Introducing Biblical Hebrew

by Allen P. Ross

Publisher:

Baker Academic

, 2001

Overview

This first-year grammar has grown out of the author’s experience in teaching Hebrew to seminary students for over 30 years. Through those many years of classroom use, Allen P. Ross has developed and refined his explanations, exercises, and examples to provide students with an effective introduction to biblical Hebrew.

In addition to traditional deductive methods and exercises, Introducing Biblical Hebrew includes inductive sections that provide practical translation experience as the student works through passages from the Book of Genesis. In addition, there are well-paced vocabulary and grammar exercises and practical guides to the more technical features of the Hebrew Bible.

First-year Hebrew students in Bible college, seminary, Christian college, or a university setting will find Introducing Biblical Hebrew to be one of the most useful and balanced textbooks available.

With the Logos edition of Introducing Biblical Hebrew, you can study Hebrew easier with linked definitions, synonyms, and translations for every word. Logos also helps you find etymological connections between English words and their Hebrew counterparts. Automatic syncing between devices prevents you from spending time searching for where you left off.

Key Features

• Introductory volume on biblical Hebrew
• Numerous grammar-study aids
• Practical yet thorough scholarship

Contents

Top Highlights

“Shewa under a letter that has dāg̱ēš forte is vocal shewa.” (Page 57)

“The vowel in an open, unaccented syllable is long; the vowel in a closed, unaccented syllable is short. The vowel in an open, accented syllable is generally long but may be short; the vowel in a closed, accented syllable may be long or short.” (Page 39)

“The disjunctive clause is signaled by wāw + a word other than a finite verb at the beginning of the clause.” (Page 156)

“When two or more words are united so that they express a qualified idea, the first or governing word is in the construct state, and the second or governed word is in the absolute state, and the two nouns together form a construct relationship.” (Page 99)

“In contrast to dāg̱ēš lene, dāg̱ēš forte is written in a letter that immediately follows a full vowel.” (Page 57)

Endorsements

In my opinion, this newly published biblical Hebrew teaching grammar by Allen Ross will become a widely used standard in the field. It has been tested for years in the classroom. It is comprehensive and thorough while at the same time well arranged and pedagogically effective for classroom use. This is a welcome addition to our resources for teaching and learning biblical Hebrew.

—Richard E. Averbeck, professor of Old Testament and Semitic languages, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Ross is to be commended for providing first-year Hebrew students with a very user-friendly grammar. Learning biblical Hebrew can be an imposing and frightening challenge, but Ross has done a nice job of making the technicalities of the language understandable. . . . This grammar certainly has a potential to supplant others (e.g. Seow, Kelley) in the field and establish itself as the best of its kind.

—Robert Chisholm, professor of Old Testament, Dallas Theological Seminary

Dr. Ross has given teachers and students an absolutely superb textbook introducing Biblical Hebrew grammar. The grammar is crystal clear, paradoxically concise and copious, and most helpfully creative. This experienced professor covers every important aspect of the Hebrew text, including the Masoretic accents and para-textual phenomena, and the critical apparatus at the bottom of the page. He introduces the student to the weak verb by the mechanical parsing method, which is the only way a beginning student can master their complex paradigms. His syntactic analysis is sufficient, and his excellent exercises reinforce the learned material. Everything is presented in a lucid and balanced way.

—Bruce Waltke, distinguished professor of Old Testament, Regent College

Like so many Hebrew textbooks, this one is the product of several years of teaching the language to graduate students. In it, an introductory section that addresses the signs and sounds of the language is followed by an extensive study of nouns, adjectives, pronominals, and verbs. The author also treats various characteristics of the language such as Masoretic pointing, parallelism, and various literary constructions. The chapters are relatively short yet clearly written, enabling the student to learn the material gradually. There are several exceptional study aids at the end of the book that will facilitate this learning. . . . This is a fine tool.

—The Bible Today

Hammered out in scores of classrooms and many years in the making, Ross’ Hebrew grammar is at last available to the wider public. This book is thoroughly up-to-date, well informed, and lavishly supplied with practical exercises and other features that are certain to enhance the learning process. . . . Ross and the publisher are to be applauded for a well-conceived, well-executed, and user-friendly tool that is certain to find broad acceptance and usage. Those who have waited long to see it are particularly gratified that this fine work is now available to the larger community.

—Bibliotheca Sacra

Product Details

• Title: Introducing Biblical Hebrew
• Author: Allen P. Ross
• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2001
• Logos Release Date: 2013
• Pages: 576
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Hebrew language › Grammar
• ISBNs: 9781441256737, 9780801021473, 1441256733, 0801021472
• Resource ID: LLS:INTROBIBHBRW
• Resource Type: Grammar
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T00:45:27Z

About Allen P. Ross

Allen P. Ross is professor of divinity and Old Testament at Beeason Divinity School, Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama. He has been teaching there since 2002. Ross is the author of Creation and Blessing and Introducing Biblical Hebrew, as well as commentaries on Psalms, Genesis, Exodus, and Proverbs.