[Interview] The Conversation Between Two Masters from East and West ? Dr. Waltke and Dr. Kang

 

The Conversation Between Two Masters from East and West? Dr. Waltke and Dr. Kang

 

 

*Hebrew Union-Jewish Institute of Religion teaches Jewish prodigies to become rabbi. The school is particularly recognized with its world-class ancient Near Eastern literature deparment. Also, it invites talented priests from Roman Vatican and Church of England, as well as pastors and theological students from Christian Churches, by giving them special scholarships, in the hopes of spreading positive image on Jewish to other religious sectors.
The school doesn’t allow the wives of the invited students to have jobs, so that they would fully devote themselves in supporting their husband’s study. Instead the school provides generous financial assistance for them. The school’s doctoral program is well-known to be very difficult, but upon graduation, deans from renowned universities come in person and hire them. Naturally, students take pride as alumni of the school. Dr. Shin-theke Kang is the first and only Asian majoring Sumerian language in Hebrew Union College?Jewish Institute of Religion to this day. Sumerian experts are rare: There were only about 50 Sumerian experts all around the world when he was studying, and the number hasn’t increased much since then.

Dr. Kang, the world-class expert on Sumerian language visited Yeoju during this year’s Summer Conference, his second visit since last year. He came as one of the congregational members, not as a guest speaker and lecturer like he did last year. He said he was able to come to the conference because he had an opportunity to visit Korea for the publication of the new edition of The Direct Translation Bible from Hebrew to Korean. Truly it was a blessing for the members of Pyungkang Cheil Church?to have another world-renowned expert in addition to having Dr. Bruce K. Waltke, the monumental figure in theology who was visiting Korea for the first time to give the lecture at the conference. In addition, the two great scholars even met each other several times and had discussions on Pyungkang Cheil Church’s Summer Conference and the History of Redemption series books. Who wouldn’t be curious about what was discussed during their meeting?

It is good to see you again after a year. Although this is only the second meeting, our church members think of you as our family member. Do you know that?
Yes, I also feel that way.

How does it feel to attend this year’s summer conference as a Pyungkang family member, and not as a guest?
I deeply feel respect for the believers. On such scorching days, I was lucky to be sitting in a chair, but most of them were sitting on the floor yet with so much eagerness to learn. Watching them, I could not help but think I should do my best just like them.
Dr. Waltke, who attended the Conference for the first time said, “There is no church as this on earth.” What surprised him the most, he said, was the believers who listened to the lectures so attentively and the kindness they shared with others. He was particulary very impressed by the praise song sung in Hebrew by elementary students.
Wow, I, too, was quite surprised. How powerfully did they sing!

I heard again earlier [Reporters’ note: Dr. Kang gave a lecture that day on Sumerian language to the elementary students who have been learning Hebrew language.] that Dr. Waltke said, “It is so moving. I have so much to learn from them.” He also said, “I have learned more from them than what I taught them.” [Reporters’ note: in a private meeting with Dr. Kang, Dr. Waltke said, “When the students were singing in Hebrew, I closed my eyes to see if their pronunciation was correct, and it was accurate.”)

What did you talk about with Dr. Waltke?
[Reporters’ note: Dr. Kang answered this part of the interview in a roundabout way. He seemed hesitant about disclosing their private conversation without Dr. Waltke’s consent.]
We did not know at first, but as our conversation went on, we found that we had some connections here and there. He was very close to people like Professor Archer at Harvard, Longman, who received his doctorate from Yale, and Jacobson, a great Sumerian scholar, all of whom were close to me also. Professor Archer was known to be the greatest scholar in the Old Testament studies. But, since Sumerian language was not his main study subject, he often asked me about it. I had a chance to visit research sites of archeological studies over the entire region in Iraq in July 1971 by a special invitation of the Iraqi government. And Dr. Waltke told me that he was also in Bagdad for a short while around that time. He asked me questions such as what led me to study Sumerian language, how I was able to go to Hebrew Union-Jewish Institute of Religion, and how I met the senior pastor, Dr. Abraham Park. So I told him what had happened. During our conversation, I told him what “Yeoju” and “Jumunjin” meant in Sumerian, which made him very surprised. As I have already lectured before, “Yeoju” in Sumerian can be written as “i-a-zu.”: “I” means oil; “a” means the appearance of flowing water; and “zu” means knowledge. So “Yeoju” means “knowing water and oil.” In the ancient world, a doctor was called “one who knows water.” And the original word for “Jesus” came from “a-zu.”

