An international student and linguist from Michigan in the United States,
Bethany Case, received the highest mark in an honours class throughout the university
and was awarded the Senate Medal for this achievement during the University of the Free State’s (UFS) April graduation ceremonies.
Case, who is now living in Mexico with her husband and daughter, completed the Bachelor of Arts Honours with specialisation in Hebrew in the
Department of Hebrew in the Faculty of the Humanities. “I am honoured by this recognition; I did not expect any award,” she says.
Internalise the language for lifelong study and enjoyment
With an interest in supporting the work of Bible translation that is still ongoing around the world, Case decided to pursue studies in this specific field. She wanted to specifically support the translation of the Hebrew Bible, since there are fewer available
translations of this than for the Greek New Testament.
Her study in Biblical Hebrew focuses on the grammar of the Hebrew language as found in the text of the Hebrew Bible. “This includes historical reconstructions of its ancient forms, existing manuscripts, critical apparatus for studying the variants,
and the poetic devices used in Hebrew poetry,” says Case, who also enjoys reading portions of the ancient Dead Sea Scrolls.
With Hebrew being a difficult language to study and master, Case seeks that more students would learn to love Biblical Hebrew through a joyful learning experience rather than feeling intimidated and discouraged by its complexities.
“My desire is that anyone who wants to learn to read the Bible in its original language will have a chance to do so, even if they don't have money for classes or textbooks. I want those who struggle to learn languages from a grammar-translation
textbook model to have a chance to learn Hebrew through a more dynamic audio-visual pedagogy, and for Hebrew students to be able to internalise the language for lifelong study and enjoyment and not forget their Hebrew shortly after graduation,”
she says.
Learning through the Aleph with Beth YouTube channel
In order to teach others Biblical Hebrew, Case has created the Aleph with Beth YouTube channel. This lively and informative resource has more than 69 000 subscribers and is grammatically accurate to the biblical text. According to
Prof Cynthia Miller-Naudé, Senior Professor and Head of the Department of Hebrew, her work with the 170 videos on YouTube has been praised in academic journals such as
Hebrew Higher Education as a free, online resource that provides excellent and high quality videos for learning Hebrew.
My goal is that more students would learn to love Biblical Hebrew through a joyful learning experience rather than feeling intimidated and discouraged by its complexities. – Bethany Case
According to Prof Miller-Naudé, two of the guiding principles of the Department of Hebrew are to make Hebrew accessible to everyone, regardless of their language background, and to gain insight into the world of the Old Testament through knowledge
of Hebrew. “Case has not only excelled in mastering Hebrew, but she also embodies the ethos of the department in her commitment to making Hebrew accessible to everyone. The department is proud of her extraordinary achievement in teaching Hebrew,
and her embodiment of our principles that Hebrew can be enjoyable for everyone to learn. We look forward to her bright future as a teacher and scholar of Biblical Hebrew.”
Catching the important details that really counts
Concurring with Prof Miller-Naudé is
Dr Kevin Chau, Case’s biggest motivator and her BA Honours instructor, who taught all her modules
and supervised her mini-dissertation. He also believes that Case has a bright future ahead as a Hebrew scholar.
“Case also catches the important details. While academia is concerned with details, it is catching the important details that really counts. Over and over in class, she demonstrated this valuable ability that separates exceptional scholarship from
the pedestrian,” he adds.
Case says that, together with her husband, she plans to continue working on the Aleph with Beth video lesson series and provide a free, effective, and enjoyable way for students all around the world to learn the basics of Biblical Hebrew grammar so
that they can learn to read the Hebrew Bible in its original language.