In Jerusalem at the end of June, 27 very special individuals from 12 nations and 4 continents graduated from the School of Biblical Hebrew. They had spent 9 months in the intensive program far from home and family with the singular focus of learning biblical Hebrew in order to translate and share the whole Word with the whole world. Due to COVID–19 the final months were spent under lock-down, living as an extended family quarantined together. They took classes with teachers remotely and helped one another with their Hebrew day in and day out. Despite this unique and challenging context, they were nonetheless able to achieve the goals of the program and a high level of proficiency in Hebrew.

Our partners from University of the Holy Land were present with students, staff and faculty of Whole Word Institute in a joyous culmination celebration held near the campus in Jerusalem. Board members and Corban University partners joined remotely and shared from their hearts. As the graduates were commissioned, family and organizational partners were watching the event live from around the globe.

The theme was Preparing the Good Soil based on Yeshua’s Parable of the Sower. For the Gospel of the Kingdom to take root and produce abundant and lasting fruit it must be accompanied by understanding. God has provided the Old Testament as a means of preparing the soil of understanding for the New Testament. Bible translators and consultants have a challenging and painstaking job that prepares the soil for a great yield for the generations to come.

I was delighted to hear the students give speeches in fluent Hebrew. Chen from Korea, the student representative speaker said, “As I was preparing for the final ceremony, I wondered to myself: How is it that we are all running this race together? My answer is because we all know the heart of God. When God chose Abraham, He promised him that he would be a blessing to all the peoples of the earth. From the very beginning, God’s plan was that all His creation would recognize a creator and worship Him.” Chen and her husband will be translating the Old Testament for the Barma, a people group who have never had the full Bible. Before attending the School of Biblical Hebrew Chen was involved in developing an orthography for the Barma language prior to which it did not have a written form. What an incredible testimony of someone with a heart after God investing in the toil of soil preparation in order that the seeds of the Word might yield abundant fruit among others as they come to know and worship their Creator.

I am looking forward to seeing the great yield that will come through all these translators and consultants as they plant seeds for multiplication. We now look ahead to the coming months, as we launch our inaugural Translation Consultant MA program with 30 participants.

Thank you for being a part of the celebration of God’s faithfulness and for being champions of prayer and support as we move forward to give the whole Word to the whole world.

With you in His service,
David

David Swarr PhD

President/CEO
Institute for Biblical Languages & Translation
A program of Whole Word Institute
The Whole Word for the Whole World