Statement of Purpose
Kyung-Hun Kim
The reason that I am applying for an M.A. program in the field of the Bible and the Ancient near-East at Rothberg International School is that I sincerely desire to explore further in depth the ancient languages of the near-East and the various legal systems that appear in the Bible.
First of all, I desire to study Hebrew among the ancient near-East languages in depth in order to read and interpret the Word of God more correctly. I do believe that I will be able to achieve that goal through learning and researching at RIS. Throughout my exploration in the Biblical study at Presbyterian College and Theological Seminary, I have been experiencing the desperate need of studying Hebrew for better understanding the Old Testament, because I find it undeniable that distortions of meaning are inevitable in the process of translating the Hebrew Scriptures into the Korean language. I think that in order to overcome this problem, the persistent study of Hebrew is necessary.
Furthermore, I believe that studying Hebrew alone is not enough for correct understanding of the Old Testament. Studying the languages of different near-East regions can never be overlooked in Biblical studies, since throughout the process of their formation and constitution, the Scriptural books had gone through interactions with other cultures of the near-East, and the cultures are best reflected in their languages. Everyone acknowledges the prestige of Hebrew University in the field of ancient near-East languages including Hebrew, and I know that I cannot learn those languages any better at other institutions around the globe. During my M.Div. and Th.M. courses, I have been studying hard many different languages related to Biblical studies such as Hebrew, Greek, Akkadian, Latin, and German. Notwithstanding, I have been faced with limitations in further study of those languages in Korea, and hence, I wish to overcome the limitations by studying at your institution which is the most renowned in the field of Hebrew and other ancient near-East languages.
Secondly, I would like to research in depth how different parts of the Torah were shaped into what they are and what discrepancies those different parts of Torah have. My major at college was law, and for that reason, I got to be interested more in the laws in the Bible. While reading different laws in the Old Testament such as Covenental laws, Deuteronomic laws, and Holy code, I found that the various laws in the Old Testament differ from some perspectives and even conflict with each other. I think that those differences and conflicts among those different laws in the Old Testament may exist because they were formed and constituted in different times and accordingly in different historical contexts. Thus, I believe that for better understanding of the laws in the Old Testament I need to explore the linguistic and cultural changes that Israel experienced during the period of Torah’s formation. Along with the linguistic and cultural changes that occurred in Israel, studying the cultures and languages of the ancient near-East is also necessary since those near-East cultures had been in close interactions with Israel.
With the deeper knowledge of the languages and cultures in the ancient near-East learned in the M.A. program at your institution, in my Ph.D. course I wish to research further the textual structures of the those different laws in the Old Testament and how those different laws were harmonized together as the constituents of the Law of God. In addition, I want to research further in depth the legal terms used in Deuteronomy such as Torah, Hukim, Mishpatim, Edot and what legal connotations they carried in specific historical contexts as an effort of understanding the laws based on their historical contexts. In my opinion, that it will be possible to more correctly understand the meaning of the laws and how they functioned together in the Israelite community through the various approaches to the laws.
As I mentioned above, what made me desire to study at Rothberg International School is that your institution has prestigious faculty members and a prominent curriculum in the field of the near-East languages and cultures. I believe that through the precious learning of the near-East languages and cultures under your prominent faculty, I will surely be able make a big stride in the ability to correctly understand and interpret the Old Testament. Furthermore, I am sure that the academic progresses that will be made at your institute are very significant and meaningful not only to myself but also to the Korean Church, because the study at your institution will surely contribute to making the Korean church healthier by establishing it upon the solid rock of God’s holy Word.
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Kyung-Hun Kim
The reason that I am applying for an M.A. program in the field of the Bible and the Ancient near-East at Rothberg International School is that I sincerely desire to explore further in depth the ancient languages of the near-East and the various legal systems that appear in the Bible.
First of all, I desire to study Hebrew among the ancient near-East languages in depth in order to read and interpret the Word of God more correctly. I do believe that I will be able to achieve that goal through learning and researching at RIS. Throughout my exploration in the Biblical study at Presbyterian College and Theological Seminary, I have been experiencing the desperate need of studying Hebrew for better understanding the Old Testament, because I find it undeniable that distortions of meaning are inevitable in the process of translating the Hebrew Scriptures into the Korean language. I think that in order to overcome this problem, the persistent study of Hebrew is necessary.
Furthermore, I believe that studying Hebrew alone is not enough for correct understanding of the Old Testament. Studying the languages of different near-East regions can never be overlooked in Biblical studies, since throughout the process of their formation and constitution, the Scriptural books had gone through interactions with other cultures of the near-East, and the cultures are best reflected in their languages. Everyone acknowledges the prestige of Hebrew University in the field of ancient near-East languages including Hebrew, and I know that I cannot learn those languages any better at other institutions around the globe. During my M.Div. and Th.M. courses, I have been studying hard many different languages related to Biblical studies such as Hebrew, Greek, Akkadian, Latin, and German. Notwithstanding, I have been faced with limitations in further study of those languages in Korea, and hence, I wish to overcome the limitations by studying at your institution which is the most renowned in the field of Hebrew and other ancient near-East languages.
Secondly, I would like to research in depth how different parts of the Torah were shaped into what they are and what discrepancies those different parts of Torah have. My major at college was law, and for that reason, I got to be interested more in the laws in the Bible. While reading different laws in the Old Testament such as Covenental laws, Deuteronomic laws, and Holy code, I found that the various laws in the Old Testament differ from some perspectives and even conflict with each other. I think that those differences and conflicts among those different laws in the Old Testament may exist because they were formed and constituted in different times and accordingly in different historical contexts. Thus, I believe that for better understanding of the laws in the Old Testament I need to explore the linguistic and cultural changes that Israel experienced during the period of Torah’s formation. Along with the linguistic and cultural changes that occurred in Israel, studying the cultures and languages of the ancient near-East is also necessary since those near-East cultures had been in close interactions with Israel.
With the deeper knowledge of the languages and cultures in the ancient near-East learned in the M.A. program at your institution, in my Ph.D. course I wish to research further the textual structures of the those different laws in the Old Testament and how those different laws were harmonized together as the constituents of the Law of God. In addition, I want to research further in depth the legal terms used in Deuteronomy such as Torah, Hukim, Mishpatim, Edot and what legal connotations they carried in specific historical contexts as an effort of understanding the laws based on their historical contexts. In my opinion, that it will be possible to more correctly understand the meaning of the laws and how they functioned together in the Israelite community through the various approaches to the laws.
As I mentioned above, what made me desire to study at Rothberg International School is that your institution has prestigious faculty members and a prominent curriculum in the field of the near-East languages and cultures. I believe that through the precious learning of the near-East languages and cultures under your prominent faculty, I will surely be able make a big stride in the ability to correctly understand and interpret the Old Testament. Furthermore, I am sure that the academic progresses that will be made at your institute are very significant and meaningful not only to myself but also to the Korean Church, because the study at your institution will surely contribute to making the Korean church healthier by establishing it upon the solid rock of God’s holy Word.
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