Customer Reviews

Complete set of Hebrew-English-Hebrew Dictionary (5 Volumes)

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

 

 

THE definitive Heb.-Eng./Eng.-Heb. dictionary. It's a little too bulky for constant reference, but when you "gotta' have that word", it's the place to look. Note that it uses the "defective" (short) spellings for all entries - i.e., no added verbal "yud"s" or "vov"s. This may take a little getting used to if you're looking up words from something written with the "full" ("plene") spellings, as most contemporary material is, and means you may have to look for two possible different spellings before you find the word you want. P.S. I've found Shimon Zilberman's Eng.-Heb./Heb.-Eng. dictionary to be the best practical pocket-sized volume to have at my side, say, when I'm reading something and know I'll have a lot of common, ordinary words to look up.

To those in America, this set of volumes is the most complete they will ever run across. The dictionary is well organized and has every word you will ever need. I did not give it 5 stars because I felt more effort could have been made to provide example sentences in order to get meaning from context. It is otherwise flawless.

I own a three-volume version of this five-volume set, and swear by it. It was a considerable outlay of cash when I was a beginner, but I have never regretted it for a moment. It is the best all-round Hebrew - English dictionary available; if you will be using Modern, Biblical, and Rabbinic Hebrew, there is no single dictionary that is any better.

For Biblical Hebrew, the Brown-Driver-Briggs ("BDB") is better. For Rabbinic, the Jastrow dictionary is indispensable. Occasionally I have found words in Alcalay that I could not find in Jastrow; Alcalay's arrangement of words is more regular. For a pocket dictionary, I agree with the reviewer who recommended Zilberman; I've personally worn out two paperback copies.

The large Alcalay is not portable, and it has a significant "footprint" on my desktop. It is worth every square inch.

This set of dictionaries is truly impressive and a good price for so many books/ much information.

I have a set that is well used, and is also a collectors item. The darned thing came with a duplicate choir inserted after the 1957 page number, and is missing the choir that should have been there. Still it has been invaluable in modern Hebrew, and in Biblical Hebrew studies.