A Workbook for Intermediate Hebrew: Grammar, Exegesis, and Commentary on Jonah and Ruth [Paperback]

Robert B. Chisholm (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 17, 2006

Designed to engage the Hebrew text and reinforce patterns and principles of Hebrew grammar and syntax, this resource expertly guides intermediate Hebrew students. Answers to all questions are provided, and both a useful parsing guide and glossary are also included.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Â"A much-needed tool, this workbook is a welcome addition.Â" -- Allen P. Ross, author of Introducing Biblical Hebrew

Â"Students will now be much further down the path of being competent readers and interpreters of the Hebrew Bible.Â" -- Mark D. Futato, author of Beginning Biblical Hebrew

From the Back Cover

Designed to engage the Hebrew text and reinforce patterns and principles of grammar and syntax learned in beginning Hebrew, A Workbook for Intermediate Hebrew is the first of its kind. Both instructors and intermediate students will appreciate its step-by-step, interactive approach to the books of Jonah and Ruth.

Features include:

• Well-crafted questions related to morphology and syntax. All answers are provided in a helpful “Teacher’s Guide” section.
• In-text and footnote references allow this text to be used in conjunction with most beginning Hebrew grammars.
• Technical notes on problematic and/or rare forms and constructions.
• Interpretive notes remind the student that the overall goal of analysis is interpretation.
• A useful parsing guide (presented in eleven charts) that enables students to parse most verbal forms.
• Glossaries for both Jonah and Ruth are keyed to lexicons so students can easily access a more thorough discussion of any given word.
• Numerous footnote references to advanced grammars, standard lexicons, critical commentaries, and various Bible translations.

“After studying the Hebrew text of Jonah and Ruth with the aid of this workbook, students will be much further down the path of being competent readers and interpreters of the Hebrew Bible.”

—Mark D. Futato
Professor of Old Testament and Academic Dean,
Reformed Theological Seminary
Author, Beginning Biblical Hebrew

“A much-needed tool for the study of morphology, grammar and syntax in biblical exegesis, this workbook is a welcome addition for teaching intermediate Hebrew. It is also a great resource for any who wish to review Hebrew grammar and syntax on their own as they study the texts of Jonah and Ruth.”

—Allen P. Ross
Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School
Author, Introducing Biblical Hebrew

“This book provides the perfect next step, showing students how to use their skills in very practical ways, and referring them to further literature, should they desire to dig deeper.”

—David M. Howard Jr.
Dean, Center for Biblical and Theological Foundations
Professor of Old Testament, Bethel Seminary

“This marvelous tool will help Hebrew students make the difficult transition from Hebrew grammar to Hebrew exegesis.”

—Michael A. Grisanti
Associate Professor of Old Testament,
The Master’s Seminary

“With a nice balance between assignments and comments about forms and structure, this workbook guides the student step-by-step. The student who completes the exercises will be better equipped to confront a Hebrew text and interpret it properly.”

—Thomas J. Finley
Professor and Chair of Old Testament and Semitics,
Talbot School of Theology
Coauthor, How Biblical Languages Work

“This interactive workbook is a fantastic tool provided by a long time teacher of Hebrew who knows what needs to be done, knows how to do it, and does it in an interesting way.”

—Richard E. Averbeck
Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages,
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Robert B. Chisholm Jr. (Th.D., Dallas Theological Seminary) is the chair of the Old Testament department and professor of Old Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. A veteran teacher of Hebrew, he is the author of several books, including From Exegesis to Exposition: A Practical Guide to Using Biblical Hebrew.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Kregel Academic & Professional; Workbook edition (August 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0825423902
• ISBN-13: 978-0825423901
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #310,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert B. Chisholm, Jr. (Th.D., Dallas Theological Seminary) is Associate Professor Old Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. He is the author of "Hosea" and "Joel" in the Bible Knowledge Commentary.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for the Self-Taught, August 15, 2011

By 

Prometheus "Classicist, Scholar" (Arden, NC USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Workbook for Intermediate Hebrew: Grammar, Exegesis, and Commentary on Jonah and Ruth (Paperback)

Having learned most of my Hebrew by self-teaching (through Page Kelley's book and workbook), I set out to find a good intermediate text. Kelley was beginning to be tedious, since the last ten chapters are all about weak verbs. You start getting the picture after awhile, so I felt that I needed something to supplement or move on to afterwards. Chisholm does an excellent job of providing all the information one needs to continue your study of Hebrew alone. His introduction tells you how to use the book. He provides vocabulary for both Jonah and Ruth so that you don't need a lexicon like the BDB to use it. You also can get around without a grammar for the most part, since he has an answer key to all his questions in the back of the book. Anyone who has worked with Ancient Languages for a long time understands how many resources are often necessary to read a single text (i.e. you lay out your text, your grammar(s), your dictionary(s) and you have your computer open to google or various Bible translations). Chisolm's volume is the ultimate portable intermediate Hebrew text. In addition, Chisholm has been very meticulous in citing a multitude of grammars and syntaxes that allow students with the most-used scholarly resources to find out more about the Hebrew. For instance, I own Jouon-Muraoka's Hebrew Grammar. Chisholm's notes referenced where in J-M I could find information about the concepts that appeared in the Hebrew text.

If you want an easy, self-contained, self-explanatory, accessible, well-researched, and enjoyable sequel to beginning Hebrew or just something to help you review your rusty paradigms, I heartily recommend Chisholm.

Caveat: One thing to beware of is the fact that Chisholm may give you a false sense of facility with Hebrew because of the glossaries after each text. You will probably want to make a concerted effort to learn the vocabulary of Jonah and Ruth in addition to completing the workbook.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reliable self-teaching, July 12, 2007

By 

Gene Brooks (Rocky Mount, NC) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Workbook for Intermediate Hebrew: Grammar, Exegesis, and Commentary on Jonah and Ruth (Paperback)

I used this workbook both for a Ruth and a Jonah exegesis class. It is great for self-teaching grammar, syntax, morphology, etc. It is not a commentary, but it will help you learn the text of these two books.

Answers in the back!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inductive Genius...., July 22, 2011

By 

David Lance Clark "daveatclcm" (Pembroke, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: A Workbook for Intermediate Hebrew: Grammar, Exegesis, and Commentary on Jonah and Ruth (Paperback)

There are times now when I read or use a product and I think to myself, "where have you been?" My Hebrew classes (94-96) could have benefited greatly from this type of inductive study. Chisholm is a blessing not only in this volume, but in his Exegesis to Expostion as well. He requires not only basic parsing and reading of the text, but makes constant use of other grammars and reference tools. Also, he does not require you to have a massive expensive library in order to do Hebrew exegesis but gives options and "keys" his works to various reference grammars in the event that you don't wish to invest in numberous works. He is also able to critique and interact with modern translations in a way that is helpful and inciteful.
He does a fantastic job on "integrated" learning in showing the value of Hebrew beyond a rudimentary understanding of morphology. This type of tool is invaluable and I am anxious to see him complete other works. I don't always agree with his conclusions (take for instance the protoevangelium) but his observations and his methodology are invaluable.