“No second hand knowledge of the revelation of God for the salvation of a ruined world can suffice the needs of a ministry whose function it is to convey this revelation to men, commend it to their acceptance and apply it in detail to their needs – to all their needs, from the moment they are called into participation in the grace of God, until the moment when they stand perfect in God’s sight, built up by His Spirit into new men. For such a ministry as this the most complete knowledge of the wisdom of the world supplies no equipment; the most fervid enthusiasm of service leaves without furnishing. Nothing will suffice for it but to know; to know the book; to know it at first hand; to know it through and through. And what is required first of all for training men for such ministry is that the book should be given them in its very words (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) as it has come from God’s hand and in the fullness of its meaning, as that meaning has been ascertained by the labors of generations of men of God who have brought to bear upon it all the resources of sanctified scholarship and consecrated thought.” B. B. Warfield, Selected Shorter Writings – I “Our Seminary Curriculum” quoted in Basics of Biblical Hebrew by Pratico and Van Pelt, 2007.
Meditations and teachings from the Bible and life