I, too am a student of religion. I used to be able to read classical Hebrew, and some Aramaic. I am not as learned as you obviously are, but I enjoy researching things. Last year I read all the so-called gnostic gospels. They give us a glimpse of early Christianity. Of course, they are soundly condemned by some orthodox Christians. I do not read Coptic, so I relied mostly on the translations by Jean-Yves LeLoup, an Orthodox priest himself. His commentary was enlightening. The discoveries and translations of the Nag Hammadi texts have been an eye opening experience for me.