Customer Reviews

Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament, The

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As a Jew who is happy to be Jewish -- not a Messianic Jew -- I think that this is a terrific book. I am a graduate of the Baltimore Hebrew College High School department, studied at the Hebrew University for college third year in Jerusalem and speak Hebrew fluently.

This interlinear OT is great for anyone who wants to learn Hebrew or brush up on Hebrew. As with the Zondervan Interlinear NT by Berry, the print is very clear. Unfortunately, there is no Hebrew dictionary at the end of the OT as there is a Greek one at the end of the Interlinear NT. It would be more convenient to have a Hebrew dictionary at the end to obviate the need for a separate dictionary by the side. Of course, this interlinear OT is so large, adding a dictionary might not be practical.

The only objection I have is one that Kohlenberger has himself alluded to in his introduction. That is, the interlinear translation of the Hebrew word "almah" as "virgin" instead of "young girl." As Kohlenberger says, it should be "young girl" just as YHWH should be "God" and not "Jehovah." This will collide with Christian theology and I understand that Zondervan is a Christian publishing company. However, even Kohlenberger says that it should be translated "young girl." This is simply a fact.

I want to congratulate Zondervan on a great product. I must say however that the publisher's description is confusing. Zondervan states that "specific" words are translated in the interlinear format. As the 2 excellent reviews above indicate, every word is given the interlinear treatment. I do not understand why Zondervan does not make this clear in their promotional material.

One final word. I live in the Jewish community of Baltimore. I checked with 3 different Hebrew book stores in town. Apparently there are no equivalents from Hebrew publishing companies to the interlinear format. In fact, no one in any of these stores knew what I was talking about.

Maybe one day Soncino Press and other Jewish publishing companies will catch up to Zondervan. Three cheers for a job well done.

Shalom.

It is very easy to find good Greek Interlinears but a good Hebrew interlinear is nearly non-existent. I was a little nervous about buying it because the description did not clearly state whether the Hebrew text was written from right to left as is it is supposed to be. Thankfully, it is!!! The English "letters" are below the Hebrew and are in left to right order as we read in English, but the English "words" follow the Hebrew text which is right to left. This is what a true intelinear is supposed to be!

Seminary students know that their classroom knowledge of the biblical languages (Hebrew/Greek) is probably the first thing to disappear from their minds after seminary. And no doubt, the Hebrew language will disappear sooner than the Greek because most seminary students do refer to their Greek more often than Hebrew after seminary graduation.

Fortunately, Kohlenberger's Interlinear Old Testament is handy (in one volume), complete (has all 39 books of the OT), and is readable (has larger print than most), and this Interlinear Old Testament should be on the shelf of serious students who know Hebrew or who have previously studied Hebrew. No other volume in print has all the above features of the complete Hebrew text along with a word for word English translation underneath each Hebrew word in the Old Testament text. This volume will save one a lot of time in looking up the underlying Hebrew meaning behind an English translation.

So if one is going to continue on with their Hebrew in the ministry after seminary, this book is the way to go. One will find this volume very useful and efficient in helping to accurately pinpoint the underlying Hebrew of an English translation of the Old Testament.

I love my Hebrew English Interlinear. First, I've learned somany Hebrew words this way. It's such an enjoyable way to read theBible.. and my vocabulary grows each time.

Second, I love the way that Hebrew sounds and how passionate a language it is. In English, when Moses is praying for Miriam, it reads, "Heal her, O God." But in Hebrew, the text says, "O God! Heal now to her!" The text is more immediate, more emotional.

Third, I love being able to read the Bible in the original language as a layperson for myself. Now when people say, "Well, in the original language it doesn't really say that!" I can look it up and see, yes, it does say "ben" or "son" in Psalm 2, etc.

The Hebrew is on top in nice large letters; the English is underneath word for word... and the NIV text is along the side.

It's heavy... (kvod...weighty/full of glory)... and worth every shekel. :)

For me, reading this Bible is a closer way of listening to God face to face...like Moses experienced in Exodus 33... an intimate way of listening to God, my joy and my delight.

This is the only interlinear Hebrew-English Bible I have seen. As to layout and clarity of printing it is very good. However, and this is a big however, the "literal" translation is often not that literal or consistent, even in small matters. Frequently it seems geared primarily to justifying theological or stylistic decisions of the NIV translators. Why not just make an honest, literal, consistent interlinear, and let readers exercise their minds?

I own three interlinear bibles. This one is of the highest quality in type-set in both English and Hebrew. It rivals that of the JPS Tanakh (not an interliner). The NIV is not my favorite translation but this is fine. New to Hebrew my Hebrew is weak but I have grown used to reading right-to-left in Hebrew. The only thing the frustrates about this book is that the interlinear English reads left-to-right. This might be a fault in my own mind as this is considered a feature in this book's preface. All is well though. This delema reminds me to memorize meanings but I don't take this book's meaning as stone as it is this translators' of the NIV meaning I am reading in English.

