Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Trevor Peterson <abuian AT access4less.net>]

emmanuel.le4 wrote:
> Hello everybody!
>
> Having taken Hebrew for 2 years in seminary, I am now trying to keep it, and 
> hoping to improve in my knowledge of the language. Some people on this list 
> have already mentionned that the best way to learn and get familiar with the 
> language is to read, read read. Now my question is this: Where should I start?
> Should I take the books in order, from Genesis onwards?
> Would anybody have any suggestion of a reading list, from the easiest book 
> for example to the most difficult?

I don't have a precise list, but I'd recommend starting with Classical 
Biblical Hebrew Prose--basically, the Former Prophets (Joshua-2Kings) 
and Deuteronomy. The dialect is fairly consistent throughout, so it will 
give you a chance to get familiar with the standard. Also, like Clay 
said, the narrative material tends to be a bit easier to read. From 
there you could move into other narrative material--the rest of the 
Pentateuch, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles, etc. Much of this is thought to 
represent a later or more locally flavored dialect, so you'll probably 
notice some differences from the CBHP material. I would save poetry for 
last, if you want to move from easier to more difficult. There tends to 
be a wider range of vocabulary and grammatical form, and the poetic 
structure of Hebrew is not fully agreed upon. Hope that's of some help.

Trevor Peterson
CUA/Semitics