December 2004
Shalom Friends -
We hope you can join us for dinner this month! Even if you can't, please read on to other news from En-Gedi.
Fellowship Dinner Friday,
December 10th
We hope you who live in the area can join us on Friday evening of next week for an evening of food and fellowship. Along with our sharing our homemade dishes in a wonderful feast, Bruce Okkema, En-Gedi's Executive Director, will give a multimedia presentation called:
Seeing God's Faithfulness in Africa
In October 2004, Bruce Okkema went to Uganda and Kenya to bring physical and
spiritual "Living Water", by working on projects to help with the great need for clean water there, and by telling ministers about En-Gedi. Bruce will share some stories of God’s miraculous intervention and describe scenes from African life out of Bible times. And, he will share his photography of exotic wildlife and tell about his new friendships among traditional Masai tribesmen. (You can read Bruce Okkema's remarkable daily reports and his director's article about his trip to Uganda and Kenya at these links.
Once again, our dinner is at no cost and will be potluck-style - free-will donations will help with expenses. We just ask you to bring a dish to share - we will provide tableware and beverages. We also ask that you RSVP by email or phone (616) 355-2200 and give each of the names of those planning to come. Location: Zeeland Community Center, 14 S Church St., Zeeland, MI. See link for map.
Update on Listening to the Language of the Bible
Additional Resource Page - For those of you who are reading our new book, Listening to the Language of the Bible: Hearing It through Jesus' Ears, and want to dig deeper, we have completed a website page that should be a great help to you. The [Additional Resources Page] now has a complete bibliography with many dozens of links to articles onsite and offsite that are helpful for further learning. In some places the articles listed are more recent than those in the book. You can find that page by clicking on the book icon on our homepage, and then choosing Study Questions and Other Information, and finding the link on that page.
Study Questions in Progress - We are working on a study guide, and some pages are now available in .pdf format from our Study Questions page. If you wish you could study your Bible more hebraically, you should think about gathering a few friends to 
work through these questions that bring out nuances in passages and ask you to apply them to your lives. Keep checking - this is a work in progress. We plan to publish it as a study guide with a leaders' guide too.
Several churches are using the book for group Bible studies, and En-Gedi is now giving presentations called Listening to the Bible Through Jesus' Ears that go deeper on a few chapters from the book to show how important language and culture are for grasping the full richness of the Scriptures. On December 19 we will be speaking at Christ Memorial Church in Holland, MI and on January 16 at Fellowship Church in Big Rapids, MI. Contact us if you would like us to speak to your group too.
We continue to get nice feedback from readers. Here are some recent notes:
(From a pastor) I have appreciated the book immensely. To date, I have been using it for my devotions, and also as a reference tool. The entire section on PRAYER is great! Though all of the chapters have been beneficial... I want to encourage you in what you're doing, and I hope another volume is published soon.
My sister and I read your book 'Listening to the Language of the Bible'. We both enjoyed the book very much. It was a joy to read and learn from. Thank you.
I love how the book brings the Hebraic view into our current culture and applies it in ways that are meaningful, both for the new believer as well as a more seasoned one... Shalom and many blessings for the work that you are doing and continue to do!
I LOVE the book. I have purchased six copies for friends. Right now I am using the book as a daily devotional book, and will continue to use it as a reference. I look forward to more books in the future.
Thank you for all of the encouragement. We are glad to get your feedback and comments on our work.
November Seminars with Gary and Sharon Alley
In early November, En-Gedi was able to host two up-and-coming scholars, Gary and Sharon (Buth) Alley, of Jerusalem, Israel. Sharon and Gary are graduate students at Hebrew University who are involved in several organizations that interact with En-Gedi. They are Associate Members of the Jerusalem School of Synoptic Research (www.js.org) - a group of Jewish and Christian scholars who study Jesus in the light of his Jewish culture. And they are instructors and co-developers of the course Living Biblical Hebrew for Everyone with Dr. Randall Buth - an innovative approach that teaches Biblical Hebrew as a living language, learning like a child does through listening and physical interaction. (See www.biblicalulpan.org for more.)
They gave excellent talks for several church organizations in the area, at the Sunday evening Gathering at Grand Valley State University, at Jamestown Reformed Church and at Holland Heights Christian Reformed Church. They also gave a demonstration at Western Theological Seminary of their innovative Hebrew teaching methods, and one professor remarked, "We wish we could have learned Hebrew this way!"
About 25 people joined us on Thursday, Nov. 11 for a Biblical Hebrew Night, and had a wonderful time learning and re-learning Hebrew through acting it out. The class enjoyed watching a 3 year-old and a 5 year-old that were learning Hebrew right along side all the adults, and nearly as well. We also learned a Hebrew song, and laughed our way through instructions in Hebrew to a traditional dance too.
New Water from the Rock Devotional Topic
Many of you enjoy our Water from the Rock website devotionals every Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week, and have been reading about Hebraic insights on puzzling passages recently, particularly the Beatitudes. (See the Article Index for past articles.) Beginning in December, we will be writing a series called Teaching of the Sages. It will share many brilliant insights that the rabbis of Jesus' time and afterward have had from the scriptures on how we should live our lives. These are true nuggets of gold that will stick with you and change your way of living.
Recent En-Gedi Meetings in San Antonio
Last week En-Gedi's directors were in San Antonio, Texas for two annual meetings - the Society for Biblical Literature and the Jerusalem School of Synoptic Research. We heard dozens of excellent talks on biblical topics from scholars and archaeologists, and plan that our learning will be reflected in upcoming articles. We also met with the scholars of the Jerusalem School that frequently are part of En-Gedi's activities - David Bivin, Randall Buth, Steven Notley, Halvor Ronning, and many others. We hope to help them publish their work for lay audiences to help Christians better understand Jesus in his world.
Calendar of Selected Upcoming Events
(see En-Gedi calendar for more events and details)
• Dec. 10 – (Fri) En-Gedi Fellowship Dinner - Seeing God's Faithfulness in Africa (slides and stories from Bruce Okkema), Zeeland Community Center, Zeeland, MI, 6:30 PM
• Dec. 19 – (Sun) Listening to the Bible through Jesus’ Ears, Part 2, The Coming of the Messiah - Christ Memorial Church, Holland, 10:30 AM.
• Jan. 16 – (Sun) Listening to the Bible through Jesus’ Ears, Fellowship Church, 407 Perry Ave, Big Rapids, MI, 11 - 12 AM
(Pastors - plan ahead for the following):
• November 14 - 18, 2005 (Mon - Fri) Haverim School of Discipleship for Pastors with Dwight A. Pryor, President of the Center for Judaic-Christian Studies - Prince Conference Center, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI
Thank you for your continued prayers, as En-Gedi daily works to bring living water to your study of the scriptures.
Warmest blessings -
Lois Tverberg & Bruce Okkema
Directors, En-Gedi Resource Center