs and pronouns result in subtle changes depending on how and when they are used. These changes results in crazy grammatic rules and complicates the language. So when you learn the Hebrew Verb, you have to memorize different variations of verb conjugations due to these Tiberian Vocalization symbols (eg Strong & Weak Verbs). From what I've seen in the text books that I've seen, Its a good idea to do Greek first because, a) its easier, b) a decent course in Greek should give you a good review of English Grammar, which is important when studying a foreign language.

Thank you brother! Keep teaching greek! I'm from Brazil.

As an Orthodox Christian, the Septuaginta is more relevant to us than the Hebrew OT. Thus Koine will help me for the OT and NT.

I didn't really have a choice - at my seminary Hebrew was required before Greek and I think that's the correct order.

I like and always waiting explanation about Hebrew and Greek languages,it very interest for dig and interpretation content of our Bible.

I've studied both Greek and Hebrew. Neither one is easy to learn. However, I find certain aspects of Hebrew to be quite impenetrable. I don't have the advantage of having a professor to ask questions. Some aspects of Hebrew seem vague and confusing. The morphology of the verbs is also confusing for certain verbs. Also, there is a much greater availability of reference books for Greek than for Hebrew. Many Hebrew books are very expensive. If you know German or Modern Hebrew, there is a larger selection of resources available. I love Greek and the New Testament. So I spend much more time there than with Hebrew.

Helpful & encouraging video. Thanks!

I have really been struggling with Hebrew I use dr. Bill Barricks Hebrew class on RU-vid I love it but I am not good in languages

For those people who are looking to learn Biblical Greek after having learned Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic, The Elements of New Testament Greek by Jeremy Duff is a great book to use. The book teaches the subject concisely and effectively. As a result, it does not take near as long to complete as some of the other introductory Greek Grammars out there. This way, you are able to get into the Greek New Testament Scriptures quickly; just make sure that you start reading your Greek New Testament immediately after completing the book. This way, you do not have to discontinue your Hebrew and Aramaic Scripture readings as you learn Greek. Lastly, it saves a lot of time to learn Greek this way for those who have hectic schedules. God bless!

I started with Greek several years ago and now that I am able to advance with Greek at my own pace through regular reading, I thought it was time to start with Hebrew. I've begun with John Dobson's Learn Biblical Hebrew textbook and I feel like my blissful ignorance 'about' Hebrew has made it much more enjoyable. In retrospect, Greek was much more difficult because of the baggage that I had accumulated in listening to people talk about how difficult of a language it was to learn. Everybody has an opinion about which resource is the best and which approach is best suited to individual learning. All of this factored into making Greek much more difficult to learn.

Did he say that Rabbinical Hebrew is different from Biblical Hebrew? I found some writings of Gregory Palamas (1296-1359) which were written in Koine Greek! (The people of Constantinople didn’t speak like this, but that’s how theologians wrote.)-another pro in the Koine Greek column. Although I’m learning Classical Greek in order to directly access more Greek literature.

That last comment made the stressful part seem better. We love God and His love letter to us was preserved in Hebrew and Greek. We will go through the effort to learn knowing the truth of this as our motivator. PS the lazy side of me wants to learn greek first but ideally id like to master both. God bless brothers!!!

Very helpful…thank you.

I learned Arabic before and OT Hebrew was so easy for me. Now I am struggling through Greek and I keep on wishing it was a semitic language.

I start to learn Koine Greek.It’s different with the Morden Greek. I wanna get some easy dialogue in Koine Greek,can you give me some material,Doctor!

Thank you. I am ready to learn. Great information. I do love the Lord God Jesus Christ and I want to learn the language. I have been so hungry to learn. There were just many things in the way. I need to learn now. Where do I begnin

I love the exchanges here. Greek or Hebrew?

Thank you, fellas.

