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6-17-
09Shalom Friends:
I hope you all are enjoying the summer, I know we are :-). It has been a few months since I have sent out the last update and we have added some new items to the websites and bookstore and I have a couple of speaking engagement this summer.
New Books by Mr. Benner
I have completed and published a new dictionary, the Ancient Hebrew Dictionary, which is a list of the one thousand most common Hebrew words in the Hebrew Bible. In addition, appendices of the book include list of Hebrew numbers and pronouns. This book is available in paperback and e-book.
The Mechanical Translation of the Book of Exodus is complete. It is currently available as an e-book, while the hardcover edition will be available within the next couple of weeks.
My next project is volume two of The Living Words series with an estimated publishing date of mid to late 2010. Once this is completed I will be working on the Mechanical Translation of Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, at which time I will publish a complete Mechanical Translation of the Torah with an estimated publishing date of 2011 or 2012.
New Videos and DVDs
I have created some videos about the Mechanical Translation. You can view these on the Mechanical Translation web site at http://www.mechanical-translation.org/videos.html.
Many more videos have been added to the Ancient Hebrew Research Center web site. To find these videos, look for the "Videos, Books & Links" link under each section in the left column of the Home page.
I have also completed three more DVDs; The Four Stages of Biblical Transmission, The Aaronic Blessing and Genesis Chapter One. You can read more about these videos at the bookstore.
E-Sword Modules
As some of you know E-Sword has come out with a new version (9). None of the old modules are compatible with this new version. So if you choose to download the new version, we have new modules that will work with the new version and I want to thank Richard Lentz for converting the existing modules to work with the new version. Both modules, the Mechanical Translation of Genesis and the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon, are available at the MTHB web site.
I am currently in the process of revising the Mechanical Translation of Genesis to match the new format and style of Exodus. Once this is completed I will be creating an E-Sword module that will include both Genesis and Exodus.
Upcoming Seminars
From July 28th through August 2nd I will be speaking at the first annual International Assembly of Nazarene Israelites in Leesburg, Florida. For additional details on this conference please see their web site.
I will also be speaking in Colorado on the weekend of August 3rd. I will provide another update once the details of this seminar are completed. If you are in the area of these conferences and you are able to attend I hope to meet you there.
May YHWH respect you and guard you
Jeff & Denise Benner
Ancient Hebrew Research Center
3-17-09Shalom Friends:
It has been a few months since my last update and E-zine and hope you are all doing well. I will resume the publishing of the regular monthly E-Zine again in April. For the past few months I have had the opportunity to work on some projects which I will detail below.
Weekly Parshah
For those of you who do the weekly readings (Parshot) of the Torah, or would like more information on the these readings, I have begun adding each weeks readings to the website. You can find these at http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/55_home.html.
Ancient Hebrew Dictionary
I have completed a new book, Ancient Hebrew Dictionary, which should be available soon. This book defines the 1000 most common verbs and nouns in the Hebrew Bible from their original Hebraic perspectives and will help with proper Biblical interpretation from an Hebraic perspective.
Mechanical Translation of the Book of Exodus
The MT of Exodus is finally complete and is in its final stages of editing and should be available within the next month. If you are familiar with the MT of Genesis, you will find some new additions to Exodus that will enhance your study experience. For additional details see the MT website at http://www.mechanical-translation.org.
Ancient Hebrew Videos
I have recently added many new videos to the website (http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/1_av.html). A few of these, including the "Introduction to Ancient Hebrew," "The Ark of the Covenant" and "The Semitic Origins of the New Testament" are also available in the bookstore (http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/bookstore) as DVDs. I have also created a YouTube Channel (http://www.youtube.com/ancienthebreworg) where my videos, favorite videos and playlists are available.
Jeff & Denise Benner
Ancient Hebrew Research Center
12-17-
08Shalom Friends:
Absence
As most of you know, I work for an engineering company as a contractor and am occasionally called to do jobs away from home. In a couple of weeks I will be heading for the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant in California for a three month job. Because of the many hours I will be working, I will be unable to keep up with E-mails, the E-zine and other additions to the website.
