Hebrew in the Dust
by the Rev. Shirley Smith Graham, AFRECS board member
It was not hard to teach Hebrew in South Sudan in 2006. Crowds gathered at the Bible College in Renk, hungry to learn what Jesus said in his own words.
“We want to know what the Bible says, not what someone says it says,” students would tell us. They had grown up speaking at least two languages, their tribal mother tongue and Arabic. They understood the importance of learning the Bible’s original language. Often they, and their families, had made great sacrifices to attend the college. I had come at the invitation of Dr. Ellen Davis to work alongside two students from Duke Divinity School. We were impressed at the Sudanese students’ staying power.
One day, after a long and hot two hours of instruction, students were ready for a break — at least I was. Everyone exited the building made of local brick and sought refuge outside in the shade. I needed a few minutes to organize my papers and books, and arrived outside last.
What’s this crowd? Is something happening? Coming closer, I could see women and men leaning over another student, looking at something in the red earth. What was going on?
The student had taken a stick and was writing letters in Hebrew on the ground. But the other students weren’t just watching. One corrected another’s letters or spelling. They discussed the proper shapes for making meaningful words.
Didn’t Jesus once write in the dust to give a crowd the chance to let his words sink in and transform their hearts (John 8: 6, the woman caught in adultery)? These students were doing the same thing. Writing in the red earth of South Sudan. Letting the words of Jesus sink into their hearts — just as they were praying his words would bring peace to their land.
“It’s typical of those times and conditions in Sudan, that I don’t have a photograph of the students writing in the dust. On a different day, they found chairs to make the learning easier.”