It was based on the orthodox theory by linguists?which Dr. Waltke already knew himself?and he was amazed to see that it was in the same line with the Sumerian interpretation of Yeoju. It is not a mere coincidence that a huge amount of water burst out in Yeoju. He was also surprised to learn that Jumunjin means “salt in the body.”
We also discussed which Bible versions is the best and the most trustworthy. [Reporter’s note: Dr. Waltke was translator and editor of NIV (the New International Version), NASB (New American Standard Bible), New Geneva Study Bible, Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, and New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis.].

The original Hebrew Bible has many blanks. Words are supposed to be filled in, but they are not.
Naturally a major issue in translating the Bible is whether to fill in such blanks?i.e., whether to translate only the existing words and add up more, or change the expression all together to bring out the meaning.
Dr. Waltke said, “Translating part by part is the best way to minimize mistakes in translation.”
Within a paragraph, one should interpret only words and verses. He said, “Translating the Bible by filling in the blanks can be always either right or wrong. If it’s wrong, it becomes unacceptable.
However, the wrong translation is hard to fix.” It is very true. Nevertheless, the part-by-part interpretation cannot continue the flow of words. NIV avoided filling up the blanks and instead tried to bring out original meanings. KJV (The King James Version) in comparison, filled in the blanks a little more.

Do the blanks mean omission? How were the blanks created?
It is the uniqueness of Hebrew language. When we have intimate conversations, such as with our spouses or friends, we often omit subject or objective, and skip background information, right? There are many such examples in the Bible when God spoke to Moses.

Dr. Waltke was very interested in what made me, an Asian, study Sumerian language. I said that the Sumerian language and the Eastern culture have many similarities. They enabled me to study the biblical culture with depth and further helped me understand context of the Bible. Korean language in particular has many things in common with the Sumerian language. When he asked how, I presented Exodus 4:24 as an example. Right before Moses entered Egypt after meeting Aaron, God purused him and tried to kill him. It seemed unnatural. Next day he had to go to Egypt to save the Israelites. Why then did God try to kill him? This part has many blanks in it. Sentences continue such as, “God was hurriedly running to Moses” and “God demanded Moses.” And without giving any clue, the words “his dying” appear. What God asked from Moses is not even mentioned.
The translation of the original text by each verse is as following:
Verse 24: and then on the road and in a shelter the following happened. And (=soon) Jehovah had run hurridedly to Moses. And He had demanded (to cut out his son’s foreskin). That was because (He was worried that) (… the angels killing the firstborn sons of Egyptians) might kill him.

Verse 25: then Zipporah had taken a flint knife. And the woman had cut her son’s foreskin. And the woman had let herself approach before his (=Moses’) feet. And the woman (as she was performing circumcision) had said to Moses. “… it is because you are a bridgroom of blood for me.”

Verse 26: and then He (=God) left him. At that time, the woman had called (Moses) “a bridgroom of blood.” in regard to the circumcisions.
At the time, Moses must have hesitated. This was when Zipporah took lead. To her sons she performed circumcision. It is followed by an original Hebrew word “nagga.” It is translated as “threw,” but there is no object in the sentence. Although it is translated “threw away the foreskin(after performing circumcision),” there is no objective in the sentence. Hence, different rendering of “approached” might be more accurate. [NIV adds footnotes “go before Moses’s feet.”] Zipporah approached Moses and said “you circumcised me (made me bleed on the first night), so I am doing (circumcision).” This was translated simply as “blood bridgroom (hatan).” This is the Eastern culture between husband and wife: Zipporah took the lead before Moses who was hesitating.

How is this related to the Eastern culture?
In the original text, God commanded Moses, not Zipporah. God said to Moses, “You give your sons circumcision,” but instead Zipporah took the lead. Immediately afterwards, she came to Moses and said, “I have to perform circumcision, so you take off, too.” The wife on her own took the lead but the Western people cannot do that. Even though America is a society where women are respected, a woman doesn’t take such actions when husband does not say “yes.” But Korea is different, right? When something seems right, women take care of matters on their own. The Sumerian culture is a matriarchal society and so is the Hebrew culture. In a Hebrew household, even to this day the most power comes from grandmother and then mother. Korea can also be considered as a matriarchal society. Accordingly, in explaining the context and situation, culture can be a great help.

