For Josue Berdiales, many old Testament passages have come to life through his study of biblical Hebrew.
My name is Josue Berdiales and I’m a Master of Divinity student, with a concentration in Church Planting. I thoroughly enjoyed the one-year MTS program which I attended at The West Institute, graduating in 2020, but I wanted more.
My family moved from Peru to the US when I was 3 years old. Over the years, the Lord has kindled in my heart a strong desire to return to Peru and serve as a church planter and pastor. Shepherds Theological Seminary has provided me the opportunity to further pursue this goal through the training and discipleship afforded by the Master of Divinity program. I moved from Colorado to North Carolina in 2020 to begin my MDiv, and it has been well worth it!
One particular motivation to continue my theological education after the one-year MTS was learning the original biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek. I want to be a better, more thorough expositor of God’s Word. More immediately, as a worker with the Spanish-speaking ministry at Trans World Radio in Cary NC, I desire to sharpen my hermeneutical approach (the discipline of Bible interpretation) in order to better teach and serve my community.
Even though, with Spanish fluency, it was helpful to have an intuitive understanding of how a gendered language works, I found my first few Hebrew classes very challenging. However, Dr. Goeman provided many helpful resources and learning aides; he also encouraged consistent study by quizzing the class every week. In addition, I found the friendly and interactive classroom environment helpful, allowing several opportunities for group study and accountability.
As I have taken time to practice, the Lord has aided me—showing me how vital and beautiful the Hebrew language of the Old Testament passages really is. If reading the Bible was like looking at an oak tree, I have now begun to see the details in the leaves.
