The Importance of Learning Arabic

Christian history is full of unsung heroes, and the world of Bible translation is no exception. Even though books have been written to record amazing things God has done through different missionaries, we often forget about them because they were written so long ago. One such book is Fifty Three Years in Syria, a two volume work that describes much of the missionary work done in the 1800s and early 1900s in the middle east, including the most influential complete translation of the Bible into Arabic, which is still used as a standard text today. When I first set out to do this series I imagined that I would focus exclusively on BT into Arabic, but the more I read about the events, culture, and people surrounding the history of Arabic BT, the more I wanted to share it with you. It’s absolutely fascinating and many times stranger than fiction. At times it may feel like we’re jumping around a lot, but I think through these various vignettes we’ll gain a more fully-orbed idea of what the world was like in this part of the middle east during the birth of the most influential Bible in Arabic.

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