I started out with Hebrew. Got through to prefixes and suffixes for certain verbs, and lost my way. I'm blind, so learning in braille, which means I'm not sure how to type out the words I was needing to translate into Hebrew, if I were to show you an example. I think it's something about imperatives on perfect verbs? If anyone has a rather older book by Weingreen, A Practical Hebrew Grammar, it's around lesson 40 that I get confused. I feel like he barely goes over it at all. I have another book by Fullilove , that's written in another way of accenting Hebrew, so it's like learning a completely new language (very difficult to explain to sighted people.) This means I don't know where to look in his book, or whether it would help me understand the prefixes and suffixes more clearly. I'm reading a little about Greek, and what throws me are all the rules with the grave, circumflex and acute vowels. It makes a little sense, but, in braille, each of these are different symbols, so like, say, epsilon. Would be a braille e, but then, the other three with the accent marks are completely different characters. It's the same with Hebrew, but in Hebrew, the vowels seem to have fewer changes, the rules fewer. It seems easier to grasp, more streamlined, more structured. Often, learning a new language in braille is learning two new languages. It's a lot of work, but I love the puzzle of translating Hebrew. I've wept over Bible verses that I could finally understand. Even simple ones! "God created the heavens and the earth." I just cried and cried. It was powerful. There's a profound and deep emotional connection there. There've been several times this has happened. I'm a novice musician, and extremely detail-oriented. Maybe this is why Hebrew comes more naturally to me? Or maybe it's where my heart is, for some reason. I'd love to learn both, though. When I pick up Greek, I'll be able to say what I think of learning it. I suspect seeing words in English based somewhat on Greek will be fascinating and really fun to learn. How difficult do people find trying to learn both at the same time?

it is essential to learn these languages, especially since we have so many detestable english miss translations, that promote ignorance, such as King James

How about this: learn them at the same time? Good or bad idea?

"Once you have greek under your belt". Ha! That seems like a statement that needs to be explained. How "under your belt" should you be in Greek before hebrew if you get to choose?

All this and no mention about Hebrew being written right-to-left?! :D I'm shocked :P

I was told in college that most Bible students tend to have either a "greek brain" or a "hebrew brain" meaning one of the Biblical languages usually comes much more intuitively to a student than the other. In my experience I've found that to be very true. The greek language has come very naturally to me, while everything about Ancient Hebrew feels alien to me, while my roommate at the time (who was taking Hebrew and Greek simultaneously) took off and excelled in Hebrew while struggling with Greek. I think the biblical languages serve as a good illustration of the overall principle that God has gifted different Christians in different ways and our strengths work together for the glorification of God

Hi, I’m looking to purchase a Hebrew and Greek Bible software where each Hebrew/Greek word has its own definition. Do you recommend any particular software? Thank you for your time and I appreciate your expertise.

I started with Greek but am much interested in Hebrew culture

I’m Jewish and I love having my JPS Hebrew-English Tanakh to use.

I started in Hebrew and found that the Greek was a little more time consuming, and somewhat familiar because of having studied Latin for 4 years as a teen. The Hebrew was fine until I got into the piel, hitpiel, etc.

For me am i got interested very lately so my interest is greek becasuse the application of new testament is very usefully in our daily lives thats why it is very interesting to learn the greek. But some one the verse in NT is needing a verse in OT basic you step little bit backward if you want to learn them both. Thank for this topic it ist very sensable

Learnt Greek first currently learning Hebrew must admit enjoy Hebrew more than Greek. Greek has more rules but easier to learn the vocabulary than Hebrew

What is the different of biblical and non biblical Greek? If Aramaic is in the Old and new Testament, then at what point do I learn that?

If we can read the Septuagint in Greek, should we study Hebrew?? Is there value in learning two different biblical languages, or could we do just as well with Greek alone?

Does this apply to modern languages? Or only accident version?

For some reason Duolingo teaches Hebrew in hebrew. I did the Japanese one and arabic one and they both taught it with english. I don't know why

I love ALL languages🤩🤩🥰🥰

How about learning Latin

Am interested in cultural background

Recommended text book/primer for learning Hebrew, self-taught?

Wouldn't starting "In the Beginning" make sense!

I have finally decided to enroll in Koine Greek at the University of Western Australia after having read the Old Testament and several ancient texts related to Gnosticism and Hermetism. I find that both these languages are subject to a lot of controversies, especially within the biblical context. Chief Rabbi of the Turin Hebrew community said in a conference that the Greek Bible is a disgrace to the Jewish community. That's a very interesting statement. Many words have been interpreted from biblical Hebrew to greek and unfortunately, we still do not know the meaning of several Hebrew words such as Elohim, Ruach, kevod etc... That makes me very confused especially considering that the Bible is a source of inspiration for governments and people in power who claim to having a divine truth from it

Glory To The Triune GOD

Greek first! Definitely Greek first unless you are that adept and capable! In my view the new testament is essential and necessary for any proper understanding of the old testament. Our best English translations are worthy and good enough to reveal what God conveyed to man in the Hebrew. But if you can do both effectively then in the immortal words of Rocky "GO FOR IT!