E-Mail
I am a little behind on my current e-mails, so if you have emailed me and I haven't responded back yet, I apologize, but I will respond back as soon as I can. Because of the large volume of E-mails that I receive, I will be shutting down the links to my email address for the duration of the job.
E-Zine
Because I have so much work to finish up at home before I leave, I will not be able to publish the December issue of the E-zine. The next issue will therefore be April 2009.
Paltalk Teachings
For the past few months I have been doing a regular teaching in Paltalk (for more information see the "Chat Room" page). These teachings are also being postponed until April. We have been examining the Hebrew words of Genesis chapter 1 through 3 and in April we will pick up with Genesis chapter 4.
MT of Exodus
I was hoping to have the Mechanical Translation of Exodus completed before I leave, but unfortunately this is not going to happen. As time permits, I will be working on the translation during my absence and I am hoping for a publishing date during early summer of 2009.
Homestead
If you haven't already visited our "homestead" page, you can see a few images of our progress on our projects at home. We are currently building a log shop and chicken coup and when I return will begin working on our log home.
Jeff & Denise and the boys
Ancient Hebrew Research Center
10-24-
08Shalom Friends:
What's New at AHRC
Since my last update in July, I have added quit a bit to the web site including the Hebrew text of the Bible, a two hour video by Nehemiah Gordon on the Hebrew Matthew, an article on Yeshua's teaching style, an improved dictionary of the one thousand most common Hebrew words of the Bible and an audio teaching on the Aharonic blessing. To access these, see the "What's New" on the right side of the home page.
Paltalk Teachings
Each Sunday evening, at 7pm (eastern time zone), I am teaching in Paltalk, a voice and text chat program, in the Ancient Hebrew Research Center room. I have been doing a series on the two creation stories of Genesis. The first story is found in Genesis 1:1 to 2:3. The second story, the current topic, is from Genesis 2:4 to the end of the chapter. For more information on Paltalk, the AHRC room, and how to find the audio archives of these teachings, please visit the Chat Page on the website.
MT available as an E-sword modules
Thanks to a good friend of mine, Gavriel Yochanan, the MT of Genesis has been made available as a module for e-sword. If you are not familiar with E-Sword, it is a free downloadable Bible program that is very helpful in Biblical studies. You can learn more about this module and download it at the AHRC website.
The New Mechanical Translation Website
The "Mechanical Translation of the Hebrew Bible" now has its own website - http://www.mechanical-translation.org. I have added much to this web site and plan on adding much more. Here you can read more about the methodology and philosophy of this translation, the "Revised Mechanical Translation" of the entire book of Genesis (online or download as a PDF), and a sample chapter from the book of Exodus, the current project. I have also started a blog to share some of the unique and interesting aspects of the Hebrew text that I have discovered during the translation project.
Update on the Mechanical Translation of Exodus
I was hoping to have the MT of Exodus completed by the end of this year but it is now looking like the first quarter of 2009. For those that are reading the weekly portions of the Torah, I had hoped to have this book completed by the time the readings in Exodus begins (January 10th), but I don't see this happening. The actual translation should be completed by then but the introductory text, the dictionary and the concordance will not be. So, I hope to make the "Mechanical Translation" and "Revised Mechanical Translation" of Exodus available in a PDF format before January 10th.
May YHWH respect you and guard you
Numbers 6:24
Jeff & Denise Benner
Ancient Hebrew Research Center
7-28-
08Shalom Friends:
New Audio Teachings
I have returned from the Restoration Conferance in Portland Oregon and very much enjoyed it. I am adding the audio from my teachings to the website. You can find them at http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/1_audio.html. The three teachings are;
1. The Three Keys to Biblical Interpretation
2. The Semitic Origins of the New Testament.
3. An Introduction to Ancient Hebrew (There are two, one recorded in North Carolina and the other from the Portland Conference)
In the future I hope to have the video for these teachings available as well.