Zipporah’s action seems so right to me. Is it because I have an Eastern way of thinking? Does Dr.Waltke accept such approach to be “the fruit of the Eastern culture”?
Yes, he did. He said, “I did not think to that extent.” The relationship between husband and wife in the Western world doesn’t imply oneness. Its implication is closer to living in harmony between two separate entities. If you are traditional Korean couple, you should know each other’s thoughts quite thoroughly. Probably Moses and Zipporah lived in a similar way.
Other than what I mentioned here, we talked more on the blanks in detail and I suggested explanations based on the culture. Actually, Dr. Waltke’s scholarly aptitude is beyond one’s reach. I must bow down before his extensive knowledge. I am no way near where he is. I would much like to learn from him as well. I am very grateful about this. The Western approach to a field of study requires you toreadenormous amount of books in order to understand and prove just one thing.
You will not be able to keep up without such extensive philosophical and common knowledge.
They will make you read tens and hundreds of books just to attend one lecture. For example, to explain just one scene from the Bible, you’d have to start with Socrates and Plato and develop on them for a while, and in the very end, you can conclude with what the Bible says.
Here lies the difference between the western scholars and Rev. Abraham Park. The western scholars have the long explanation in the middle. They support their ideas with worldly knowledge. Dr.Abraham Park already knows the conclusion. There is no need for the explanation in between. When I explained this difference, Dr. Waltke was quite surprised and said, “I wasn’t able to think of it that way.”

How could you have such assurance? Was there a point in time when you began to think that way?
Perhaps you had a close conversation with Rev. Abraham Park…
There was no such conversation between us.

If so, how could you possibly have such thoughts?
The biggest reason Moses was different from any other person in the Bible is that he talked toGod face to face. God showed him everything one on one. They had long conversations. It was through these times that God Himself made Moses to understand. An understanding attained through man’s books or knowledge cannot supercede the understanding attained from conversation with God. What could Rev. Abraham Park possibly do for three and half years in the cave of Mt. Jiri? He must have conversed with God. The knowledge unknown to this day was fed by God, one after the other.

There are many people who went into mountains for great awakening. Do you think having lived in the mountain can be enough to make such claim plausible?
I have an experience of going up a mountain myself. Wind was blowing hard and I became very afraid. I could not endure even a single day up there before I gave up and came down. What he did was quite extraordinary. It is a spiritual matter. Things are different in spiritual world. It can never be gained with knowledge, not to mention other things.

But is that a scholarly attitude?
All the answers are in the Bible. But people do not know exactly where they are. Nevertheless, Rev. Abraham Park, having read the Bible 1800 times, knows where everything is. In actuality, I am sure he has them all in his memory. Since the original source called the Bible is available, he goes directly to it. The Western scholars go in a roundabout way through worldly knowledge. They rely on methods called logical interpretations from Greek philosophical standpoint. Thus, when Rev.
Abraham Park speaks about something, I know it’s there. I also wanted to discover and learn on my own from the time I entered theological seminary. That’s why I began to study language. As I spent four years to prepare myself for the language studies, I self-studied not only English but Hebrew, Greek, Latin, German, and Spanish. (The skills that he gained at the time were impressive enough to help him pass all exams for doctoral programs in German as well as in Spanish.) During the three months of winter vacations I did not come out of home but wrestled with the languages. I assigned specific study time for each language, and I never came out of my room.

In fact, that is the reason why I do not read books written by other people. All great knolwedge come from the Bible. So I thought, “Why should I try to attain knowledge from others when I can get them directly from the Bible?” I do not search the internet, either. I do not believe that I can gain knowledge through people. I do not even use the Hebrew dictionary written by contemporary writers. I read those written in 1800s. I use the dictionary written by me when it comes to Sumerian. This is what Sumerian experts usually do.

Then how did you come to read the History of Redemption series?
At first I did not read it. I received the first book The Genesis Genealogies in English, but for a while I just kept it on my desk. But one day, I happened to scheme through it. [He said the English books are much easier to read than the Korean books.] Looking through it, I realized the book had all the information I had been searching for. It had everything including numbers, years, and genealogy as well as the Hebrew words. Nothing about the book was unfamiliar to me. Later, I found out that the author has read the Bible for 1,800 times. How can I not bow down before someone like him? There is no question about it. None at all.

