Customer Reviews

A Practical Grammar for Classical Hebrew

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If you are serious about learning Biblical Hebrew, this book will give you a solid grammatical foundation on which to build in your further studies. Weingreen presents the mass of Hebrew grammar in an orderly, systematic fashion, starting with the simple patterns of nouns and pronominal suffixes and gradually moving through ever more complicated verb systems. Almost the entire second half of the book is devoted to irregular verbs. Although this section could have been briefer, its very fullness provides the student with repeated drill in paradigms and allows the author to introduce longer and longer sentences in the translation exercises. Because of this book's emphasis on grammatical forms, vocabulary content is limited, as is coverage of syntax. The student who completes Weingreen will not be ready to read the Hebrew Bible fluently but he or she will be prepared to approach it with the aid of reference materials.
Adult learners without a teacher may be able to get by provided they have a strong grasp of grammar. That's how I did it. To other independent learners, I would make the following recommendations. Learn Hebrew script (consult other grammars or search the Internet). Get hold of Gesenius as soon as you can, to answer any questions that may occur and to clear up any confusion you may have about forms. Weingreen occasionally slips an unexplained bit of syntax into the exercises and you'll want Gesenius to make sure you are translating it correctly. Also, have a copy of the Hebrew text close by. You can use it for practice in sight reading and for comparing sentences in the exercises with the actual narrative. Next, get a Hebrew lexicon (like Brown-Driver-Briggs)--you'll need it sooner or later. Finally, don't give up! Try to do a little everyday, don't rush, and review frequently. Eventually everything will click and you'll find yourself actually looking forward to tackling things like "doubly weak" verbs.

weingreen's book is great, because it does not overload you with vocabulary and gives a good collection of verb charts. Some may say that there is extra info in the book, but you know you don't have to read the entire book to get the idea of it.

The verb charts are great because although many of the forms are predictable (many of the piel, pual, and hithpael forms are almost entirely alike), he still gives full charts. The weak verbs section is yet another of these. Where he could have just said that certain letters take certain vowel points, and essentially condensed the 2nd half of his book into 4-5 pages, he gives great charts that show all of it in action.

this book is really better than kitel's Yale Univ Press Hebrew book because the indexing and layout of the book is easier to understand. This is just another older book (like J. Gresham Machen's Greek grammar) that is a classic in its field.

Weingreen's grammar has been an invaluable textbook to several generations of Hebrew students. It is still sometimes used at seminaries, though it has for the most part been replaced by newer grammars.

This grammar is very good if you have the stomach for its method. This definitely comes from an old-school grammarian who has you memorizing a good number of paradigms. It is very thorough, which is something that many grammars lack. It must be said though that due its age, this primer has a greatly differing methodology than most people today are used to.

I would suggest that unless you believe in the 'good old days' of education that you try a different grammar, such as Gary Pratico's 'The Basics of Biblical Hebrew'. On the other hand if you learned Greek from J. Gresham Machen's 'New Testament Greek for Beginners' and liked it, this is the grammar for you.

At last I have found a solid book! This is the way I want to learn Hebrew. It methodically introduces each key concept in small paragraphs and then reinforces the concepts using English to Hebrew and Hebrew to English exercises. I am able to remember and understand much better. Even Menachem Mansoor in his "Biblical Hebrew step-by-step" has heartily recommended the study of this book and now I can appreciate why.

I love this book and have had a good amount of success with it. I think that if you already have a little experience learning languages and are dedicated enough to study with this book every day, Weingreen will give you a solid foundation in Biblical Hebrew. It might seem at first that the lessons are short, but every comment the author makes on each topic is meaningful... there is no filler in this book. I am halfway through the book, and work all the lessons after studying each topic. It would be nice to have answers for the lessons, but they are not included, so it is necessary to have someone knowledgeable who can answer any questions you have and maybe check your work. If you are the kind of person who likes to learn quickly and doesn't need a lot of hand-holding as far as linguistic terms, this book would be good for you.

This is a well put together book. Weingren steps you through the Hebrew language very nicely. This is my college text book and it's a great asset to the class. Sometimes he gives you even a little more than you need to know, but over all a great book.

I have studied and taught from a number of texts, and today, with a wide range of choices, Weingreen's book falls into a special category. It is not suitable for a casual class of adults who don't have time for extensive homework. It is not suitable for the independent learner with little language background. It is eminently suitable for the serious, dedicated learner, who wishes to master the nuances and fine points of the language, and become thoroughly prepared for advanced study. I have referred to this book as "hard core" and indeed it is. And that can be a very good thing.

