40: Lee Fields - Devotions on the Hebrew Bible

Welcome to the Shaun Tabatt Show! In this episode I speak with Lee Fields about his and Milton Eng's great new book Devotions on the Hebrew Bible: 54 Reflections to Inspire and Instruct (Zondervan Academic, 2015). Here are some of the topics and questions we cover in the interview:

• Lee shares about his eduction background, including his journey from wanting to work as a science teacher and coach football, to taking a different path and eventually becoming chair of the Department of Biblical Studies at Mid-Atlantic Christian University.
• Where did the idea for the book get its start and how did Lee get involved?
• What were the goals that Lee and Milton set for this project from the start?
• How can professors use Devotions on the Hebrew Bible in the classroom?
• What are some of the special features of the book?
• Who contributed to this project?
• Who was the ideal reader you always had in mind for the book?
• Why does each devotional reading include the Masoretic text and the related English translation?
• How will you know you’ve succeeded with this book?
• What are the current struggles faced by professors teaching biblical languages at the college and seminary level?
• Lee shares how he left behind the more traditional grammar translation approach to teaching biblical languages in favor of a more immersive living language approach.
• Do students need to brush up their English skills before they’re ready to learn Hebrew and Greek?

About The Book:
Zondervan is known for its excellent resources in biblical languages, and many of our resources encourage professors, students, and pastors to continue to use their Hebrew and Greek Bibles beyond their seminary years.

Devotions on the Hebrew Bible continues on this path of excellence by introducing these devotions—based on a careful reading and study of the Hebrew Bible—written by some of the top biblical language scholars of today. Contributors include Daniel I. Block, Mark J. Boda, Hélène Dallaire, Nancy Erickson, Karen H. Jobes, Bo H. Lim, Tremper Longman III, Miles V. Van Pelt, and Bruce K. Waltke, among others.

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.

About The Author:
Lee M. Fields is a trained Hebrew scholar with a PhD from Hebrew Union College. He is the chair of the Department of Biblical Studies at Mid-Atlantic Christian University (formerly Roanoke Bible College), Elizabeth City, NC.

For additional show notes, visit ShaunTabatt.com/040.