Learning Hebrew Online
If you are looking for a classroom setting to learn either Biblical or Modern Hebrew, I highly recommend "Hebrew Online." This is a virtual classroom with a live teacher from Israel. For a video about the program go to http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/52_hebrewonline.html and for more details about the program go to http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/53_home.html.
E-Books
Each of Mr. Benner's books are now available as an E-book for $5 each at the AHRC Bookstore - http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/bookstore/e-books.html.
Jeff & Denise Benner
Ancient Hebrew Research Center
6-20-
08Shalom Friends:
What’s new on the AHRC website?
I have not been a big YouTube user, but did some surfing there recently and discovered there were some great videos related to the Ancient Hebrew language and culture there and at Google video as well. I created a new section on the website for these videos and I hope you find them as interesting and beneficial as I did. If you know of a video that might be of interest to our readers please drop us an email and let us know about it.
Mechanical Translation Update
Work is going well on the translation of Exodus and I hope to have it published by November of this year. In this book I will be including a transliteration of the Hebrew text into English as requested by many of you. Each word entry in the dictionary will also include the Hebrew as well as a transliteration into English. I would like to take a moment to thank the many people on this mail list who volunteered to help edit this book, without them this book would not be the quality that it is.
Upcoming Seminar
I will be speaking at the “Restoration of the Kingdom” conference in Portland Or. on July 17th through the 20th. If you are in the area or are able to travel there it would be a pleasure to have you join us. I will be speaking on three occasions with the following topics; Introduction to Ancient Hebrew, The 3 Keys to Proper Biblical Interpretation and The Semitic Origins of the NT. Links for the flyer, schedule and website are available on my home page.
New Products
Using the AHRC logo, we created some new products in our AHRC bookstore and gift shop. If you would like to see these, just go to Bookstore to check them out.
May YHWH Bless you in your walk.
Jeff & Denise Benner
Ancient Hebrew Research Center
5-25-08Shalom Friends:
Update on A Mechanical Translation of the Book of Exodus
A couple of months ago I sent out a request for feedback on A Mechanical Translation of the Book of Genesis in preparation for the next book – A Mechanical Translation of the Book of Exodus. Thank you to all those who responded. I received allot of positive comments about the book and I am pleased you all have found it so useful in your studies. I also received some excellent suggestions to improve the book and am incorporating those that I can.
I have completed the “Mechanical Translation” for the book of Exodus and am now working on the “Revised Mechanical Translation” (Chapter one is complete). Many people volunteered in the past to help with the editing of A Mechanical Translation of the Book of Genesis and their help was greatly appreciated. In fact, they did such a good job that only a few errors have been discovered to date (All corrections to the translation of Genesis will be noted in A Mechanical Translation of the Book of Exodus.) If you would be interested in volunteering to help edit the translation of Exodus I would very much appreciate the assistance. You do not have to know how to read Hebrew, there is still plenty you can help with.
I know not everyone can devote allot of time to a project like this but you are free to do as little or as much as you are able to do with the time you have available. If you are interested in assisting as a volunteer editor just send me an E-mail and I will add you to the list and send you the information for getting started in a few days.
Jeff & Denise Benner
Ancient Hebrew Research Center
3-21-
08Shalom Friends:
I have been asked on many occasions by bookstore owners how they can order my books at a discounted price. So, if you own, or are in contact with a bookstore owner, you can now place discount orders with my publisher directly by going to Virtual Bookworm. If you have any questions please feel free to contact myself or the publisher.
Jeff & Denise Benner
Ancient Hebrew Research Center
02-22-
08Shalom Friends:
I am in the process of translating the book of Exodus for the second installment of the "Mechanical Translation" series. Many of you have used the first book "A Mechanical Translation of the Book of Genesis" and I am looking for some input from you.
What have you found most helpful about the book?
What was not so helpful?
Could anything be added to help the translation be a better study tool?
Did you find the appendixes, dictionary and concordance helpful?
Do you have any suggestions for improving the translation?
