Customer Reviews

Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are two basic approaches to language study. Deductive and Inductive. Most, like this one are deductive, and for ancient languages that has the additional implication of meaning no speaking or auditory learning.

When I used this book in my first year Hebrew class, I found it very confusing. First, it has a tendency to give you lots of unusual cases and details which only rarely occur. Second, it does not "connect the dots" between various things which are similar such as pronominal suffixes for nouns versus verbs. Third, it presents the paradigms for these things in different orders. Sometimes it starts with 3ms, and sometimes with 1ms. This makes it very difficult to remember things!

Now that I am using it for review, I like it a bit better. It does clearly show every aspect of the language. I can easily turn to a certain place and get all of the relevant grammar information. I know enough to connect the dots more for myself, so that is less upsetting. So I guess I'm saying that this book makes a great reference, but a challenging introductory grammar. As a caveat, people who are very detail oriented like many linguists often are, may find the detail in this book actually helps them. I am a big picture person, and it frustrated me, but my friend who is detail oriented loved the book.

When reviewing Hebrew this year, I got Learn Biblical Hebrew by John Dobson. It made a nice complement to Practico. Dobson is exactly the opposite. He has you jump right in. You listen to a CD which I find extremely helpful, and you read passages out of the bible which you do not even fully understand grammitically. This is closer to how we normally learn language. Regardless of what book you use to learn Hebrew, if you are auditory like me, Dobson is worth the money just for the CD. I easily learned male and female suffixes when hearing them, for example. However, Dobson is weak on the paradigms, and without them you'll find yourself very confused.

So I don't think Pratico or Dobson are really a good starting point. After looking at a number of different options, I've concluded that A Modern Grammar for Classical Hebrew by Duane Garrett is the best available for the student. He really breaks it down and diagrams things in a way that is geared for the student more than the scholar.

This is a pretty good introductory grammar, as others have
pointed out, but I just want to give a word of caution to any
who may be expecting it to be as good as the equivalent Greek
introductory grammar from the same series: it's not.

BBHG is ostensibly patterned after BBGG, Mounce's excellent
Greek grammar, but Pratico and Van Pelt are not Mounce, and
it shows. There are similarities in the format, such as the
inclusion of an Exegetical Insight section in each chapter and
the separation of some material as Advanced Information, but
beneath the surface there are differences. Mounce makes Greek
as easy as a language can be, but BBHG does not do quite the
same thing for Hebrew -- and I don't believe it's just because
the language is more difficult. (Quite the contrary; there are
fewer cognates in the vocabulary, and the writing system is
more dissimilar from the Latin alphabet we use with English,
but the actual grammar in Hebrew is from a student's perspective
much less tricky and involved than the Greek, IMO, especially
in the beginning chapters dealing with the noun system.)

I feel that I should go into detail here, and I will to some
degree, but overall I think that it is mostly a matter of care
and polish. Mounce includes many more footnotes (even if the
ones about cognates are discounted, since Hebrew has fewer of
those to note), and these offer useful explanatory material,
insight that is sometimes wanting in BBHG. *FREQUENTLY* in
the vocabulary sections Pratico and Van Pelt include a word
that is spelled identically to another word included in a
previous chapter, without making any note of this or explaining
it in any way; granted, Hebrew has more instances of this than
Greek, but it is also true that Mounce in such cases was more
careful -- in some cases presenting both words at the same
time, or at least making a footnote, so that the student was
made aware of the issue. Even when the words were not quite
identical, but differed by accent marks, Mounce includes a
list of such similar words to give the student a heads-up.

This is a small thing, but it makes it much easier for the
student to learn. Using BBHG, I frequently find that vocab
flashcards that I keep getting wrong turn out to have the same
word as another flashcard with a different meaning, and then I
have to hunt down both flashcards together and combine them or
make notes on the back about the other one; only after I have
done this can I finally really learn those words properly.
This is unnecessary pain for the student and does not help
the learning process at all.

The accompanying workbook is similarly less polished. The
exercises in the workbook with Mounce to a large degree are
smooth and only require knowledge of material that has been
studied in chapters up to that point, giving the student the
meanings of any words that have not yet been studied. BBHG
does not make any real attempt to do this. Students must
continually flip back and forth though a lexicon to complete
the exercises, which is tiresome and does little to aid the
learning process. Worse, in a handful of cases the exercises
require knowledge that the student cannot reasonably be
expected to know -- for example, requiring the student in
some cases to translate words from English to Hebrew when the
word in question has not yet been studied -- but the lexicon
is only ordered by Hebrew and is not searchable by the English.
(Specific examples of this include "young man" in the exercises
for chapter eight and "righteousness" in the exercise for
chapter ten.)

