Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Heard, Christopher" <Christopher.Heard AT pepperdine.edu>]

Emmanuel,

Personally, I would recommend that you start with the books of Jonah 
and Ruth. Both are written in straightforward, classical Hebrew prose 
(excepting, of course, the poetry embedded in Jonah 2). Plus, they are 
short (4 chapters each), and therefore you can get through them in just 
a few sessions, even reading slowly. Also, first chapter or so of 
Daniel, before it switches to Aramaic, though there is some obscure 
vocabulary there.

After that, I would suggest more prose: I think Genesis is fairly easy 
prose, though that may just be because I've read it so much more than 
the other books. Somebody else--Trevor, maybe?--suggested the Former 
Prophets (Joshua through Kings), which I think would be a good next 
step (but skip Joshua 13-21 the first time through it, unless you want 
to practice reading seemingly endless lists of toponyms). Both Genesis 
and, moreso, the Former Prophets have poetry embedded in them, so 
you'll be getting your feet wet there as well. After reading several 
narrative books, some with embedded poetry, you might want to take on a 
poetic book. I would suggest perhaps some of the shorter minor 
prophets, to get your "sea legs," then take on some of the longer 
books.

In any case, _don't get discouraged_. If you stumble into a book or 
section that seems too difficult to get through, lay it aside, move to 
a different book or section, and then come back to the more difficult 
stuff later.

Best wishes,

Chris

On Apr 20, 2005, at 11:49 PM, 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?
>
> Thanks for any suggestion.
>
> Emmanuel Durand
> Ferney-Voltaire
> France
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--
R. Christopher Heard
Assistant Professor of Religion
Pepperdine University
Malibu, California 90263-4352
http://faculty.pepperdine.edu/cheard
http://www.iTanakh.org
http://www.semioticsandexegesis.info