Customer Reviews

Handbook of Biblical Hebrew: An Inductive Approach Based on the Hebrew Text of Esther

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

 

 

This book claims to teach Biblical Hebrew, from the ground up, by a morpheme-by-morpheme analysis of the unadulterated text of Esther. The author says that this approach is based on his successful classroom routine and I don't presume to doubt him there. I will say, though, that it was hard for me to imagine how students working on their own would learn much Hebrew from this course. That being said, I found this book an outstanding resource for those deepening their knowledge of Biblical Hebrew after using other resources such as Weingreen or Lambdin. And, I should add, after they've worked through some earlier texts such as the Pentateuch, Joshua, and Samuel.
This is a late work in Biblical Hebrew terms, and the language is quite different from that found in other prose sections of the Tanach. So, for that reason as well, beginning students of the language may want to acquire their basic knowledge elsewhere. When they have done so, I recommend this work highly, as it affords solitary learners assistance in understanding this extraordinary text that they could not get elsewhere, rather like having a teacher on hand.