Customer Reviews

Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary Cards

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This is a set of vocabulary cards for learning biblical Hebrew. It is very useful. Of course, you can always make your own cards to match the assigned text, but they won't be as nice or as easy to use. These are professionally printed in a consistent manner.

The cards are grouped in three different sections (verbs, nouns, other) with each section arranged in order of occurrance in Scripture. This would make individual cards difficult to find, so the set comes with an indexed booklet. A number of blank cards are included for words which may have been missed. (Geographical and personal names are intentionally skipped.)

When I was trying to learn Hebrew, at the beginning of each week I would use the index to find the cards I needed that week. These would go in my shirt pocket so I could review them throughout the week.

The only minor annoyance was that there were some slight differences in definitions between the cards and the text I was using. But this is unavoidable with different authors. Further, this was also helpful in a way, as it showed a second opinion and helped to explain the word meanings.

All in all, it is a very complete, useful tool. Nearly all of the vocabulary I needed (for Kelley's text) was included, and was in roughly the same order as in the text.

To my knowledge there are two big (about 1000 cards) sets of pre-made biblical Hebrew flash cards readily available for purchase (at least on Amazon). These are the Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary Cards by Dillard, which is the subject of the present review, for $12.95 and the Old Testament Hebrew Vocabulary Cards by Van Pelt for $17.95. Were I still a starving college student, the five dollar difference alone would incline me toward the Dillard set. Fortunately I've already graduated and have been working in what passes for the real world. So I had enough money to buy both in order to facilitate my study of Hebrew. Having used both I find them both quite good though they have different strengths.

I like the Dillard set the best. The size is handy and easy to hold. Also, the writing on the opposing side is inverted so one can look at one side and flip the card over top to bottom to get the answer. This is a small point but I find it easy to use this way, especially when I study while riding my exercise bicycle. Another person might prefer the opposite.

Someone else has commented that the Dillard size is not standard. Is there a standard size for flash cards? I don't think so. I have flash cards of all different sizes. The Dillard cards are actually part of a large series of flash cards, the Vis-Ed series. This is a large series including Modern Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, Greek, calculus, statistics, SAT practice etc. There are a very large number of subjects offered in the same 3 1/2 by 1 1/2 inch format. So I would say that these cards are of a standard size though I doubt any card can be said to be "the" standard. Also, they are the same length as most business cards that I have, though shorter in height. So they would fit many trays designed to hold business cards. They fit well in my wallet. The Van Pelt cards are not the same length as a standard business card and the height is a little less than a business card, though greater than the Dillard cards. They would still fit a business card holder, however. And they fit in my wallet as well. But usually I keep both sets in their original boxes, so it does not matter to me anyway.

The Dillard cards a bit thinner than the Van Pelt but they are still nice and stiff and easy to turn.

I also like the calligraphy on the Dillard cards. It isn't the exact rigid perfection of cards made with a word processor but it is very well done. It is hardly "quick and dirty" as someone has commented. It is a very nice job. Reading Hebrew in slightly different fonts should be helpful in preparation for reading actual books and scrolls. Again, this is a small point. Both sets are readable, including the vowels.

Finally, I like the fact that Dillard has grouped together some words that share the same root or are grammatically related and placed them together on the same card. To me this is a great plus and it helps in understanding and learning. It also increases the number of actual words covered to 1200 rather than 1000. One reviewer did not like this because he points out that the related words listed on the card are smaller than the main word. This is true but I still find them readable. They are larger than the print in most newspapers and magazines. But if you need really big print you might have trouble with them.

Van Pelt cross-references his cards to a number of Hebrew reference works. That's a very good feature if you are using those books. The Dillard set comes with a small pamphlet listing the words plus some grammatical points.

Which set to buy? I've expressed my preference for Dillard. But if you are using one of the books cross referenced by Van Pelt, then that might be the better one. Or if you have an instructor, go with his or her recommendation. I think it matters more if you use them than which set you buy.

