Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
Comprehensive in scope, this carefully crafted introductory grammar of Biblical Hebrew offers easy-to-understand explanations, numerous biblical illustrations, and a wide range of imaginative, biblically based exercises.
The book consists of thirty-one lessons, each presenting grammatical concepts with examples and numerous exercises judiciously selected from the biblical text. These lessons are accompanied by eleven complete verb charts, an extensive vocabulary list, a glossary of grammatical terms, and a subject index.
The authors employs a method that blends together a straight presentation of grammatical principles and rules with a semi-inductive presentation of concepts through the exercises. Each lesson first presents new grammatical concepts, with biblical examples, and then provides reinforcing exercises that Kelley and Crawford have judiciously selected from the biblical text (the exercises do not presuppose vocabulary and grammar not already covered).
- Provides thoroughly updated content
- Retains Page Kelley's popular approach to pedagogy
- Comprehensive and carefully crafted with a helpful glossary provided at the end
- Includes exercises and vocabulary with each lesson
- Lesson 1: The Alphabet
- Lesson 2: The Hebrew Vowels
- Lesson 3
- Maqqef
- Sign of the Direct Object
- Dagesh Forte
- Silent Sheva
- Lesson 4
- Accents
- Meteg
- Weak Letters
- Mappiq
- Syllables
- Lesson 5
- Gutturals
- The Article
- Lesson 6
- Prepositions with Nouns
- Vav Conjunction
- Lesson 7
- Nouns: Derivation
- Nouns: Gender
- Nouns: Number
- Nouns: Segolates
- Lesson 8: Adjectives
- Lesson 9
- Independent Personal Pronouns
- Demonstrative Pronouns
- Lesson 10: Nouns: Construct Relationship
- Lesson 11
- Pronominal Suffixes on Prepositions and Particles
- Pronominal Suffixes on Nouns
- Lesson 12
- General Characteristics of Verbs
- The Qal Perfect of the Strong Verb
- The Meanings of the Perfect
- Verb Agreement
- Pronominal Subjects of Verbs
- Word Order in Verbal Sentences
- The Use of the Lexicon in the Location and Translation of Verbs
- Lesson 13
- Interrogative Sentences
- Numerals
- Lesson 14
- The Remaining Stems of the Perfect: Function
- The Remaining Stems of the Perfect: Forms
- Locating and Translating Perfect Forms of the Hebrew Verb
- Lesson 15
- Qal Imperfect of the Strong Verb
- The Meanings of the Imperfect
- The Jussive and Cohortative
- Lesson 16
- Imperfect of the Remaining Stems (Strong Verbs
- Imperfects with Vav Consecutive
- He’-Directive
- Conjuctive Dagesh Forte
- Lesson 17: Pronominal Suffixes
- Lesson 18: Imperatives
- Lesson 19: Infinitives
- Lesson 20
- Participles
- Synopsis of the Strong Verb
- Lesson 21: Coordinate Relationship: Hebrew Verb Sequences
- Lesson 22
- Weak Verb Review
- Pe’-Guttural Verbs
- Lesson 23
- Pe’-’Alef Verb
- Pausal Forms of Heavily Accented Words
- Lesson 24: ’Ayin-Guttural Verbs
- Lesson 25: Lamed-Gutteral Verbs
- Lesson 26: Lamed-'Alef Verbs
- Lesson 27: Lamed-He’ Verbs
- Lesson 28: Pe’-Nun Verbs
- Lesson 29: ’Ayin-Vav/’Ayin-Yod Verbs
- Lesson 30: Pe’-Yod Verbs
- Lesson 31: Double-’Ayin Verbs
- Vocabulary
- Verb Charts
- Personal Pronouns
- Lesson 9
Top Highlights
“A construct noun with a pronominal suffix will always be treated as definite, even though it never takes the article.” (Page 92)
“A predicate adjective will agree with its subject noun in gender and number, but will never take the article, even though the subject noun is definite.” (Page 62)
“Whenever two shevas stand under adjacent consonants within a word, the first will always be silent and the second will be vocal.” (Page 18)
“The cardinal numbers 3–10, however, follow a different pattern. When they modify masculine nouns they take the feminine form; when they modify feminine nouns, they take the masculine form.” (Page 123)
“Nouns ending in ָה will normally be feminine in gender.” (Page 48)
It is a pleasure to recommend Kelley's effort, tested in forty years (a biblical generation) of classroom teaching. It represents a solid beginning for the Hebrew novice to wander the map of the Hebrew Bible with confidence and surety.
