Customer Reviews

Hebrew/English Dictionary

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This English-Hebrew/Hebrew-English dictionary has over 30,000 entries, but does not cover commonly used idioms.

This version of Ben-Yehuda's dictionary seems to have been printed using technology from the 1940s.

The paper is an acidic newsprint type paper. Just sitting on my shelf, the acid from the paper has burned into the cardstock cover, leaving yellowish brown stains.

The printed ink is not even a true black... but rather a faded dark grey that looks like a photocopy of a photocopy.

Because there are no crisp edges of the printed characters, it is difficult to tell a Hebrew "pe" from a "phe" and distinguishing a "gimel" from a "nun" is almost impossible. The differences in these characters are subtle in the printed form and having obscure/fuzzy printing makes it that much more troublesome to read.

Reading the English text is not problematic, mostly due to the thin, serif font used for the English. The thick calligraphic style of the Hebrew, however, leaves no room for error.

My buying advice is to instead get the "Shimon Zilberman Compact Up-To-Date English-Hebrew/Hebrew-English Dictionary" (ISBN: 9652227781) which is also available here at Amazon.com. There is simply no comparison.

This dictionary has many useful features for an advanced beginner to advanced student of modern Hebrew. Learn the alefbet first. The section of commonly used initials as well as the verb and number tables may take a little study, but once understood, they can be very helpful. I've used this dictionary for more than 15 years and found that most words I needed were there somewhere. As with many other foreign language dictionaries, I need to cross reference often. The book holds together well enough, but covering it with plastic will help it last longer. My copy is nearly 20 years old and still has all its pages.

I've had this dictionary around for many years (the binding has held up fine), and it's useful enough when you need to look up a word quickly, or if you know the word but aren't sure how it's spelled. However, if you are not already pretty good at Hebrew grammar (you don't need a rabbi, as another poster mentioned, but a good teacher or a good book/tape combo will be crucial), you won't be able to find words in the dictionary, because of the way Hebrew grammar changes the way things look. Also, the dictionary does not give any clue as to which of several possible meanings a word might have, if there is ambiguity in either language (a frequent occurrence). I am studying right now with several Israeli teachers, and they often tell me that the word I have found in the dictionary is "Shabbat language" -- in a word, archaic. The grammar and verb tables in the back are almost completely useless even *after* having studied those topics.
Instead of this book, get Edna Lauden's Rav-Milon (Multi-Dictionary), which has much more useful information, including usage, explanations of meanings, example sentences, and the like. It's more expensive, and you still need to know at least a little grammar to make use of it (as you would with *any* Hebrew dictionary), but it's far more useful than this one -- I have a lot more confidence that I'm not saying silly things by accident. ... check with your local Jewish book store.

A knowledge of the Hebrew alphabet is about all a person needs with this dictionary. Probably one is better served by knowing more Hebrew with this dictionary. It is a dictionary on Modern Hebrew, and as such is not of as much use as a dictionary on Biblical Hebrew for me. I still like using it because it help explains those many terms that I don't know and are not "Biblical Hebrew." I have used Brown, Drivers, and Briggs' and it is over my head as are the new volumes of the Dictionary of Classical Hebrew from Sheffield (the first 4 volumes (of 8) are available.) The lexicographical theory in this dictionary is the one I am most comfortable with of the three.

I have the paperback version and think it is a good dictionary.

marcbauer@yahoo.com

This was the very first Hebrew/English dictionary I ever purchased. I found it in my university's bookstore, and I needed one, so why not?

I can't recommend it to other people, however, for the following reasons:

Cons

1) the type is tiny, faint, and at times unreadeable. The paper it's printed on is cheap, rips far more easily than other books, and has started to "bleed" even though I've only had this book for about two years now.

2) Lack of entries. Simply put, I've looked up words that aren't even listed here. It's not comprehensive enough and doesn't even list things like medical terms, slang, or other modernities. I get the feeling that this dictionary hasn't been updated since Ben Yehuda first put it together decades ago.

3) Lack of explanation with its entries. It can be very confusing when you look up an English word and are greeted with five or six Hebrew words, with no explanation on the usage of any of them. I've been corrected by professors who say I used the wrong word, even though its meaning was similar to what I wanted.

Pros

1) Words use the pointing system, a boon for beginners (a moot matter, in my opinion, as the tiny font may drive beginners crazy anyway)

2) There are grammar explanations in sections at the front and back of the dictionary. They are not, however, very comprehensive, just a decent intro.

All told, I would recommend Oxford's English-Hebrew dictionary instead (in particular, the font in that one is much bigger and explanations are given). I am currently trying to find an excellent bilingual dictionary.

My recommendation for beginners is to get a bilingual one, as a reference book that only goes one way isn't going to help you as much as a bilingual one will.

I purchased this dictionary as I was looking for one with great insight into the hebrew language and the facets of various hebrew concepts. It is not lacking in this area, but my main problem with it is that the hebrew type is so small that sometimes a 'pe' (modified form of 'fe') appears as a large blot because of the dagesh in the center. Bad print. Also, the same night I finally got this book, a page came loose even with very careful handling. It is not placed together good at all, yet Ben-Yehuda's work does not fail. If it were manufactured with more care, I would have given it a 5.

This dictionary has been around for decades. It has been used extensively at school and home - it is far from the ultimate reference - but it is ideal for learning and reference. It is not a beginner's book - but one that beginner's often use ... and at the price, it is one of the best values for a Hebrew-Enlish-Hebrew dictionary.

At the very beginning I must say that my eyesight is not perfect. So this review is from a person with a slight visual disability.

I have to say that the content of this dictionary is fairly useful, except for some of the introductory grammar notes and verb tables. If you are a beginner in hebrew, you don't want to learn from this book, and you will be a little unconfortable browsing for the hebrew word you need.

Now, I must mention the print quality, which, in the reprint/edition that I bought in 2002, is very bad. The nikkud (the dots that indicate the vowels) are mostly readable, but often it's difficult to tell a gimmel from a vav or a nun, a pei from a fei etc. This might represent a severe problem with some readers like myself, and after a while you might end up with a headache and will tire quickly.

You can offset this disadvantage if you know really well the order of the letters in the aleph-beit, so you can easily guess the letter if you can't see it very well (unfortunately, this trick won't help you to tell a pei from a fei, as they are at the same ordinal place).

The best characteristic of this dictionary is probably it's ubiquitousness: you could easily tell your teacher that you didn't understand "the word on page 185, top left, in the Ben-Yahuda". The low price may be of some limited significance, too, but I think the most important factor when deciding whether to buy it or not, should be your eyes.

Ben Yehuda's Dictionary was one of the first I used, and was a good starter for Biblical and Mishnaic/Rabbinic Hebrew - and covers these aspects rather well.

The Reuben Alcalay Complete Dictionary supplanted this one completely however, and you'll see why. 30 000 entries is not good enough anymore. Modern Hebrew has many many new words, that are used and it can't be that a dictionary published in the 1960s can match that with out revision.

The dictionary itself is difficult to read, especially the vowel-pointers. If you do want to buy this dictionary it will help but you may wish to try: "The New Dictionary" by Lazar which I found far more useful and up-to-date.

I First bought the book in 1961 when the plates were brand new. At that time it was a 5 star, and well made . Over the years I had to buy several replacements and slowly the plates have become nearly illegable. Also the last version I bought was only a few months ago and it has already started to fall apart due to a drop in manufacturing quality apparantly. I had hoped that new plates would be done and perhaps a better binding. However since I see similar recent complaints I gather this has not yet come to pass.