Thank you very much for your assistance in this project, it is much appreciated.
Jeff & Denise Benner
Ancient Hebrew Research Center
2-8-08Shalom Friends:
As most of you are aware I work for an Engineering company that occasionally calls me to work on projects away from home and it is time to head out again. I will be working at the Salem Nuclear Plant in New Jersey from February through mid-May. During this time I will be limited on my ability to answer and receive e-mail and I will be unable to produce the monthly "Biblical Hebrew E-Zine."
May YHWH bless you all and I look forward to being able to be more assistance to you all upon my return. Until then, Shalom Aleckem.
Jeff & Denise Benner
Ancient Hebrew Research Center
01-17-
08Shalom All:
Just a short note to let you know that my newest book, The Living Words - Volume 1, has just been released and is now available for purchase. If you are interested you will find links for ordering it at the Ancient Hebrew Bookstore.
Jeff & Denise Benner
Ancient Hebrew Research Center
12-27-
07Shalom All:
We hope this note finds you all well and you have had a joyous time during the holidays.
For those who are not familiar with my background I work on a part time basis as an Engineer. When I am called to work I leave home for a few months to work a project. Because of the long hours of these jobs I am unable to devote much time to the website, my books or emails. I have just returned from one job and am getting things caught up here at home.
It has been several months since I have been able to write the E-magazine but should have the January issue out soon. I am also very behind in my emails and am working on responding back to everyone. If you have written me and I haven't responded back yet, I will just as soon as I can.
My new book "The Living Words, Volume 1" should be out soon but if you would like to get an e-book copy of it early, it is available as a download for $5 at the website (http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/bookstore/dl_tlw1.html). I have been able to work on my translation of Exodus as well and hope to have that completed by the end of 2008.
May Yahweh Bless you all.
Jeff & Denise Benner
Ancient Hebrew Research Center
08-27-
07
Shalom
All:
As most of you are aware, my professional career is in Engineering in the Nuclear Industry and I occasionally have to travel to
different job locations. Because I will be working extra long hours and away from home from September through November, I will be
unable to continue with the monthly E-Zine or the Word of the Day during this time, but will resume them again in December. While I
should be able to continue with e-mail correspondences, I will not be able to respond in a timely manner, so if you do email, please
be patient.
I have completed the manuscript for my next book--The Living Words - Volume 1. This should become availabe in book form
in November, but am currently making it available as an E-Book download for $5. For samples of the content of this book see the books Web Site.
I have also completed four audio/visual slide shows; An introduction to Ancient Hebrew, The Four Stages of Biblical Transmission,
The Ancient Hebrew Nomads, and Hebraic Teachings in the New Testament. These are the same presentations I have used in my
Ancient Hebrew Seminars but are now available for your personal use or can be presented to a group Bible Study or congregation.
These CDs will become available next week at the bookstore.
Jeff & Denise Benner
Ancient Hebrew Research Center
08-01-
07
Shalom
All:
We hope this finds all of you well. The Ancient Hebrew Research Center Web Site was begun in November 1999 and today, the first
day of August, the home page has received a half a million visitors since then. Thank you all for being a part of that. We have been
busy with additions to the website and developing the resources for studying and reading the Hebrew Bible.
Quotes from Hebrew Scholars
If you have not been to the home page recently, I have added a couple of quotes from Hebrew scholars concerning the Hebrew
language and have found their words to be very pertinent to the mission of the Ancient Hebrew Research Center. In case you have
not seen them I am including them here and if you know of any other quotes that should also be included on the site please let me
know about them.
"Our sacred literature does not use obscure language, but describes most things in words clearly indicating their meaning.
Therefore it is necessary at all times to delve into the literal meaning of words to acheive complete understanding of what is actually
meant."
--Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888)
"If I were younger I would want to learn this language [i.e. Hebrew], for without it one can never properly understand the Holy
Scripture…. For that reason they have said correctly: 'The Jews drink out of the original spring, The Greeks drink out of the stream
flowing out of the stream, The Latins, however, out of the puddle.'"