—Critical Review of Books in Religion
- Title: Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar
- Author: Page H. Kelley and Timothy Crawford
- Edition: 2nd
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Publication Date: 2018
- Pages: 540
- Resource Type: Grammar
- Topic: Hebrew
Page H. Kelley (1924–1997) was professor of Old Testament at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.
Timothy G. Crawford is associate professor of Bible and Hebrew at Bluefield College, Bluefield, Virginia.
Reviews
3 ratings
Mateus de Castro
7/25/2024
This review is in 2 sections: the book and the Logos version. The grammar is one of the best. This updated edition is even better in terms of clarity and organization. The numbering is sane and makes it easier to find. In the first edition, the numbering was in sequence from beginning to end, so you could have exercise 56.7 on chapter 21. Now it follows the chapter numbers. Kelley had segolate nouns apart on the first edition, for example. The second made that, and many other sections, much more consistent thematically moving things around a bit. Descriptions are up to date and some were just 'touched up' to make it clear and consistent. My only regret is that Prof. Crawford didn't want to change the older nomenclature for weak verbs. Some paragraphs become a soup letter trying to explain "pe'yod/waw with pattah and double weak pe'nun and lamed he etc" instead of easier "I-waw; III-He" etc. The grammar itself goes beyond the normal "basics" and gives clear sections on syntax. The 'synopses' themselves are so helpful for the student (and those who want to 'freshen up' on clear explanation and examples) that are worth the price of the book. But it's much more than that. It mixes approaches and gives a solid foundation. Lots and lots of exercises (even without the workbook, that is more like a glorified answer-key), and the best ones on any grammar of the kind. Most students like to use more than one grammar. Especially if they can't rely on a teacher all the time (or ever). I'm not sure this would be my first choice to begin with (Fuller's method for undertanding morphology, up to the weak verbs - when it gets nuts - is still my choice), but it's certainly a perfect candidate for complementing any other. Can't recommend it enough. Maybe the best 'all around' grammar available (tied with Allen Ross'). Logos Edition: I'm surprised it is still very broken. The vocalic marks are in a sorry state on some parts. Furtive Patahs are lost. Some get mixed with Tseres and become a 'bowtie'. See sections 20.6 for a simple mistake. Now, section 20.16, which is a great new addition on the second edition, is lost. Completely broken on Logos. If you open on a tablet it gets impossibly bad. I undertand the difficulties of some fonts to be correct on any system, but learing biblical languages (and languages of Biblical times) is an important part of the lif of the Church. And, frankly, is one of the main attractions of using Logos as a system that can unite reading, analysis and more about those languages. Books like this, so broken after so many years, is troubling. P.S. - I can't imagine the difficulties of that and color, but other resources, like Van Pelt's grammars and charts, depend on colors. It's past time Logos catches up with that. 5 stars to the grammar. 3 for the Logos edition as of July of 2024.Jason George
7/31/2020
Robert Griffin
8/26/2018
I have used the previous edition to learn Hebrew. I have looked briefly at this new edition. It looks very similar to the old edition. The book makes it look easier to learn than it actually is. I tried to do shortcuts by not learning every detail that this book gives to distinguish between different types of verbs. Big mistake. You need to learn as much detail as you can to distinguish the verb types (called stems). I had to go back and relearn them from this book. You will learn enough Hebrew from this book to start reading simple passages from the Bible. You will of course need lexicons and grammar books to help you. (the Analytical Key to the Old Testament is also a great help if you can afford it). This book makes it as easy as possible. It is a very good book. I recommend that you learn with someone else if possible. It keeps the moral up so that you can get through the book and into reading passages as soon as possible. You will learn your vocabulary from reading the passages and getting to know them like you are reading English. Someone at Logos should set up a system where you can meet up with another customer of Logos and learn Hebrew or Greek together.