But, there might be some people who claim that they read the Bible more than Rev. Park or do not believe that Rev. Park read the Bible 1,800 times.
For those who do not believe, let them do it. What is more important is that just reading the Bible that many times does not make someone become like Rev. Park. Ordinary people may read, but not all of them can put together what they have read. In that respect, it might be more precise to say that Rev. Abraham Park did not read the Bible by himself. It is certain that God was with him.
When Jacob was sleeping on stone pillow, God was on the ladder, right (Gen 28:12)? But in the original text it says God was watching Jacob by his side. (In NIV contains the footnote “there next to him.”) God was with Jacob until he came back from Paddam Aram. In the same way, God was probably with Rev. Abraham Park in Mt. Jiri for three and half years. God must have been pleased the most when Rev. Park finally descended from Mt. Jiri because He no longer had to watch over him with worries (laughter)

When you used the expression “universal” regarding Rev. Abraham Park last year, did you use the term in such context? You used the word to a person you met for the first time, and what motivated you to suddenly use the word?
The word Abraham itself is Sumerian and it is a good name. In English, raham means “multitude” and hence translated as “father of nations.” Its meaning, however, does not end here. In Deuteronomy 32:7, it says “Remember the days of old, Consider the years of all generations.” Here, “the days of old” (y?m?t ??l?m) extends as far as the “before the ages”; “the years of all generations”(d?r-w?d?r) refers to “eternity.” Similarly, the meaning of the name “Abraham” can be expanded this way. With that said, it seems to me that Rev. Park didn’t just name himself “Abraham”; there must have been God’s revelation. That is why I think when he says something is right, it is right, and when he says something is wrong, it is wrong.
A long ago, I had an experience of leveling the ground for a house. While tearing down mountains, you would often find unusually huge rocks underneath. I think great figures in history emerge in a similar way. Not all rocks are the same. I perceive Rev. Abraham Park as a great rock. He should never be considered as a small rock.
I said to Dr. Waltke that Rev. Abraham Park is so courageous since he published books on what others couldn’t understand. He took the chance of being misunderstood. It would have been great if I was as brave, but I never was. I was afraid of the criticism I might receive. I had known from long ago about Moses’ circumcision as we just talked about, but I could not speak. Ever since I met Rev. Abraham Park last year, however, one drastic change occurred in me that I have become brave. I was not courageous enough to fill up the missing blanks in Hebrew original text, but now I am willing to go for it.

How valuable is Sumerian language?
Sumerian is mankind’s very first common language. It was the first written language; although the tribes and nations near the ancient Middle East had their own language, they accepted the written form of the Sumerian language. Inso called “the Bible World”?extending from the ancient Middle East all the way to Egypt?they had different languages, but all of them had adapted Sumerian for their politics, economy, and religion. There have been many discoveries of clay tablets used for written documents that were shared among countries. These tablets were carried to different countries just as a postman would deliver mails. We can say that all languages in this world contain traces of Sumerian language?without any exception. In particular, our Korean language bears much trace of Sumerian. In those days, if you were not familiar with Sumerian, you would be considered ignorant. From early childhood, children will attend a school called “eh dub ba.” It was the very first school in the world. Upon graduation, one can receive the position called “dup sal,”
which means someone who can freely write papers. They are also known as scribes. Once someone becomes a “dup sal,” that person can make a good living anywhere. Their job was to write on behalf of others, and so they would be equivalent to today’s lawyers. Knowing Sumerian is not an absolute necessity; but if you know it, then the context of the writing will come alive through its cultural understanding. For example, one of the nicknames Hebrew people gained from their journey all the way to Canaan was “ssa-ga-ji,” which meant “thieves.” In their long journey, they were probably rejected while trying to trade their goods for food. People probably regarded the Hebrews as a possible threat who could steal their food. Through the words we can predict the unfair treatment they had to go through. Koreans also have the word “ssa-ga-ji.” It is possible that Dr. Waltke might have wondered why someone who knows Sumerian is here. Many people differentiate sicence from religion as they read the Bible, but that should not be the case. Neither science nor general studies should be overlooked. Today’s trend in the U.S., however, is to separate them completely. All disciplines of knowledge including science are under God. Hence, no discipline can surpass theology.
It is God who created the natural phenomena we observe; therefore, science in itself is not wrong.
People who believe in God must bow down before the truth. But many people are not giving up their stubbornness. From this perspective, both Americans and Koreans are the same. Simply, we human beings cannot understand because we lack so much in knowledge. It is as if we are trying to figure out the vastness of God’s intelligence with the knowledge ofahree year old child. We will be all right as long as we live with the mind set: “we are without understanding.”

