Now, what I'm about to tell you may seem unlikely and speculative. But I'm convinced that God went ahead of me to support my efforts to learn Aramaic under circumstances which are less than ideal, as I described in Learn Aramaic, Part I. These circumstances are especially difficult for five reasons:
1. No time to prepare. On orientation day, the dean of Old Testament studies strongly advised that I substitute Aramaic class for one of my other classes. Aramaic won't be offered for two more years, and language learning is far better in a class than alone. I had bought books for all my other classes. But I changed my class schedule that very day and ordered books for Aramaic. I had some trouble obtaining the main grammar and did not get my own copy for two weeks!
2. Preparation is usually my secret to success. In this situation, I was unable to prepare for language class in the way I had previously done for Greek and Hebrew. I prefer to start studyng 4-6 weeks before the first class, because graduate language classes are very fast. This leads to my second point.
3. I'm slow and methodical, not quick and intuitive. The teaching approach in our Aramaic course is suitable for quick, intuitive students who can use clues to figure it out as they go. There is no system to learn, just a lot of seemingly random data flowing across our desks. Of course, language is messy, and the more I study the Aramaic language, the messier it looks. My professor is a good man; he has reasons why he is teaching inductively---but inductive methods rarely work for me. This leads to my fourth point.
4. Without a deductive overview, I drown in a sea of information. It's the way I'm designed. I'm orderly and systematic. Occasionally, people have tried to change me, without success. There isn't a class or a curriculum which will cure me of my design, although I may slowly learn to borrow a few skills from my inductive, intuitive friends. But I have an even bigger problem: see my next point.
5. I'm not quite myself right now. The move has temporarily drained my energy and given me an overload of new information to synthesize. I make a lot of silly mistakes. My work takes longer than usual. I forget things. These are all symptoms of cognitive overload. But I don't have the luxury of slowing down or taking it easy until I recover, since I'm entering a rigorous doctoral program.
All of these factors, in combination with the inductive, research-oriented methods of my professor, are ingredients in a recipe for disaster. The situation and my design, taken together, put me at a tremendous disadvantage. Our professor told us to give ourselves a quick overview of the language, translate 19 verses, and take a quiz on the first five verses in in one week. Translation includes everything - parts of speech, verb system, syntax and grammar, new vocabulary, and morphology. That's normally the work of 6-12 months for me.
But I'm not doing this alone. God is with me. He never intended that I should do this work by myself. He is wise and good, and he loves me.
Last November, I was strongly drawn to a particular curriculum at a conference I attended. I picked up Beginning Biblical Aramaic (BBA) by Miles Van Pelt. I cannot explain my purchase, except for an irresistable attraction. BBA seemed to be surrounded by sparkly lights and to be singing, "Dance with me, My Love." So I did. At that point, I did not expect any school to accept me into a doctoral program, so I had no real practical, justifiable reason for the purchase. Now, on the syllabus for my Aramaic class, BBA is listed at the bottom as an optional resource.
So in the first three weeks, I have read through BBA while translating for the class. In BBA, I find nearly everything I need for an overview of the language. Van Pelt's presentation is clear and systematic. It builds upon Hebrew, which I've already learned. This is absolute perfection.
In fact, while I was waiting for my Aramaic books to arrive in the mail, I could start reading BBA immediately, because I already owned it. I also discovered last week that I had unknowingly purchased key resources in my Logos Bible software academic bundle. With these things in hand, I can find my way through the sea of seemingly random information in our translations. I can make sense of the pieces.
These resources which I already owned were an exact fit for my need in this hour. I can only say with the writer of Psalm 139:
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. (139:4-6 ESV)
Such foreknown words on my tongue apparently include those in Aramaic, too. This is only one example of what I've experienced repeatedly over the last month. God has gone ahead of me and already put in place what I need. The sheer saturation of prior provisions is staggering. To explain them all, I would have to write a book.
1. No time to prepare. On orientation day, the dean of Old Testament studies strongly advised that I substitute Aramaic class for one of my other classes. Aramaic won't be offered for two more years, and language learning is far better in a class than alone. I had bought books for all my other classes. But I changed my class schedule that very day and ordered books for Aramaic. I had some trouble obtaining the main grammar and did not get my own copy for two weeks!
2. Preparation is usually my secret to success. In this situation, I was unable to prepare for language class in the way I had previously done for Greek and Hebrew. I prefer to start studyng 4-6 weeks before the first class, because graduate language classes are very fast. This leads to my second point.
3. I'm slow and methodical, not quick and intuitive. The teaching approach in our Aramaic course is suitable for quick, intuitive students who can use clues to figure it out as they go. There is no system to learn, just a lot of seemingly random data flowing across our desks. Of course, language is messy, and the more I study the Aramaic language, the messier it looks. My professor is a good man; he has reasons why he is teaching inductively---but inductive methods rarely work for me. This leads to my fourth point.
4. Without a deductive overview, I drown in a sea of information. It's the way I'm designed. I'm orderly and systematic. Occasionally, people have tried to change me, without success. There isn't a class or a curriculum which will cure me of my design, although I may slowly learn to borrow a few skills from my inductive, intuitive friends. But I have an even bigger problem: see my next point.
5. I'm not quite myself right now. The move has temporarily drained my energy and given me an overload of new information to synthesize. I make a lot of silly mistakes. My work takes longer than usual. I forget things. These are all symptoms of cognitive overload. But I don't have the luxury of slowing down or taking it easy until I recover, since I'm entering a rigorous doctoral program.
All of these factors, in combination with the inductive, research-oriented methods of my professor, are ingredients in a recipe for disaster. The situation and my design, taken together, put me at a tremendous disadvantage. Our professor told us to give ourselves a quick overview of the language, translate 19 verses, and take a quiz on the first five verses in in one week. Translation includes everything - parts of speech, verb system, syntax and grammar, new vocabulary, and morphology. That's normally the work of 6-12 months for me.
But I'm not doing this alone. God is with me. He never intended that I should do this work by myself. He is wise and good, and he loves me.
Last November, I was strongly drawn to a particular curriculum at a conference I attended. I picked up Beginning Biblical Aramaic (BBA) by Miles Van Pelt. I cannot explain my purchase, except for an irresistable attraction. BBA seemed to be surrounded by sparkly lights and to be singing, "Dance with me, My Love." So I did. At that point, I did not expect any school to accept me into a doctoral program, so I had no real practical, justifiable reason for the purchase. Now, on the syllabus for my Aramaic class, BBA is listed at the bottom as an optional resource.
So in the first three weeks, I have read through BBA while translating for the class. In BBA, I find nearly everything I need for an overview of the language. Van Pelt's presentation is clear and systematic. It builds upon Hebrew, which I've already learned. This is absolute perfection.
In fact, while I was waiting for my Aramaic books to arrive in the mail, I could start reading BBA immediately, because I already owned it. I also discovered last week that I had unknowingly purchased key resources in my Logos Bible software academic bundle. With these things in hand, I can find my way through the sea of seemingly random information in our translations. I can make sense of the pieces.
These resources which I already owned were an exact fit for my need in this hour. I can only say with the writer of Psalm 139:
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. (139:4-6 ESV)
Such foreknown words on my tongue apparently include those in Aramaic, too. This is only one example of what I've experienced repeatedly over the last month. God has gone ahead of me and already put in place what I need. The sheer saturation of prior provisions is staggering. To explain them all, I would have to write a book.
I LOVE WHEN GOD ALLOWS BOOKS TO SPARKLE!! Awesome blog post Mrs. Frear!! SO VERY ENCOURAGING!!
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