The Most Efficient and Useful Thing You Can Study In Seminary



The most useful thing that I learned in college and seminary is Greek and Hebrew. I think about it often because I use it so much. There are theological reasons that I love biblical languages, but this is about the practical reason.

I took 8 semesters of Greek and 4 of Hebrew. I had many other amazing classes. No other class, subject, or skill shortens my workload every week like languages, though.

I preach 90+ times per year in a church that had 70 today. Knowing Greek and Hebrew helps me get to the heart and meaning of a passage quickly. It cuts out time needed to read commentaries because they often just tell me what I already read in the text. I read one language professor who said that knowing the languages cuts out 10 hours of study per week. Imagine getting 10 extra hours a week for the rest of your career. There is nothing else you can learn that will save you 500 hours a year. 

 I can use commentaries instead to answer questions that I have. I use them to check that my interpretation is not crazy. I also use them for personal study to just learn about the text and culture and the application. I don't have to use them to learn what the text says, means, or what it's structure is. 

If you are a pastor, you likely preach in a situation more like mine. If you are a student, then learn the languages the best you can. If you are a pastor, do the work to learn Greek and Hebrew. Time spent on it will help you every week.


*photo generated with Canva Magic Media ai photo generator.

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