Customer Reviews

Pocket Dictionary for the Study of Biblical Hebrew

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

 

 

This book is a gem, and one I would recommend for all levels of readers of biblical Hebrew. Virtually every term utilized in teaching and learning Biblical Hebrew goes by various names, most of which don't make sense until explained to us in a concise way. This little pocket dictionary does just that; it clarifies many of the synonyms employed in teaching and learning the terminology of Biblical Hebrew. The definitions are erudite, up-to-date, and easily navigable. The dictionary also contains terms employed by text-level critics of the Hebrew OT. I recommend it to all students of the Hebrew OT.

This book is a nice addition to the body of tools for BH and biblical/textual criticism. It is a dictionary of TERMS, not a dictionary of Hebrew words as another reviewer pointed out. It defines over 2,000 terms dealing with the grammar, syntax, linguistics, textual criticism and OT criticism -- as they relate to Biblical Hebrew, very handy. To my knowledge, there isn't anything like this on the market and it definitely fills the void. Given the price, you can't go wrong with this book. I would recommend this to the beginners and advanced students alike.

There are things that would like to see changed in future editions of the book -- I do hope that they are forthcoming. Here are some specific examples of suggestions that I believe would further enhance the value of the book:

1. There are terms that could use examples. For example, the term "oath formula" has a brief discussion of the term and a reference to Jouon's book, but no example. The same goes for prophetic perfect and other terms, which would deserve an example. There are other terms that list examples, but it would be nice to have them all covered even briefly. Another simple example is "kaph veritatis", which does not provide any example of what this means, it just says "The kaph preposition when it is employed pleonastically." Obviously, I'm not referring to an exhaustive list of examples, just a one or two per term would do for an illustration. It's a matter of consistency of the use of examples.

2. Inconsistency of inclusion/exclusion of terms. For example "tD stem" and "G stem" are defined terms, but not "N", "H", etc. stems using the same nomenclature. Instead, it's a mix and match. It would be helpful to list them and discuss different nomenclatures under either "stem" and "verbal stem", which are defined terms but with little detail. Similarly, "Midrash" and "Pesher" are defined separately, but biblical interpretation as a discipline encompassing them and other methods is not. Another example is the inclusion of Qoheleth, but the omission of Threni or Canticum....

3. I'd like to see indexes at the end of the book. Since the book claims to cover the fields/topics of "grammar, syntax, linguistics, textual criticism and OT criticism", it would be nice to have lists of terms with page references for each topic, i.e. all the technical terms pertaining to textual criticism, etc. at the back of the book.

First, a word of caution: This is NOT a Hebrew dictionary. I ordered it thinking that it was a dictionary of Biblical Hebrew words; but that's not what it is. It is actually a dictionary of terminology used in the study of Biblical Hebrew. In other words, it is a dictionary of technical terms from the fields of linguistics, textual criticism, and exegesical method. Fortunately, this dictionary makes a useful addition to the linguistics section of my library. I've only glanced through it a few times; but it appears to be a good reference work for students of linguistics and textual criticism. But it's not what I was looking for when I bought it. If you're looking for a Hebrew dictionary, look elsewhere.

I own the IVP Pocket Dictionary of Biblical Studies, but when I started studying Hebrew, I kept running into lots of technical terms (grammatical, literary, masoretic, etc.) that aren't in that resource. But here they are!

Compact and concise ... I take it with me as I study away from home.

This book is a life saver! While a simple vocab dictionary is easy to come by via the internet, this book defines over 2,000 Biblical Hebrew _terms_ that can and will trip up your study. Being able to quickly recall what a bound morpheme was, or a triptote, is priceless. Highly recommended for any Biblical Hebrew student!

I was very disappointed when this book arrived I thought it was a Biblical dictionary,

but it was anything but that. It seemed to a grammar dictionary. Thus far its collecting

dust on my bookshelf. I wish I'd sent it back. I feel like I lost money

when I purchased this book.

This book should not be titled dictionary for it is not. It is misleading and I am disappointed. I would ask for my money back if it was possible.