Biblical Hebrew for Beginners

by Dan Cohn-Sherbok

Publisher:

SPCK

, 1996

Overview

Biblical Hebrew for Beginners shows you how to master fundamental Hebrew in clear, simple steps. Starting from scratch with the Hebrew alphabet, Dan Cohn-Sherbok leads you through the essentials of Biblical Hebrew and has you reading the Bible in Hebrew from the very first lesson. There are simple exercises (including answers), a word list, and plenty of examples throughout. Whether you are studying in a group or by yourself, this book will make the words of the Bible come alive in a way you never imagined before.

Have you ever wondered what Adam really said to Eve? Or what God said to Job? Cohn-Sherbok’s presents the basics of Biblical Hebrew with a clarity not seen in many other introductory texts on the subject. His explanations are concise but informative, requiring no background knowledge in grammatical terminology or linguistic notation. Learning Hebrew can be easy—and fun—with Biblical Hebrew for Beginners.

Contents

Top Highlights

“This, then, is the rule regarding unstressed syllables: Open Syllables which are unstressed end in Open Vowels, Closed Syllables if they are unstressed end in a consonant and contain a Closed Vowel.” (Page 12)

“To sum up then, unstressed Open Syllables take Open Vowels, whereas unstressed Closed Syllables take Closed Vowels. However, stressed syllables, both Open and Closed, can take either Open or Closed Vowels.” (Page 13)

“In general, Hebrew words are stressed on the last syllable. But this is not always the case. Sometimes they are stressed on the next to last syllable.” (Page 10)

“When the Sheva is preceded by a Closed Vowel, it closes the syllable and is silent.” (Page 15)

“When two Shevas appear in a row (ְְ), the first is silent but the second is sounded.” (Page 15)

Praise for the Print Edition

For learning Hebrew, the best way is to have an expert by your side. Here is the next best thing - Hebrew without such an aid and without tears! I commend the book warmly.

—Lord Coggan (former Archbishop of Canterbury)

Product Details

• Title: Biblical Hebrew for Beginners
• Author: Dan Cohn-Sherbok
• Publisher: SPCK
• Publication Date: 2003
• Pages: 134

About Dan Cohn-Sherbok

Dan Cohn-Sherbok received a Doctorate in Philosophy from Cambridge University and a Doctorate of Divinity from the Hebrew Union College. He is Professor of Judaism at the University of Wales, Lampeter, and is the author or editor of over 70 books including The Jewish Heritage, The Blackwell Dictionary of Judaica, Modern Judaism, Judaism and Other Faiths, and World Religions and Human Liberation.

In 1941, The United States is drawn into World War II. During that same year, Dr. Henry Einspruch publishes his classic book, The Yiddish New Testament, a breakthrough in evangelistic literature for Jewish people. Over the following decades, the publications of Lederer/Messianic Jewish Communications have been widely used to impact thousands of Jewish people with the Good News of Messiah. These books and tracts have been distributed in the Orthodox Jewish community, have been given out to Jews in the former Soviet Union, and have been used by Messianic congregations and Jewish outreaches all over the world. Messianic Jewish Publishers mission is two-pronged: Reaching out to Jewish people with the message of Messiah and teaching the non-Jewish spiritual family about their Jewish roots.