Great product - very professional, maybe the publisher update some things - the picture of the box that Amazon shows is outdated so this is possible. There is 1 review that thinks little of this product. Most everyone else agrees it's a good product - I concur. Go with the consensus and ignore the sole dissenter. I nearly didn't buy these cards because of that one review. I'm very happy I ignored it.
- Size - as someone else stated - there is no 'official card size'. These are slimmer than a business card yes (from top to bottom) , a little longer than a business card. They work well. Don't worry about it.
- Writing size - the 'featured word' is huge - even the cognates listed are much bigger than you will ever be actually reading it in a book/BHS - not a problem.
- quality of paper - fine!
- calligraphy - done well. There are some slight differences - as with any handwritten calligraphy - Nothing that even approaches any problems with readability - that is unless you have trouble reading Hebrew letters to begin with. These cards are quite clear.
- Use of cognates (words built from the base 'root' ie achal = eat, ochel = food). To complain about these extra words listed on the same card is to miss the point. General educational pedagogy will tell you that the power of association in learning makes this a great time saving strategy. This also gives you great insight into how Hebrew 'works'. I began to make my own cards purely for this purpose with root and cognates (if clear connection - sometimes care must be taken here) on the same card. This will help tremendously. Open up a comprehensive lexicon ie NIDOTTE and check it out - there is a good reason words are listed together, and easier than doing it yourself.

- The only possible draw back is that this pack covers words that occur only 25x or more in the Bible. Yet it's not practical really for any publisher to cover the 1x - 25x words in vocabulary cards, as those extra words account for several thousand extra words/cards that most would agree are best learnt as they are encountered, that is unless one has a photographic memory. Landes has an excellent book that covers words down to the 10x level for those wanting the extra info - similarly grouping roots with cognates.

- I also have a software vocab card system - iVocab put out by Kregel. good product, nice to hear words (American voice but as good as it gets without being Israeli) but my eyes have their limits staring at a computer screen. It's nice to listen to the audio in the car with English and Hebrew both spoken, but just as reading a book on a screen isn't my idea of fun, it's still nice to have some old fashioned cards to use.

Great product. Buy it.

This was one of the first Biblical Hebrew (BH) tools I ever bought many many years ago. And I still use them and would recommend them to anyone. I typically grab a stack, clip them together and put them in my pocket whenever I head out on a business trip. When I have a dull moment somewhere at the airport or on an airplane, I pull them out and flip through them.

CARD DESCRIPTION
The cards themselves are pretty small (1.5 x 3.5 inches or 38 x 89 mm), which is a size that works for me. I can tuck them away just about anywhere. At the same time, the Hebrew words are pretty large. But my version is old and come from the days before computerized printing so the Hebrew words are actually hand written, which does not bother me at all. All the letters are well written and I have no trouble reading any words whatsoever. The English translation of the word is on the back side, written upside down so you can just nicely turn the card over and see if you were right. I really like this. In a number of cases, there are also other cognates and derived forms listed, both in Hebrew and in English. This is also a nice feature, but it is somewhat randomly employed.

The cards are numbered on the front, the side with the word in Hebrew. There is a small booklet that comes with the cards and in it the words are listed both in Hebrew and in English with corresponding index number. So you can look up any word by a language and know what card it is on - if it is included. There are 1,000 cards altogether. The first 368 cards are verbs indexed according to frequency of occurrence in the Hebrew Bible (all verbs occurring from 5,000 times to at least 20 times). Cards 369 - 856 are nouns and adjectives also ordered in descending frequency of occurrence, also from 5,000 times down to 20 times. Cards 857 - 869 are independent pronouns. Cards 870 - 952 are adverbs, prepositions and particles. And cards 953 - 978 are pronominal suffixes on the noun. Then there are 22 blank cards you can use for whatever other words you like. While frequency of occurrence plays some role in ordering the cards, the actual frequency of occurrence is not written on the card.