Are you with the beard Greek because you sound Australian... I guess I don't really know what the Greek accent sounds like

Sir, as far as I know, your OT Hebrew was just a copy from Greek called Septuagint becoz the surviving manuscripts were Greek, the Hebrew original has been long gone or maybe destroyed during the course of time, what we have now is an incomplete dead sea scrolls maybe a copy from the original one.

Hebrew first. Greek like English is an Indo-European language, and Greek translates well to English. Not so Hebrew. which is a whole new way of thinking. The Bible in Hebrew is incomparably beautiful. Translation is only a shadow or the original.

im on my own and deaf but post my stuff on mewe baby biblical Greek few comments but helpful

Or you could learn Coptic. Then if you want to learn Greek or Egyptian Hieroglyphics you will already have a headstart.

By far Hebrew

Hebrew. It was probably the first language ever spoke by Adam and Eve, and the Biblical Greek builds off the Hebrew.

At the time of Christ the Jews spoke Greek was the international language and Aramaic, Hebrew knew. The Pharisees the simple people did not know Hebrew. This was the reason the seventy Jews in origin translated the old into Greek. The apostles often refer to it. On the contrary, the Hebrew changed life span in time of people so as not to attribute the advent of Christ removed the 53 chapter of Isaiah and other changes. So that the Greek translation is more authentic.

5:54 😁

Greek is more popular in world

Cute video, but it's shocking that the Hebrew professor didn't role out the best argument for Hebrew-- that we need to understand Hebraic thought and culture to understand scripture, including the New Testament which was written by Jewish people. The problem with prioritizing Greek is that people end up subconsciously thinking that Greek meanings and culture are the key to understanding instead of Hebraic thought. They then try to prove their theologies based on Greek word studies instead of the underlying Hebraic concepts being referred to. Regardless of the NT being in Greek, all the authors were Jewish, or in the case of Luke, learned the faith from and interviewed Hebrew speakers who had a Hebraic perspective. It might even be better to read the Gospels and James, at least, in Hebrew and just refer to the Greek when you want to check something, exactly like most people do with their English Bibles. Note: I am not advocating for any weird Messianic promotion of Gentile believers keeping Mosaic Law or rabbinic customs, just common sense understanding that Jewish writers were expressing Hebraic concepts and culture in Greek as best they could, but we take Greek thought and mindsets (plus tradition, modern thought and practices) and import them into a fundamentally Hebraic book, including all the Hebraic-theology based New Testament teaching, and acts of a Hebrew Savior and Hebrew apostles, prophets, and evangelists.

For me Hebrew is much easier because I know Arabic.

No such thing as an OT. We do have a tanach though

More biblical knowledge in studying Greek or Hebrew refer to bible

We could just read it in our language and it's the same love letter. Religion says we have to learn the original language, yet many scholars who were more proficient than any of us translated the Bible into our language. God created man, therefore God is the God of all language. I will stick with English and use a Strongs Concordance when I want to know a Greek or Hebrew literal meaning. I can learn so much more from studying the Bible which will produce a transformation in my life,. Think about how much more value you could be to yourself and others if you put as much time into the word of God and not the languages used to communicate that word. There is no 11th commandment thou shall be proficient in Greek and Hebrew to show your self approved. Christianity is about studying the life and teachings of Jesus, not what language He spoke them in. Religion will be religious, I challenge everyone who takes Greek and Hebews to feel educated or well-studied to master the languages if they are vital for you to learn. You also need to add Aramaic to make sure you become a master translator! If you want to study it because you enjoy it, then great, but a lot of academics try to act like it's imperative to study these languages or your degree program is lacking..... Maybe they have become so religious and linguist masters that they missed the simplicity of the gospel, Furthermore, I'm willing to go out on a limb and say the professors of the languages miss the Great Commission of Jesus and don't win souls or win many souls, I will also say they haven't won ONE soul using Greek or Hebrew! This is religion vs relationship and the perfect picture to put the proper perspective of God vs man's thoughts and mind in place. I know this will cause a lot of people who studied these languages to manifest, as they will hate hearing this, but that proves my point even more. Check your hearts if you think studying Greek and Hebrew is a must, then check God's.

Learn Sahidic Coptic first 😁

Learn Hebrew first. Then you won't need Greek. 😂😂

Hebrew first . The language of the Bible is and still HEBREW .