Hebrew Language

It has long been acknowledged that the classic textbook Basics of Biblical Hebrew was the standard Hebrew grammar for college and seminary students wishing to study biblical Hebrew. With the release on Jo Ann Hackett's grammar A Basic Introduction to Biblical Hebrew that assumption can no longer be made.

Hackett's grammar is arranged in 30 lessons which makes it excellent for intensive study over the period of 1 semester, or for 2 semesters over the course of an entire school year. During the study the stude4nt will encounter several new approaches to learning the language. First, Hackett lists verbal forms from 1st person to 3rd person, rather than the traditional approach of 3rd to 1st. She acknowledges that the traditional way in counter intuitive with English speaking students because they learn their verbs from 1st to 3rd.

Second, rather than introducing both strong and weak verbs together, Hackett divides them and presents all strong verbs first, and then introduces weak verbs near the end of the book. Again, the principle in play here is to follow a formal order that layers and slowly introduces nuance into the language rather than shifting back and forth between straight forward items, and more difficult aspects of the language.

Third, Hackett also jettisons what she believes are "old-fashioned methods" of teaching the Hebrew verbal system in favor of a more simple, but also more descriptive system using the terms "prefix conjugation" and "suffix conjugation." She also uses ve-qatal to describe what is popularly known as the "converted perfect".

Fourth, unlike many Hebrew grammars, Hackett introduces her verbal forms logically. She notes, "It is a logical progression to begin with the prefix conjugation and lead up to the consecutive preterite. The consecutive preterite is the form beginning students must know thoroughly in order to read most biblical prose, and in order to lead them to that form, I needed to introduce the jussive, and in order to introduce the jussive, I first needed to present the prefix conjugation.

Finally, Hackett introduces several new pedagogical techniques in her grammar. She emphasizes accent marks in her exercises, though both are artificial, or written by Hackett rather than taken from the biblical text. But Hackett's goal justifies her actions; she wants "to present both disjunctive and conjunctive accents to the students, and at this early time in their biblical Hebrew study, the impossibility of some of my combinations will not affect their learning the [accent] system as a whole." Along with this Hackett does stress the memorization of paradigms, and supplies verbs, where needed, to complete the paradigm even if a particular verbal form does not appear in the Hebrew text.

The CD which accompanies the book contains several helpful features for the student, not least of which is its helpful pronunciation guide. This includes the pronunciation of all Hebrew-to-English exercises in lessons 1-15, and the first two exercises of lessons 16-30. It also supplies the full pronunciation of Genesis 22.1-19, a common text used by instructors to help students learn pronunciation. Lastly, the answers for the books exercises can be found on the CD-ROM, and an additional workbook containing graded reading of biblical passages, glosses, additional vocabulary, is in the works and will be keyed to this book.

Complete Hebrew Bible with Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia 2nd edition Old Testament without critical apparatus and modern Hebrew New Testament (Bible Society in Israel Version, 1991).

Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) is known to be the definitive edition of the Hebrew Bible. It is widely regarded as a reliable edition of the Hebrew and Aramaic scriptures and is the most widely used original-language edition among scholars.
It is a revision of the third edition of the Biblia Hebraica edited by Rudolf Kittel, the first Bible to be based on the Leningrad Codex. The Leningrad Codex is the oldest complete Hebrew Bible still preserved. It originally appeared in installments, from 1968 to 1976, with the first one-volume edition in 1977; it has since been reprinted many times. The text is a nearly exact copy of the Masoretic Text as recorded in the Leningrad Codex. The Masoretic notes are completely revised.
Included is a foreword in German, English, French, Spanish and Latin as well as an English and German key to the Latin words, abbreviations and other symbols in the critical apparatus.
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) Compact Edition is identical in content to the standard edition (including the critical apparatus in Latin and the foreword in multiple languages); however, its size makes it exceptionally convenient for the student of Hebrew to carry and use. Its portable size in no way compromises the readability of both text and critical apparatus, which retains a bold, clear font.

A helpful language reference tool for students, pastors, and
scholars. The "BHS Reader's Edition" is for those who have a basic
understanding of Biblical Hebrew and desire to read and study
the Hebrew Bible. With this book alone (and a year of Hebrew),
students are able to read the Hebrew Bible in its entirety.
No other reference books on the market today have the same
quality, grammatical information, or detail.
Main features include:
- Complete text of the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, checked
against the Leningrad Codex
- All words that occur fewer than 70 times are parsed and
contextually defined in the apparatus
- Glossary listing of all other words
- Improved layout of poetic texts
- All weak verb forms are parsed
- High quality paper does not bleed through

Students of biblical Greek and Hebrew may not know everything they need to know, but they do know there's a lot they need to know! Whether studying for exams or translating passages of Scripture, students need critical information at their fingertips. Instead, it's usually scattered throughout textbooks, self-made crib sheets, and sticky-notes on their computer monitor. Now there's a better way! The Zondervan Get an A! Study Guides to Biblical Greek and Biblical Hebrew are handy, at-a-glance study aids ideal for last minute review, a quick overview of grammar, or as an aid in translation or sermon preparation. Each set contains four information-packed sheets that are laminated and three-hole-punched, making them both durable and portable. The study guides are tied to Zondervan's Basics of Biblical Greek and Basics of Biblical Hebrew.

Written by the core faculty of the Hebrew Program at Brandeis University, Brandeis Modern Hebrew is an accessible introduction to the Hebrew language for American undergraduates and high school students. Its functional and contextual elements are designed to bring students from the beginner level to the intermediate level, and to familiarize them with those linguistic aspects that will prepare them to function in advanced stages. This volume reflects some of the main principles that have shaped the Brandeis Hebrew curriculum during the past decade. These include: - an emphasis on the learner's ability to use the target language in all four skills areas: speaking, listening, reading, and writing - an effort to contextualize each unit within a specific subject or theme - exposing the student to authentic and semi-authentic materials (texts written by native speakers) - exploring different elements from Israeli and Jewish culture in the language drills, reading passages, and in selections of sources from the Hebrew literary canon The text in this edition comprises a short introduction to the instructor, 11 units, supplementary Hebrew proficiency guidelines, and a vocabulary list. Audio-visual components for all reading passages are available online for download.

Colleagues and former students honor Professor Jo Ann Hackett in this collection of essays focused on her interests in Northwest Semitic languages and epigraphy, and Southern Levantine religions of the Iron Age. Each of the three sections begins with concise methodological chapters followed by subject-specific application chapters. Each contributor illuminates the unifying theme of the collection: the continuing value and necessity of philological and comparative study of the Hebrew Bible.

With a facsimile of the Siloam Inscription by: Euting, J.;

Frederick E. Greenspahn is Gimelstob Eminent Scholar of Judaic Studies at Florida Atlantic University. His publications include An Introduction to Aramaic (2nd ed., 2007) and When Brothers Dwell Together: The Preeminence of Younger Siblings in the Hebrew Bible (1994). He has also edited several books on interfaith relations as well as the NYU Press series Jewish Studies in the Twenty-First Century.

This text approaches the Bible in light of recent findings on the use of the Hebrew alphabet as a deliberate and meaningful choice. Sanders connects the Bible's distinctive linguistic form to a cultural desire to speak directly to people, summoning them to join a new community that the text itself helped call into being.