--Martin Luther (1483-1546)
In the News
Have you ever heard someone say the Bible is all fiction and not one person in the Bible has been found in any archeological
discovery? Actually this was a true statement about 150 years ago, but since then more and more confirmations of Biblical persons
have been found. The most recent is an ancient Assyrian cuneiform tablet mentioning Nebo-Sarsekim who is also mentioned in
Jeremiah 39:3. For the whole news article go to http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/21_nebosarsekim.html. Another famous discovery is the Tell
Dan Inscription, found many years ago, which includes the phrases "melek yisra’el" (king of Israel) and "beyt daviyd" (house of
david). See http://www.ancient-
hebrew.org/6_06.html for an image and translation of this inscription.
The completion of "A Mechanical Translation of the Book of Genesis"
After working on this translation for 2 years it is finally published. If you are tired of relying on a translator to interpret the Biblical text
for you and want to see how the original Hebrew reads but do not know Hebrew, then this book is for you. To read more about this
book and how to order a copy go to http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/bookstore/mtg.html.
Ancient Hebrew Bible
This is something I have been wanting to add to the website for a very long time - an Ancient Hebrew Bible. For the first time, the
Hebrew Bible is available in Ancient Hebrew pictographic script with the original spelling of Hebrew words restored (the letters vav
and yud were frequently used as vowels in ancient Biblical texts, such as is found in the Dead Sea Caves, but have been removed in
the Masoretic Hebrew text). I am in the process of adding each book and am currently up to Kings. You can see the Ancient
Hebrew Bible at http://ahbible.ancient-
hebrew.org.
Learn Hebrew Lessons
When the Ancient Hebrew Research Center was begun in 1999 one of the first additions to the site were the lessons for learning the
Hebrew alephbet. After eight years I finally added additional lessons that include Hebrew verbs, nouns, adjectives and much more.
Everything the person needs to learn to read the Hebrew Bible for himself (http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/7_home.html).
New product from AHRC to help with reading the Hebrew Bible
If you know the Hebrew alephbet and are in the process of learning Hebrew vocabulary and grammar, you are ready to read the
Hebrew Bible. But, when you come across an unfamiliar word or you are unable to decipher the conjugation, prefixes or suffixes,
how do you determine its meaning? I have finished a program that is based on my latest book, "A Mechanical Translation of the
Book of Genesis" and my upcoming book "Hebrew Text and Lexicon of Genesis" which will allow you to click on a Hebrew word and
have that word defined for you. This program is available for immediate download for $5. You can read more about this program at http://www.ancient-
hebrew.org/bookstore/dl_htlg.html.
Jeff and Denise Benner
Ancient Hebrew Research Center
04-29-07
Shalom
All:
The "Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible" Module for E-Sword is now available at http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/bookstore/ahlb_e-
sword.html. This module would not have been available if it was not for the efforts of Richard Varno who has
devoted his own time to create put it together, thank you Richard. If you’re not familiar with E-Sword it is a free Bible Software
program you can download onto your computer and is great for serious studies of the Bible. You can go to their website at http://www.e-sword.com to download the program.
Also available at their website are other modules including the Greek and Hebrew text, various translations and other dictionaries
and lexicons. If you’re not familiar with the "Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible" you can read more about it at http://www.mechanical-translation.org/ahlb.index.
Jeff and Denise Benner
03-04-07
Shalom
All:
I would like to thank all of you for your prayers after my last email to the mail list. My wife and I and our children have been able to
assist other members of our family through difficult times and thanks to all of your prayers we are able to return home to take care of
matters that need attending to there.
I was unable to get the February issue of the Biblical Hebrew E-Zine out and I don’t think I am going to have the time to do
the March issue as well. Hopefully by April things will get back to normal.
The Mechanical Translation of Genesis is in its final stages of editing and I will be sending it to the publisher soon. I am
hoping for a publish date of late May or early June.