It would be a big help to get a copy of the Basics of Biblical Hebrew and a copy of The Complete Word Study Dictionary Old Testament if you are going to dive in head first like I have. A copy of the Jewish Publication Society's Hebrew-English Tanakh (not interlinear) is a helpful companion as you dig through the OT scriptures. It's like a Jewish buddy by your side. Was it Elohim's Spirit or His wind that hovered over the waters? Is the word for God plural in the Tanakh as it is in this book? These were some of the first things I looked at in the books I have mentioned.

By the way, this book contains that entire old testament the Law, the History, the Poetry and the Prophecies. The book is thick (two and three quearter inches). The pages are "bible thin" and white as snow but you can see through them (I don't mind this). The type, as I mentioned, is very clear (you can see the vowels/pointing just fine).

PS:
I would have preferred NASB or HCSB but I'm still glad I bought it.

I bought first 'The Interlinear Bible Hewbrew-Greek-English' by Green, but the print was too small and it was difficult to discern the vowels, so I had to try KOhlenberger instead. The print is clear and readable, especially with a looking-glass, so I am satisfied. Having used the book for a while, while learning Hebrew, I cannot see any deficiences, except maybe that the interlinear portion seems to be influenced by the margin translation, so that I cannot be sure that the translation under the word is the most literal.

For instance in the margin: 'These are the names of the sons of Israel who entered Egypt with Jacob, each with his family...'

In the text 'ish' = 'each'; 'uveto' = with family of him.
This is helpful, but as a student of the language I would have preferred the most literal translation.

Otherwise I am satisfied.

I was thrilled that finally an Old Testament Interlinear was readily available for purchase on the mass market and bought this huge edition impetuously without researching the matter much; big mistake. Someone else who reviewed this article before basically hit the nail on the head: the interpreter clearly states in the intro. that his main intent is to copy the NIV in interpreting for the most part. So basically all you're buying is a 60-80 dollar expanded version of the NIV O.T., which is of course one of the most inacurate Bibles on the Market. Admittedly, the one purpose of this book is if one wanted to look up a word from the Hebrew text, the fact that an english interpretation is presented underneath is handy for that purpose. The problem with this facet of using it is that there is no Strong's Numbering anywhere, so for beginners in Hebrew who know not root words, it will be a long go in the BDB or in any other lexicon in locating any definition. The point is, I don't think this publication was so well thought out as to its usefulness as it truly has no great purpose, and I would recommend Jay Green's Interlinear O.T. years before this one, even though it's not perfect, of course it destroys the NIV for accuracy and it has the Strong's Numbering. Thank you for your time:o)

This is the second copy of the Interlinear NIV Hebrew-English Old Testament I buy, and I have read it thoroughly twice. I try to read the original Hebrew first, and as I find an unknown word, I read the English word.
There are some caveats to this approach, though. The NIV is not a literal version, and so, more often than not, you will find under the Hebrew word the English word the NIV translators chose to put in the English version. For example, you may find the word Elohim translated as "He", for stylistic reasons. For the same reason, you may encounter the consecutive "vav" (and) translated as "but" or "however".
I don't see this as a fault, but as a challenge.
The Jay P. Green's The Interlinear Bible: Hebrew-Greek-English is so poorly printed, I don't advise anyone to purchase it. Even with magnifying glassed you will have a hard time reading it, because the characters are not just too tiny, they are deformed. On the bright side, the Green's Interlinear is literally translated, which might be a plus to some students.
I include myself among those who frown upon the NIV's choice of translation in many verses. But understanding their mindset, and not agreeing with it, I choose Kohlenber III's Interlinear over Green's because of its overall quality, the stylistic beauty not beeing the least.
For those who wish to have a better grasp of the bible Hebrew, this book is a must. Consider it a bicycle with side wheels. As soon as you learn a Hebrew word, its English equivalent will not be necessary any more. In no time soon, you will be reading more Hebrew than English.

I had Jay Green's Interlinear and got rid of it. It was sloppily done and the characters were light and hard to read and the vowel points were hard to make out.
This one by Kohlenberger is outstanding! Bold print and spaced well. Easier to read. It is not in the Hebrew order which I would have liked but that's okay. The verses run to together so you have to carefully look for the verse number in parentheses. I would have preferred verses not running together but separated line by line but overall it is a vast improvement over what is out there. I highly recommend this Hebrew English Interlinear for any serious student of the original Hebrew OT.