Episode 149 - Hebrew: The Language That Refused to Die (featuring Melissa Briggs)
Helping Christians make sense of their roots. Helping the Jewish community make sense of Jesus. Together, we are restoring the Jewishness of the gospel.
We don’t know the problem we have: reading the Bible at the surface. English translations are trustworthy, but they flatten words that Hebrew infused with density, imagery, and connection. We end up missing layers of meaning that would transform how we live.
In this conversation, we explore what happens when Hebrew cracks open the text.
Familiar words you thought you understood suddenly leap off the page. Hope is sturdier, love is covenantal, fear is reframed, faith is embodied. The story of God’s promises comes alive in a way that makes you want to keep digging.
This isn’t about becoming a scholar. It’s about recognizing that the Bible is one unified story and learning how the Hebrew underneath points us more deeply to the God who keeps His promises and to the Messiah who fulfills them.
Key Takeaways
We often assume we know what biblical words mean, but translation thins their meaning.
Hebrew restores density, imagery, and connection across the Testaments.
Reading with Hebrew awareness turns abstract concepts into embodied realities.
Surface-level reading can keep us from seeing God’s covenant faithfulness.
The Bible is one story, not two disconnected halves.
Studying Hebrew words is a practical tool for deeper discipleship.
This shift leads to sturdier hope, reoriented fear, covenantal love, and faithful living.
Chapter Markers
00:00 — Why Hebrew Matters: Seeing the Problem
02:30 — The Good News Is Even Better
05:40 — How Words Get Flattened in Translation
07:31 — Discovering Hope in Its Original Depth
15:37 — Reframing Fear Through Hebrew Insight
24:03 — God’s Help and Presence in Hebrew
30:56 — Covenant Love That Won’t Let Go
34:38 — Faith That Becomes Faithfulness
44:46 — Practical Next Steps: How to Begin
This episode invites you to move past surface-level Bible reading and see the unified story of God in full color. Explore more resources from thejewishroad.com, come with us to Israel, and consider joining The Few to stand with us in this work.
Check out Melissa’s Hebrew Course for Beginners: Explore Hebrew
Thank you to Joshua Royal, for writing our closer song now running seven seasons straight. Listen to him at Joshua Royal Music.
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