Your servants in YHWH
Jeff and Denise Benner
02-19-07
Shalom
All:
Due to recent and pressing family matters that have arisen I have had to cancel the seminars scheduled for February and March in
Oregon and Washington. For those who have been planning on attending I sincerely apologize for this last minute cancelation. This
was a difficult decision but unfortunately out of my control. Please keep my family in prayer through these difficult times.
Jeff and Denise Benner
01-04-07
Shalom
All:
The three CDs are now available at the Ancient Hebrew
Bookstore. One is the whole Ancient Hebrew Research Center web site on one CD (except the audio
teaching files, they would not fit on the CD). The second is all of the audio teaching files available from the website. The third is the
Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible in Word, RTF, PDF and html on one CD. If you have any questions on these products
please let me know.
Jeff and Denise Benner
Ancient Hebrew Research Center
12-31-06
Shalom
All:
I hope you all had a great holiday season (whether you celebrate Hhanukhah or Christmas or both) and a good year. I wanted to
update all of you on what is going on with the Ancient Hebrew Research Center and the Benner family.
Ancient Hebrew Seminars
The next Ancient Hebrew Seminar in Camp Verde, Arizona will be held on January 6th and will be located at the St. Francis Cabrini
Catholic Church at 781 S. Cliffs Parkway. The seminar is open to anyone wishing to attend. If you're in the area I'd like to meet you
and share with you some insights into the Hebrew language and Bible.
Several more seminars are schedule for January, February and March on the west coast - Chico, Ca., Yreka, Ca., Redding, Ca.,
Ashland, Or., Bend, Or., Portland, Or., Vancouver, Wa. and Seattle, Wa. For locations and details please visit http://www.ancient-
hebrew.org/1_seminars.html.
Mechanical Translation
Work is progressing on the Mechanical Translation of Genesis (see http://www.mechanical-translation.org) and is about 80% complete. I
was hoping for a publishing date in January or February but will be probably be a couple of months beyond this date. Once the book
is published I will send out a notice.
Videos and CDs
I have three CDs in production and should be available in the next couple of weeks. The first is an electronic copy of the Ancient
Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible available in Word, PDF, html and rtf, the second is all of the audio teachings I have available on the
website and the third is the entire Ancient Hebrew Research Center web site on one CD.
I will be video taping the upcoming seminars and once they are edited will be making them available. (Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Burke
for donating the video and editing equipment).
E-Sword Module
For those of you who use e-sword (http://www.e-sword.net, a free Bible software program) a new module is being created by a
Richard Varno which will include the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible. Richard and his excellent programming skills has made
this possible and I would personally like to thank him for his hard work. Once this module is completed it will be available on the
website for all to download.
Paltalk
Paltalk (http://www.paltalk.com) is a voice/chat program where in the past I have been teaching Ancient Hebrew thought and Biblical
interpretation on Thursday evenings and Learn the Hebrew alphabet and language on Friday mornings. Because of my last project
with my company (September to November) I was unable to do these teachings. I am still unable to do them because we only have
a dial up connection (which has an insufficient speed to speak in paltalk) at the moment but am looking into satellite
internet.
Ancient Hebrew Forum
I had previously used a PHP program for the forum but after being hacked once and acquiring a critical bug error twice I realized that
I did not have enough PHP experience to maintain this board correctly. So instead, I chose to create a Yahoo Group to host the
Seminar (located at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ancient_hebrew). I have not been very active on this group myself at this time
because of my schedule but hope to get more involved soon. However, there are many great knowledgeable people participating and
I hope you can join us there for some great discussions.
Our New Home
Many of you know that my work as a Project Manager causes me to travel around the country so three years ago my wife and I and
our three boys (whose picture I used for the 12-28-06 word of the day at http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/1_word_archive.html)
purchased an RV and became full time RVers. While we have loved our time on the road we have decided to put some roots down.
We have purchased some property in south Mississippi and will be building our new home there. I will still be traveling for and the
Ancient Hebrew Seminars but am looking forward to our new adventure.
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