COMPARISON WITH VAN PELT'S VERSION
There is another edition of BH vocabulary cards by Van Pelt. It costs a few more dollars, which is really inconsequential. The biggest difference is the size, Van Pelt's are bigger and some extra stuff Van Pelt has on his cards. On the front he also includes frequency of occurrence and reference to four BH textbooks. I personally don't care about frequencies, for if you really want to know BH well and ready the Hebrew Bible your vocabulary HAS TO be larger than any given set of vocabulary cards. Plus Dillard's cards are sort of indexed by frequency as well if you really care. The textbook reference in my opinion is only useful if you are actually taking the class and using one of the textbooks referenced - Van Pelt/Pratico, Futato, Seow or Ross. I reckon that once you're done with the semester and using the textbook, you probably won't ever care for that feature again. And once again, Dillard's cards come with an indexed booklet that lets you pick and order whatever cards you want without the added distraction on the front and regardless of what textbook you use. For me, the booklet is a handy thing and the size (the smaller the better) is definitely the most salient feature so I prefer this edition over Van Pelt's.

USE OTHER SENSES TO LEARN VOCABULARY
But, I also like to use other tools to build vocabulary. Specifically, I use these vocabulary cards as well as Pennington's CD with BH vocabulary, which I put on my MP3 player. I've found that the more ways and senses I employ in my study the better the results. So for me hearing, seeing, reading and voicing are all way to build and memorize and retain words in another language.

ABOVE ALL, DON'T WAIT TO START READING!!!
For me vocabulary cards are only one of a number of tools to build and retain my BH vocabulary. These ones certainly work for me. However, everyone learns differently so what works for one may not work for another. I personally find that actual reading of BH text is the best way to build my vocabulary because of the context in which the words occur. When I come across a new word in a passage I am more likely to remember it because I have something to associate it with, i.e. the rest of the sentence or the story line.

Whichever tool you use and whichever way works best for you to learn vocabulary is fine. But don't postpone reading the actual text until you think you know enough words. For that day may never come. Dive in, start reading and use other tools along the way. Don't do it the other way around. Don't let the text collect dust, that's the best recommendation I can give to anyone.

Well, I should say that when I opened the card box and looked at a few cards I was very suprised. And here's why.

These cards are printed on a cheap, thin paper that's just a little bit thicker than a normal printer paper. To top that, ALL the Hebrew letters are handwritten, and relatively sloppily at that!! And it's very far from handwritten Hebrew scroll quality, these are quick and dirty. How is that possible?!! Don't they have a word processor? As the result, the same letters in the same word look different from one another. The print is quite smudgy, the black ink in each letter has areas that are lighter or darker.

In addition, vowel signs are also handwritten - and again, the same vowels look different from one another. Even the letters baseline within the same word is crooked. It's very difficult for visual memorization when the same characters look that different.

Each card contains not just the word but other words that share the same root. These additional entries are even smaller than the main entry, and looking very non-uniform - they are quite difficult to process and memorize. Especially if you are a visual memorizer. Plus, the vowel signs are even smaller, and very non-uniform.

With paper being so thin, cards stick to one another, and it's a little difficult to peel the top one off to move to the next one. The size is also smaller than the usual business card-sized cards. The length is the same, but the height is about 2/3 of the standard. As the result, they fit too loosely in a standard container (if you want to take several at a time with you).

I can't believe that such a poor quality product can be sold at any bookstore.

Fortunately, Amazon carries Van Pelt's Biblical Hebrew cards - I just saw them at a store the other day, these are great - thick cards, nice black uniform print, standard size, keyed to 3 most popular grammars, and also arranged by order of frequency. I am getting Van Pelts cards ASAP, and will write a review once I use them for a few days.

I was expecting these cards to have the words translated at the back - they don't. If you can already read Hebrew do you need the cards? Ok, some might, but just know these cards don't have the words translated on the back.

On the plus side, looking up the words so as to write them on the back of each card along with the definitions is a good study exercise so I'm keeping them.

I am using these in my Hebrew class at seminary. The only thing I don't prefer is the font on the cards. Rather than a typed font, they appear to be handwritten but they are still easy to read. Plus, I didn't have to make the cards so I got over it pretty quickly.

(Original shipment lacked one part; seller quickly replaced with no complaint!)

I expect to have a fluent 600+ word vocabulary of biblical Hebrew by this time next year. Highly recommended if you would wish to have same!