Biblical Hebrew Forum

["James Spinti" <JSpinti AT Eisenbrauns.com>]

Mary,

There are lots and lots of Hebrew first year grammars out there, and all
of them have advantages and disadvantages. Here are some favorites, in
no particular order:

1. Basics of Biblical Hebrew: Grammar   Pratico & van Pelt
Zondervan
        Zondervan has a series of other titles to complement this,
including flashcards (the flashcards are keyed to Pratico, Futato, Seow,
and Ross, so you could use them for any of the first 4 here)

2. Beginning Biblical Hebrew    Futato  Eisenbrauns
        Answers to the exercises are in the back of the book    

3. A Grammar for Biblical Hebrew        Seow    Abingdon
        There is an annotated key available for this one

4. Introducing Biblical Hebrew  Ross    Baker

5. Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar     Kelley  Eerdmans

I would suggest avoiding Weingreen (too old), Lambdin (too expensive).

All 5 of them are suitable for self-study, provided you are motivated :)

Hope that helps,
James
________________________________
James Spinti
Marketing Director, Book Sales Division
Eisenbrauns, Good books for more than 30 years
Specializing in Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Studies
jspinti at eisenbrauns dot com
Web: http://www.eisenbrauns.com
Phone: 574-269-2011 ext 226
Fax: 574-269-6788 

-----Original Message-----
From: b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:b-hebrew-bounces AT lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Mary Thompson
Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2008 9:01 AM
To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: [b-hebrew] Recommended Dictionary

Thanks Karl, for saying these things.  I tend to jump into the deep  
end enough on my own.  ;-)

I am new at Hebrew - and haven't even attempted reading the Hebrew  
version alone from cover to cover (although I have read it in English  
several times).  I don't mind a learning curve (actually it's my  
favorite part of any endeavor), and now that I've found you guys to  
answer my questions, I know it will be less of a struggle.  And I  
have a lot of greenhorn questions.

One thing I've learned over the years of being a writer and an  
autodidact and learning about various languages is that no dictionary  
is perfect, even 'the best' English dictionaries have shortcomings  
and can disagree with each other.  I no longer expect perfection or  
absolute answers.  No language really works that way, anyway.  Living  
languages are dynamic, and dead languages were dynamic, and it's not  
possible to capture all the nuances of either.

For a good overview of linguistics, check out _The Power of Babel: A  
Natural History of Language_ by John McWhorter.

My thanks, also, to everyone who helped answer my questions.  I'll  
probably get the BDB soon.  If anyone can recommend a beginner  
grammar, I'll add it to my list.  And I'll get my greenhorn questions  
together, so be ready.

Peace,
Mary.
_____________
Mary Thompson
maryethomp2005 AT mac.com

"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn  
how to do it."
  -- Pablo Picasso