"Hebraic Thinking"

[tonga]

I often see the term "Hebraic Thinking" (or Hebraic thought, or
Hebraic mindset) and am not really sure what is meant by that.

Can someone give a definition of it, and how it differs from
other types of "thought"?

[Mark]

Hi Tonga,

The difference between "Hebraic thought" and "Greek thought" is the difference between "Western thinking" and "Eastern thinking". These are not only cultural barriers; but differences in the manner in which information is processed.

First, to the Greek mind, every term or idea in one language has an equivelant idea in another. "Shalom" means "peace." Okay, we're done. We can go on. Understanding Hebrew, there is a depth and complexity to the idea of shalom that far surpasses our simple definition as "peace".

The Eastern or Hebraic mindset tends to see the "whole picture" as what is most vital. The Greek process is to define each element to it's smallest form, often forgetting or ignoring what the whole of the message was to begin with.

Greek thought tends to be logical and articulate. Hebraic tends to be more emotional and fluid.

Greek is a language used to define specific details. Hebrew is a language designed to tell stories.

Usually when we ( I mean I) throw out the term "Hebraic thought" usually all that I mean is that we have to stop thinking like Sunday School red-blooded American Christians and try to understand the text from a different perspective.

[yeshuafreak]

we distinguish more btwn greek and hebrew mindsets than anything- this is because the Nazarean Codicil has been interpreted within greek thought, and we often use the term to note that we are reinterpreting the thought with a hebrew mindset.

anything else that needs to be said was said by mark.

shalom

[tonga]

Sept 6, 2009 15:53:00 GMT -8 Mark said:

Hi Tonga,
These are not only cultural barriers; but differences in the manner in which information is processed.

First, to the Greek mind, every term or idea in one language has an equivelant idea in another. "Shalom" means "peace." Okay, we're done. We can go on. Understanding Hebrew, there is a depth and complexity to the idea of shalom that far surpasses our simple definition as "peace".

The Eastern or Hebraic mindset tends to see the "whole picture" as what is most vital. The Greek process is to define each element to it's smallest form, often forgetting or ignoring what the whole of the message was to begin with.

Greek thought tends to be logical and articulate. Hebraic tends to be more emotional and fluid.

Greek is a language used to define specific details. Hebrew is a language designed to tell stories.

I've never heard of this "Hebraic Mindset" and what is described
is something that seems a bit odd.
Is this comparison something that is only believed in Messianic
circles? What is the origin of this belief-ie, who or what
came up with these comparisons?

[Mark]

Wow. I've been at this for about twenty years- thus narrowing down a part of our vocabulary to a single source is a bit of a stretch for me to try at. Of course, my background is Christian and my original training in Greek (literally studying the Koinai Greek). The idea has always made a lot of sense to me, especially after having been exposed to the depth and fluidity of the Hebrew language (where Greek is very exact and concrete). I suppose that it is a term that would be more commonly used among Messianics; but was coined within Christian academia.

I did a quick google. The term is pretty universally accepted in Christian circles. Here's an article from the McKenzie Study Center.

www.mckenziestudycenter.org/philosophy/articles/dualism.html

[yeshuafreak]

here is an example btwn the dif. of hebrew and greek mindsets:

hebrew: make no division between the soul and spirit- both make up the mind, neither can exist without the other. after we die, both will be reunited to make both of them live again.

greek: spirit lives on immortally, existing without the body. the body is evil, something that our souls are trapped in. the spirit is good, the thing we are trying to unleash.

shalom

[yiska]

I was told, stop thinking English when you are learning Hebrew language, this thoughts of Hebrew thinking has helped me try not to think English when learning G-d's language

[alon]

I've heard it said that every time you learn a new language, you learn a different way to think. Cultures are different, people are different, thought processes are different.

In Hebrew class, the rabbi is always telling us to "think contextually." He says that to read the language, we'll have to look at the word in the context in which it is used or we'll get it wrong. In English, one word may have 2 or 3 meanings, but you can usually still sound it out and get the word. In Hebrew, you probably won't even be close.

Another difference is the religious influence on thought. The Greeks were predominantly a pagan culture, and they were steeped in the thought patterns of mythology. Religion was adaptable, and the stories that made up their belief system could be changed as the need arose to make a point. Hebraic thought is that every word, every letter and even the spaces in their religious texts were 100% accurate as written and could not be changed. You modified your thinking to fit the Word (Hebrew thinking), not the other way around (Greek methodology).

Dan C

[yiska]

Mar 15, 2013 13:30:38 GMT -8 alon said:

I've heard it said that every time you learn a new language, you learn a different way to think. Cultures are different, people are different, thought processes are different.

In Hebrew class, the rabbi is always telling us to "think contextually." He says that to read the language, we'll have to look at the word in the context in which it is used or we'll get it wrong. In English, one word may have 2 or 3 meanings, but you can usually still sound it out and get the word. In Hebrew, you probably won't even be close.

Another difference is the religious influence on thought. The Greeks were predominantly a pagan culture, and they were steeped in the thought patterns of mythology. Religion was adaptable, and the stories that made up their belief system could be changed as the need arose to make a point. Hebraic thought is that every word, every letter and even the spaces in their religious texts were 100% accurate as written and could not be changed. You modified your thinking to fit the Word (Hebrew thinking), not the other way around (Greek methodology).

Dan C

It takes time to "think Hebrew" it did me for a while, once you sing and study his language, it becomes you and you grow closer to G-d and his word. AMAZING!