I chalk these differences up to this: when Mounce wrote his
grammar and workbook, he was working from materials he had been
using in his own Greek classes for years, and many of these
problems had been worked out already before the first edition
was published. This shows, and BBGG is without reservation
the best textbook (let alone grammar textbook) that I have
ever used. Pratico & Van Pelt's BBHG does not live up to that
standard.

Lest this review be all negative, I should note that despite
such problems, the BBHG is overall a pretty decent grammar,
and I'm giving it four stars. It is much easier to follow
than Weingreen, for example, and in general is pretty easy
to learn from. There may or may not be a better introductory
Hebrew grammar; I have only seriously looked at a couple of
others, and they were significantly worse. Weingreen, for
example, may be useful as an additional grammar, but for the
beginning student I cannot recommend it by itself. I can
recommend the BBHG, though -- despite its shortcomings, you
can learn the language from it, and the process is relatively
painless, aside from the obvious need to study quite a lot,
as will always be the case with learning a language.

So, buy this book, but don't expect the kind of near perfection
that you found in Mounce -- at least, not in the first edition.

When I saw Basics of Biblical Hebrew sitting on the shelf at the local Christian bookstore, I jumped with tingling excitement. I was used to the classic (and reliable) Weingreen, which was not conducive to amiable learning, to say the least. I noticed that the new grammar by Pratico and Van Pelt was fashioned after the style of Mounces' Basics of Biblical Greek, and after perusing its pages, I knew this was a must have. First, the Hebrew font is very easy on the eye, and the highlighted particles and vowel changes in the verb paradigms make the differences in verbal forms easy to recognize and commit to memory. Secondly, the margins on the pages are neat and orderly, which make for friendly reading. Thirdly, the exegetical notes at the end of each chapter draw excellent applications of knowing the original languages. And this important, for not a few seminary students have wondered in frustration whether or not if "it's really worth it." But Pratico and Van Pelt have shown students of the Bible that it really is worth the effort, and they make it easier than their predecessors have. Some additional bonuses for example, are the number and size of the chapters. With thirty-six in all, students of Hebrew should be able to get through most if not all of the book within one school year, working through an average of one chapter per week. The chapters are reasonably sized and not too laborious. In addition, the table of contents sets forth the layout of the grammar simply and understandably as it goes systematically through all of the parts of speech, following through with a concise, detailed account of the different verb forms from the Qal to the Hithpael. Review sections at the end of the chapters give excellent summaries and the vocabulary lists are not too lengthy but retain an adequacy that is appropriate. With the addition of the CD-Rom and Workbook, this grammar should be the hallmark for all seminaries and Bible institutions for years to come. One point of concern my Hebrew professor explained to me after I excitedly told him about the new grammar was if it would take the student through all of the necessary components of biblical Hebrew in one year--and that he was going to have to study it further before making the switch. However, I think Basics of Biblical Hebrew does take the beginner through the necessary components of the language in a timely fashion, while encouraging and enabling the student for further studies. After showing the book to some of my fellow students, a number of them who had all but given up on Hebrew because of the rather difficult Weingreen told me they were planning on purchasing Basics of Biblical Hebrew because of its readability, exegetical notes and overall easiness on the eye. This is an excellent grammar, and I am grateful for the hard work of Gary D. Pratico and Miles V. Van Pelt.

I've studied several languages since high school, and this is by far the best of all the books I've used. It does an excellent job of introducing the Hebrew language at a rate that can be used in a class or as self-study. The grammar charts on the cd were handy for study and review. The flashcard program was helpful in demonstrating proper pronounciation for the vocab terms, though I wish it had included the alphabet (an audio file of whih is avaliable on the BBH website).
I would suggest this to anyone with an interest in Hebrew language or culture, though I would also suggest coupling this with some modern Hebrew, as the spoken language is just as important as the written.

***Personal Study Tip***
Complex languages like Hebrew and Greek can be really frustrating when you spend a lot of time learning the very basics. Once you have the alphabet and vowel system down, augment your studies with sections from later in the book. While you probably do not want to make a full study of the Qal stem at the same time as nouns, being able to compose simple phrases and sentences really helps to gain a sense of the language and it makes you feel as if you've done something useful.

This is a great book for beginners or for those like me who speak fluent Israeli Hebrew and want to brush up on grammatical points particular to Biblical Hebrew. Everything about the grammar book, supplementary workbook, CD-ROM and website is first-rate. Lots of care have gone into the designing and manufacturing of this set of Biblical Hebrew materials. It has a parallel brother in the Zondervan Basics of Biblical Greek.

