Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar [Paperback]

Page H. Kelley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 24, 1992

Comprehensive in scope, this carefully crafted introductory grammar of Biblical Hebrew offers easy-to-understand explanations, numerous biblical illustrations, and a wide range of imaginative, biblically based exercises. According to Page Kelley, his book is designed not so much for seasoned travelers as for those who are just starting out on a strange and wonderful journey. / The book consists of thirty-one lessons arranged as follows: the nonverbal aspects of the language (lessons 1-10); the verb forms and their functions, with special attention to the strong verbs (lessons 11-20); the coordinate relationship of verbs, a topic alluded to but seldom developed in other grammars (lesson 21); and a comprehensive introduction to each of the ten classes of weak verbs (lessons 22-31). The grammar is accompanied by eleven complete verb charts, an extensive vocabulary list, a glossary of grammatical terms, and a subject index. / Kelley employs a method that one reviewer has described as a cross between a straight presentation of grammatical principles and rules and a semi-inductive presentation of concepts through the exercises. Each lesson first presents new grammatical concepts, with biblical examples, and then provides reinforcing exercises that Kelley has judiciously selected from the biblical text (the exercises do not presuppose vocabulary and grammar not already covered). / Deriving from the authors forty years of experience in teaching Biblical Hebrew to seminary students, and enthusiastically employed in its developing stages by instructors at a variety of colleges and seminaries, Kelleys Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar promises to be an excellent teaching tool with high potential as a textbook. Kelly has designed it for use in either a one-semester or a two-semester course.

Product Details

• Paperback: 453 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (April 24, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802805981
• ISBN-13: 978-0802805980
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.5 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59,722 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Hebrew > Instruction

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

83 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Systematic Presentation, February 9, 2001

By 

Christopher C. Alsruhe (Baltimore, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar (Paperback)

This book by Kelley is extremely detailed without being overwhelming. Learning any language can be overwhelming, but if one takes this book lesson by lesson, they will do well. I find that this makes a great companion text to "Biblical Hebrew" by Kittel et al (see my review on this book for more information).
Kelley provides what Kittel does not, and vice versa. Kittel presents great lessons without getting into a mass of details that aren't yet necessary, and as a workbook, it moves you along confidently and quickly. But with learning anything, many like to know, and will definitely need to know fairly early on, not simply how something is done, but WHY, and what nuances are caused by the details. Kelley does just that by explaining point by point why things work the way they do in Hebrew. For example, this would include how vowel pointing changes and why. Kittel deals with vowel pointing, of course, and how it works grammatically, but leaves one without answers in many cases as to the systematic rules of how vowel pointing works. Also, Kittel's book does a nice job in presenting participles, but doesn't really give enough detail to help the beginner with the related nuances of participial grammar that even the beginner needs to know (e.g., what's the difference in translation between participles as adjective, as verbs, and as nouns?).
Kelley explains in detail what Kittel presents generally. He gives all the answers that Kittel does not. Kittel gives a more workable workbook than does Kelley. With Kittel, you feel like you're moving along faster and so it is more encouraging (I personally went through the first half of Kittel's book thoroughly in only 2 1/2 months, along with working on a number of chapters later in the book at the same time; I could never do that with Kelley's book).

Because of its great detail, it may have a somewhat discouraging effect by not allowing the student to move very quickly.
What I recommend for any truly serious student of Hebrew is to invest in both Kittel's and Kelley's books. Use Kittel's book as the main course, and use Kelley's as a main supplement (you will definitely need something to go with Kittel's book). After you've gotten about half way through Kittel's book, it would then be good to look at Kelley's book systematically and find the reasons for why Hebrew is the way it is. Ultimately, Kelley's book will have to become your main text if you really plan to learn Hebrew effectively. Kelley by far gives many more exercises to hone your skills. Also, I use Kelley's book sort of like an encyclopedia to turn to for more information as I study a chapter in Kittel's workbook.

I can't recommend this combination of books enough, for it truly gives many positive facets to studying Hebrew. For under $100, the serious student can be set for a long time with these two books. And one can still keep it under a hundred dollars by investing in what I believe to be the best student's vocabulary book out there for the price, "A Student's Vocabulary for Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic," by Larry Mitchel, which covers all Hebrew words used 10 times or more in the OT, and all Aramaic words if you should choose to delve into that.
Kelley's book, considering its detail, is quite sufficiently systematic and also simple in its explanations. If you really want to learn, this book will give you what you need without being cumbersome.

73 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Warning answers not included, August 28, 2001

By 

Blah (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar (Paperback)

This is a great beginning book. The lessons are well laid out and extremely straightforward. Kelley's starts you off with a core set of words that he continues to use throughout the book adding a few more words every lesson but still using the old words. This gives you the benefit of being able to become extremely familier with some important words, it also has the added benefit of allowing the student to focus in on the grammer instead of having to spend all the grammer lessons on trying to translate the meaning of the words you can concentrate on the conjugation and such. The book starts with nouns and adjectives and only after the student has a firm base does he move on to the infinitly more difficult verbs. Hey what did you expect it is Hebrew. One caution, although the book is full of excercises there are no answers. To get the answers you have to buy another book the handbook which accompanies this book. This is somewhat annoying and is the only reason this manual doesn't deserve 5 stars. The exercises are however extremely helpful in practicing and developing language skills.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Your Best Bet, February 4, 2004

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"xa-chialpha" (Redding, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar (Paperback)

I am currently finishing up my studies in Kelly. This work book is very solid, Kelly has taken a very in-depth and detailed approach to biblical hebrew. I am a Bible and Theology Major studying under one of Oxford's finest Hebrew profs. This work book can be used by anyone and is great for teaching yourself. Just make sure you buy the Handbook with the answers too...that is a life saver. If you are planning on teaching yourself "biblical" hebrew, then Kelly is the best route you can go, in my opinion of course.