Topic coverage is very thorough in terms of scope, yet fairly spare in words; every word counts and the lessons must be studied very, very carefully. Exercises are limited to Hebrew-to-English and English-to-Hebrew translation; there are no pure drills or other variety. The lack of rote drill will be a problem if you don't pay close attention to detail. I suggest that you do every exercise (yes, it's a lot of work, which is well rewarded). Write out the Hebrew in the Hebrew-to-English exercises; this is an essential step to imprinting the details of the language--- and pay attention to everything: every accent mark, every vowel change, every word variation. Then do the English-to-Hebrew exercises, which, for most of us, will not be easy. You can find answers on-line. Check your work very carefully and make sure you understand each little thing that you may have gotten wrong. Extensive English-to-Hebrew work is avoided by many modern Biblical Hebrew texts because it is, frankly, pretty hard and requires real determination. But there is nothing else so good for getting a deep and firm grasp on the language.

If you do all of the above, working a minimum of a solid five hours a week, you will complete the book in around 10 months, and you will be very well prepared to move on to more advanced reading or composition.

Gesenius-Kautzsch-Cowley is an often recommended reference grammar, which fills in even more detail (especially about syntax). It is also spare and a little hard to work with; the much more "verbal" Waltke and O'Connor is a possible alternative. You should have one of these at your side and have the patience to clarify points that are not completely clear.

Obviously what I have suggested is for the very serious student, and that is the audience which I believe will find Weingreen to be the right book for them. I also believe it is suitable for someone who has already completed a less rigorous or more modern basic text and wants either reinforcement, enrichment, or thorough review.

Now, for alternatives: the "typical" adult class, with its highly mixed levels of both skill and dedication, is better off with a book such as the EKS Biblical Hebrew Primer, or possibly Hoffer-Kittel-Wright (both of these have books of readings for further study as well). The EKS book has long been my first choice for teaching, but not necessarily for independent study.

Summary: Weingreen is a good choice for a homogeneously highly skilled and motivated adult class, or for an independent learner with good language skills and the dedication and desire to work hard enough to acquire deep and detailed knowledge. Others with less available study time or less of a background in language learning (and this is not a value judgment by any means) are better off with a more modern, less academic text.

We have used many books over the years in our Hebrew for Torah group. We don't use this to teach the letters, but when people can read the Torah in Hebrew, althou the pronouciation is Ancient and we use Synagogue pronouciation it is still the best to teach with and get to grips with the grammer.

Weingreen's grammar is a solid resource for the study of Biblical Hebrew (BH). It has pretty good coverage of grammatical principles and would give anyone a solid foundation in the subject. Weingreen's summary tables of verbal paradigms are great and pretty thorough. It also has exercises for each lesson, however at least in my edition, 1939, there is no answer key provided. This may pose some issue for self-learners. What it does not have is a thorough coverage of syntax, with the exception of a few basic principles.

While I'd say that any serious student should have Weingreen's book on his or her shelf, I'd say that it wouldn't be my top pick for either a textbook or a reference grammar. It's isn't necessarily intended to be both, but it's a solid reference grammar that can also be used as textbook. In fact in the past, it has served this purpose to a generation of students of BH.

Instead, for a reference grammar, I'd first recommend Jouon-Muraoka or Waltke & O'Connor. For a beginning textbook, I'd first recommend either Lambdin, Ross or Seow. You may want to check my guide to "Learning Biblical Hebrew" for more resources. http://www.amazon.com/gp/richpub/syltguides/fullview/R21SD94JDGQWMU/ref=cm_pdp_sylt_title_1

Having been through the Grammar several times. I thought I had covered everything...a couple of months later I re-revised it and found more to this handy grammar than meets the eye. It covers the major concepts cearly, although the exercises were somewhat long, and did not treat all the forms mentioned in the particular area. An excellent companion is Gesenius's Companion which provides background and more information. In this respect I still use the Grammar - the tables are excellent, although I would have preferred the parts that are given '&c.' (etc.) to be completed, for confirmation. I would have liked the answers to the exercises to confirm my translations. All in all a great book, although the logic of chapters tends to be disjointed - The regular verb is treated earlier but Numerals are lumped at the end...