God's First Appearance on Earth

Learn Biblical Hebrew online

  • Was it the wind or the spirit of God?

    “… a wind from God swept over the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:2).
    The Hebrew words, Ruah Elohim, describe God's presence at the beginning of Genesis. In Hebrew, ruah means both wind and spirit. How do we know which meaning is referred to in this important verse? 
    The answer is actually in the verb that follows. The verb merahefet occurs only once more in the Torah, expressing the utmost care, love and affection of a mother eagle that flutters (merahefet) over her young and bears them upon her wings (Deut. 32:11).
    A Hebrew reading of the Bible makes everything clear: a wind cannot express tender love, care and affection! A wind blows dispassionately and indifferently – while the Spirit of God caringly and lovingly flutters over His creation. This loving, passionate hovering that we see in Deut., in Genesis can only refer to God’s Spirit!

    This is a simple example of what our Biblical Hebrew course is all about. We can transform the way you read and understand the Bible. Our classes fill up very quickly, so hurry and sign up to grab your spot in our next course. Sign up today and shine a whole new light on the Holy Scriptures.

    How does it work?
    At the Israel Institute of Biblical Studies you will learn Biblical Hebrew with us via live video conferences. This means our students communicate with the teacher and each other in real time, from the comfort of their home.

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