Learn to Read Biblical Hebrew: A Guide To Learning The Hebrew Alphabet, Vocabulary And Sentence Structure Of The Hebrew Bible [Paperback]

Jeff A. Benner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 3, 2004 | ISBN-10: 1589395840 | ISBN-13: 978-1589395848 | Edition: Bilingual

Anyone interested in learning to read the Hebrew Bible in its original language will find within the pages of this book all the resources needed to begin this wonderful journey. The book is laid out in four parts. The first part teaches the Hebrew alphabet through a series of lessons. The second part teaches word and sentence structure of the Hebrew language by breaking down each Hebrew word in Genesis chapter one, verses one through five. The Hebrew text of Genesis chapter one is provided for reading and comprehension practices in part three. The fourth part of the book contains charts and dictionaries of prefixes, suffixes, words and roots of the Hebrew language to assist the reader with vocabulary definitions and comprehension. Within a short amount of time the Hebrew student will soon be reading the Bible through the eyes of the author rather than the opinions of a translator.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Everything the beginning student of Hebrew needs to begin reading the Bible in its original language, from learning the Hebrew alphabet to word and sentence structure.

From the Author

When I began learning Hebrew about ten years ago I kept a notebook of words, roots, charts of prefixes and suffixes to make the studying easier. This gave me, at my fingertips, all of the material gathered from various sources in one easy to use location. This instructional book is the result of that notebook. I hope that you find it as useful as I did. Jeff A. Benner

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Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Virtualbookworm.com Publishing; Bilingual edition (May 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589395840
• ISBN-13: 978-1589395848
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #81,545 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Hebrew > Instruction

More About the Author

Mr. Benner, founder of the Ancient Hebrew Research Center (www.ancient-hebrew.org) and the Mechanical Translation of the Hebrew Bible Project (www.mechanical-translation.org), has authored many books on the subject of the Ancient Hebrew alphabet, language and culture and speaks around the country on this same subject. Mr. Benner's goal is to teach proper Biblical interpretation by providing others with the tools needed to read and understand the Bible from its original Hebraic context.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant but beware of errors, January 9, 2008

By 

L. St Louis - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Learn to Read Biblical Hebrew: A Guide To Learning The Hebrew Alphabet, Vocabulary And Sentence Structure Of The Hebrew Bible (Paperback)

I am using this book as part of my Biblical Hebrew lessons but find that the author has been careless both in his English and Hebrew. The book needs a proofreader as there are missing vowels, misplaced vowels, a discussion of an alphabet letter which depicts the wrong letter and spelling mistakes in the English. The book is generally helpful, but it is unacceptable to have so many errors in a textbook. As a professor of Latin and Greek I can attest to the fact that some of the explanations of grammatical concepts are not correct. The transliteration also has some mistakes and should be used with caution.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply, the easiest., July 17, 2006

By 

Mommy Logan (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learn to Read Biblical Hebrew: A Guide To Learning The Hebrew Alphabet, Vocabulary And Sentence Structure Of The Hebrew Bible (Paperback)

I thought learning Hebrew was going to be difficult, not only for me but my children I was trying to teach.(ages 4-10) I was wrong this book made it sooooo simple and fast. Easy to understand. No, research needed or alot of searching for what you need in this book. Very well laid out. When you are done with one day you simply turn the page, you have review of the previous page and the new letters and sounds. You do not need another book to learn the letters and sounds and vowel points.
Highly recommended.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Strong book for familiarizing yourself with the Hebrew Alphabet, October 27, 2006

By 

Luke Michaels (Columbia, SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learn to Read Biblical Hebrew: A Guide To Learning The Hebrew Alphabet, Vocabulary And Sentence Structure Of The Hebrew Bible (Paperback)

This book is extremely helpful in getting to know the Hebrew alphabet and pronunciation. The phonetic exercises are very good, and I find myself being reminded of Hebrew words just from hearing similar sounds.

The downside is that this book is in no way extensive. Unless you would really enjoy reading the dictionary in the back, there are only about 4-7 examples to help build vocabulary in each chapter, along with the entire chapter of Genesis 1:1.

Learning Hebrew is for the patient. I was hoping for vocabulary building exercises similar to those when I learned the Romance Languages: I am running. I ran. You are running. I sent a letter, etc. I would rather have those simple sentences and THEN approach Genesis, rather than building my vocabulary straight from its verses. One can't be expected to learn Italian by diving straight into Dante, but that's analogous to what this book does.