 

Study method by Dr. Shin-theke Kang
“People like Dr. Waltke read about 800 pages per an hour.”
The newly enrolled students of the Harvard University in the U.S. are said to have the ability to read 200 pages per hour on average. Students who are below the reading level have reading speed of 150 pages or 120 pages per hour. Normally for students in doctoral program the reading speed is about 400 pages per hour, and the professors who teach these doctoral candiates have the reading speed of 800 pages per hour. By syaing “reading speed from 200-800 pages,” I mean they understand everything which they read. Americans train their children for such reading capacity. So when these children learn one thing, they are stimulated to bring up twenty or thirty related ideas to their minds through process of association. This is what makes it difficult for us to compete against them. It’s amazing how brilliant these students are! So when I first lectured at Yale University, I was very nervous. I had to prepare the lectures very thoroughly and perfectly.

Can memorization be a good method to learn?
It is the method used by Jewish people. Learning by rote in early childhood in particular is very good because it activates the brain. Americans are prone to understand first, so their ability to memorize is relatively weak.

Would it be helpful for young children to learn Hebrew language?
Definitely. Can children understand the grammar of their native language? It’s okay even if they don’t understand the meanings. Whatever they memorize in their age, all of them will remain in their heads.
Hebrew Union-Jewish Institute of Religion requires an oral defense even after issertation is approved.
It is a tradition that is not seen anywhere else. There are quite a number of students who fail at this stage and go back to their homes cyring. They are not even offered with further chance to study or pursue a degree at the school. When Dr. Waltke heard this, he said, “There is such a cruel doctoral program?” There is even a tradition that the entire student body will pray on the day of this exam.

This is how the oral defense is given. First, the candidate has to answer all the questions from the professors in the field. This is followed by a three-hour-long oral defense, where all sorts of questions will be thrown at the candidate. They can be truly overwhelming. In my case, I made up a list of all possible questions in my subject and memorized them all word for word. Only after twenty minutes of oral defense, however, the dean stood up and came to me and said, “Your answers so excellent, there is no need to ask any further. Congratulations!” and offered a handshake. Since the dean had said this, no other professor could ask any further questions. It was definitely the grace of God.
Jewish people are very similar to Korean people. If a student tries very hard to learn?even if he doesn’t perform as well?teachers will try their best to teach that student. During exams, teachers will even come by to such hard working students and quietly give them directions on the test. Such is unheard of among American professors. For me, I had no other choice but to memorize. I had to repeat again and again. Whatever the field may be, repetition is the way tobecome an expert. It is said that a pianist practices one music piece about 2,000 times. Wouldn’t there be great change when the practice number goes from 1,000 to 2,000 times? Try it. Tell yourself to read The Genesis Genealogies 100 times.

Rev. Abraham Park did it that way. He probably memorizes all the Bible verses. He is guided directly by a powerful illumination of the Holy Spirit when he reads the Bible. Who can therefore possibly surpass him? Many claim to be good preachers, but how deep are their sermons? Rev.
Abraham Park has such power and authority. He is capable of accomplishing all things that he wants. I admire him because he has what I don’t have. If I were not allowed to study abroad in other countries like America, I might have taken the same path Rev. Abraham Park took. That is the only way for a solo. The path he took was the only correct way.

In his review for the seventh book in the History of Redemption series, “The Eternal Covenant for All Generations: The Ten Commandments,” Dr. Shin-theke Kang wrote, “I have read countless books written by scholars, but I have never seen a book written as vividly as this book. It almost seems as if the author has witnessed the actual scenes in the Bible. His explanation on the Ten Commandments is at an entirely different level from that of any other scholars to this date. This book offers redemptive-historical interpation based solely on the original text. Such interpretations are possibly only by a person who knows every part of the original text of the Hebrew Bible.
That is why this book is truly a marvelous commentary on the Bible.”
 

Written by Reporter Lee Ji-Un