Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar: Third Edition (Zondervan Language Basics Series)

I’m currently taking Hebrew classes online but the book is too expensive so I just bought this. Very helpful explanations.

I have been trying to learn Hebrew unsuccessfully for several years now. I came across a great YouTube series on biblical Hebrew that includes no english tutorials and because of that I wasn't always certain that I was understanding a particular word or phrase correctly. This book has allowed me to check some of those things for greater clarity. Although I am reading through the entire book because it is truly helping me learn and understand, I can also jump to a chapter to reference something if need be. Another reviewer mentioned something about there being a mention of the New Testament in it but I have only come across a very short paragraph that is not preachy and it in no way takes away from the value of the book at all. You can literally just skip over that small part. With all of that being said, if you are absolutely new to biblical Hebrew, I would suggest finding some videos on YouTube that can help you on your journey.

This is the must have for students who want to learn Biblical Hebrew.

These are college grade/size/whatever it's called textbooks and workbooks. These are great to use along side my online Hebrew class. To new students of the biblical language, when you start learning, learn one technique fully before mixing techniques. For me, I studied the Hebrew alphabet and then started an online Hebrew class and then got these textbooks and they all three teach a different way to learn the alphabet. So my suggestion is to start with one and master that one technique and then bringing other techniques. Just an idea. God bless you. """ It's Alephbet***

My first impression using this workbook was "it was easier when I was a kid and had a fat pencil and wrote on paper with those lines defining the top, bottom, and middle of where I should form the glyphs of each letter. Hebrew orthography has evolved over the centuries and what distinguishes one letter from another is obscured by the various tittles (serifs) decorating letter strokes. Some letters use ascenders (above the top line) and others use descenders. It's helpful to keep these in mind from the beginning. My advice to the purchaser of this book is to first get a ruler and #2 pencil and draw faint lines between each exercise. Second, find something targeted to Jewish Kindergarteners to learn how to write block letters. If you use a computer, look up a font with sans-serif glyphs and use that and learn how to switch between default and Hebrew keyboards.

Learning Biblical Hebrew through self-study "for fun" is a daunting task :). Physical classroom lectures or private lessons with an expert in Biblical Hebrew would certainly be the most preferable. Followed by online classes. Unfortunately, schedules don't always line up especially with work commitments and therefore self-study is often required. That's where Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar comes in. It is quite readable, as far as grammar books can be considered "readable" and more importantly, I feel like I'm making real progress. It is a bit easier for me starting out than Lambdin's excellent "Introduction to Biblical Grammar". BBH does a good job of comparing and contrasting English grammar with Biblical Hebrew in the introduction to each chapter/section. It is quite understandable so long as you're somewhat familiar with English grammar. If not, you might want to supplement BBH with "Grammatical Concepts 101 for Biblical Hebrew" by Long which goes more in-depth. A few caveats: 1) Unlike Lambdin, BBH is not strictly an academic textbook. From the introduction, "In general, the design of this grammar reflects both its scope (basic) and its primary audience (those training for biblical ministry)". All theological discussions/interpretations within BBH seem to be confined to the "Something You Should Know" section at the end of each chapter. 2) Transliteration is no longer emphasized as it was in the 2nd edition and has been reduced to a single reference to the SBL Handbook of Style. 3) There are no exercises within the textbook. A separate workbook containing exercises corresponding to each chapter is available separately. None of these are a deal-killer for me. All in all, very pleased with the book.

I think Pratico and van Pelt made a huge effort to simplify Hebrew grammar. They use such good guidelines to understand complex concepts of Hebrew words. This effort is more apparent in the way they handle the Hebrew verb. Instead of suggesting memorizing lots and lots of tables, they recommend memorizing just a bunch and they give a kind of clues to recognize the stem and the person. I love this grammar and I eagerly recommend it!!!

Got this for my dad who is a pastor, he loves it!

Glad I purchased this. Love the author's ability to teach in a consise and clear manner.

I use this book as a supplement to biblingo. For someone with no gift for languages and near to the forties, this combination is awesome.

Me encanta el hebreo bíblico. Poder leerlo y escribirlo. Este manual me fue muy útil para iniciar ese estudio.

excellent. Serieux et clair. Tres bon livre pour demarrer un apprentissage serieux de cette langue

Ótimo para o aprendizado da língua hebraica.