I used this book and had the pleasure of being taught by Dr. Pratico at GCTS. The diagnostic system is, despite some criticisms, the best way for first year students to master basic Biblical Hebrew. The primary strength of this book (and Dr. Pratico's overall pedagogy) is to give students exactly what they need to know when they need to know it. There is virtually no information on the historical development of the language. This is perfectly suited to the first year English-speaking student, who has enough trouble making his or her way through what looks like a bunch of dots and scratches on a page. Diachronic philology, though interesting for the intermediate and advanced student, is almost completely irrelevant and off-putting to most beginners like myself.

A good example of the "need to know" philosophy of the book is that the book sometimes does not present all aspects of a particular point of grammar, simply because to do so would overwhelm students. When vowels are learned, no mention is made of _why_ they are called changeable long, unchangeable long, etc.; all the student need know is which is which. The significance of that distinction is raised in subsequent chapters. Also, it could be pointed out in early chapters that many substantives (e.g. cohen) are simply participial forms. But when I learned the word for priest in chapter 4 (?) that piece of information was totally useless and would only have served to aid in my forgetting of the vocabulary word.

I highly recommend Basics of Biblical Hebrew and the accompanying workbook.

In terms of vocabulary, chapters 3-35 in the grammar have vocabulary lists at the end of each chapter, containing all words (except proper names) that occur 70 times or more in the Hebrew Bible. There is also a Hebrew lexicon located in the back of the grammar containing every word used in both the grammar and corresponding workbook. The exercises are located in a separate workbook volume entitled Basics of Biblical Hebrew Workbook. The workbook alone consists of over 300 pages and provides exercises for each chapter in the grammar. The workbook is so large, in fact, that most instructors will need to limit the assignments. A full answer key to the workbook is also provided on the CD included with the grammar.

The other reviewers have basically made the most important points. I will only add a couple more points.

1. IMHO, this book is not for beginners. If you're first learning to read Biblical Hebrew, then I would recommend using a book that is considered a Hebrew primer, and not this book. After studying the primer, then you can use this book, but I would probably recommend Page H. Kelly's "Biblical Hebrew: An introductory Grammar" or Thomas O. Lambdin's "Intro to Biblical Hebrew" over this book for those who are still in their first year of Biblical Hebrew study.

2. This book is more designed with it's lay out for those who already have experience in Hebrew, and it's even better designed for those who have 1+ year of Hebrew under their belt, and can make great use of this book as a basic reference book. For those of you who have studied Hebrew for more than a couple of years and have seen this book, you know what I mean.

3. If you get this book, I recommend getting the workbook along with it, as you will need plenty of reading practice to apply the rules of Grammar presented in this book.

4. Something else that should be noted is the pronunciation used in this book is NOT Sephardic (the main modern dialect of pronunciation in Israel tody), but rather the pronuciation introduced in this volume is that of "old Hebrew", and more closely resembles Aramaic than Hebrew.

In case if anyone is wondering, I gave this book 3 stars only because it's being presented as a guide for beginners at Hebrew, when in reality this book can be cumbersome for the beginning student of Hebrew.

I studied Biblical Hebrew 20 years ago and had since forgotten most of what I knew. As a semitic language Biblical Hebrew is difficult for those with no prior exposure so there is no easy way to learn it. This book is better than the others I have tried at explaining the fundamentals without spending too much time on details that confuse rather than enlighten. I found the focus on nouns first, etc to work fine by spending a lot of time going through the exercises in the companion workbook to reinforce what was learned in the text.

It is a book written by Christians with a Christian audience in mind but that does not prevent it from doing a good job at introducing a difficult language. Being able to read the Hebrew scriptures in Hebrew has been a great joy and I only regret that I didn't keep up with my Hebrew 20 years ago so I didn't have to relearn it. Although I am better at Greek, Hebrew is still my first love.

I've learned other languages by self-study, as well as having taught English as a second language, so I know something about the process - and this book is not ideal for a self-learner (and perhaps not the best choice for classroom either). The methodical process of teaching all about nouns, then articles, then prepositions, then construct, then verbs, etc. does not allow the learner to start reading sentences effectively early enough in the process. Exercising receptive skills by reading and productive skills by writing is the most effective way to learn and reinforce grammar and vocabulary. The presentation of grammar is, however, very clear. I'm buying "Hebrew: A Language Course Level One" in hopes that it will be better and will use "Basics of Biblical Hebrew" as a supplement.