Devotions on the Hebrew Bible by Milton Eng, Lee M. Fields

Devotions on the Hebrew Bible by Milton Eng & Lee M. Fields ISBN-13: 9780310494539 Paperback: 192 pages Publisher: Zondervan Released: October 27, 2015

Source: Review copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine.

Book Description from Goodreads:
Devotions on the Hebrew Bible contains a devotion on every book in the Hebrew Bible and can be used as weekly devotional or as a supplemental resource throughout a semester or sequence of courses. The main point each devotion offers comes from a careful reading of the passage in the Hebrew Bible, not from the English Bible. The authors use a variety of exegetical approaches in their devotions: grammatical, lexical, rhetorical, sociohistorical, linguistic, etc. Each devotion closes with a practical application.


My Review:
Devotions on the Hebrew Bible is a collection of 54 devotions written by 38 different people. The stated intent is to demonstrate that a knowledge of the original languages can be spiritually rewarding. I'm self-taught to a level that I can basically do detailed word studies.

Most of these devotions could be read by someone unfamiliar with Hebrew. You'll gain insight into verses with a Hebrew word that doesn't translate well into English or a sentence pattern (chiasm, word plays, repetition, etc.) that is significant but lost with English translations. However, you'll follow the author's point better if you understand what statements like "qal passive participle" mean. A couple of the devotions were technical and focused on subtle nuances of meaning. Frankly, those lost me. But I enjoyed the rest and gained some interesting insights in the process.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.