A Little Lambdin

Lesson 10 - Prayers

2008-06-20T07:14:00.000-07:00

meshoka hasedeka lanu elohim.
Continue your love toward us, O Lord.

Lesson 10 - Notes for Preaching and Devotions

2008-06-17T09:12:00.003-07:00

• lipne, "before the face," can remind us of the Latin phrase used by the Reformers, "Coram Deo," "before the face of God," which reminded them that all of life was lived for, and watched over by, God. (more here)

• "Continue your love to those who know you ..." (Ps.36:10); "leyode 'eka," "those who know you." Note the third person plural throughout this verse. Much can, and has, been written about individual vs. communal awareness and expression in the Psalms (see, for starters, Witvliet p.26-27, including notes and references). But suffice it here to say that while the Psalms are remarkably personal and intimate in tone, the relationship they sing about is truly personal but never private. In today's hyper-individualistic culture--especially one that insists that your spiritual life is only a matter of personal experience and individual relevance--we can guard against an overly privatized spirituality by affirming our collective faith as the body of God's people. And we can realize that Scripture says that "knowing you," knowing God, is a collective (plural) as well as a personal (singular) act. (more here)

Lesson 10 - Hebrew today

2008-06-17T09:12:00.001-07:00

This pretend newscast in Hebrew on YouTube, apparently for a school project, includes an "interview" with an "eyewitness" about a fountain of youth (the segment is about half-way through). Listen for the word "mayim" as she asks the question, "What did the water do to you?"

Listen to the question:

download mp3

Lesson 10 - Key Verses

2008-06-17T09:11:00.002-07:00

bahar
baḥărû lāḵem hayywōm ’eṯ-mî ṯa‘ăḇōḏûn (Josh.24:15)
Choose this day whom you will serve.

yada'
məšōḵə ḥasədəḵā ləyōḏə‘eyḵā (Ps.36:10)
Continue your love to those who know you.

mayim
wərûḥa ’ĕlōhîm məraḥefeṯ ‘al-pənê hammāyim (Gen.1:2)
And the Spirit of God moved over the face of the waters.

wayyibāqə‘û hammāyim: wayyāḇō’û ḇənê-yiśərā’ēl bəṯwōḵə hayyām bayyabāšâ wəhammayim lâem ḥōmâ mîmînām ûmiśśəmō’lām (Ex.14:21-22)
And the waters were divided. The children of Israel went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

peri'
wəhāyâ kə‘ēṣ šāṯûl ‘al-paləḡê māyim ’ăšer pirəywō yitēn bə‘itwō (Ps.1:3)
He is like a tree planted by the streams of water, which gives its fruit in season.

Lesson 10 - Word Studies

2008-06-17T09:11:00.001-07:00

mayim, Turner p.73-75

Lesson 10 - Vocab

2008-06-16T10:18:00.001-07:00

gibbor (Strong's H1397)
gib'ah (Strong's H1389)
mayim (Strong's H4325)
mahaneh (Strong's H4264)
milhamah (Strong's H4421)
peri (Strong's H6529)
bahar (Strong's H0977)
harag (Strong's H2026)
yada' (Strong's H3045)
laqah (Strong's H3920)
'amad (Strong's H5975)
lipne (Strong's H3942)

Lesson 9 - Hebrew today

2008-06-16T10:17:00.001-07:00

See the logo of the Chicago synagogue Makom Shalom (which I wrote about here), which they translate as "Place of Peace."

Introduction - Key Verses

2008-06-16T10:15:00.001-07:00

wayyō’mərû lwō ’ĕmār-nā’ šibōleṯ wayyō’mer sibōleṯ wəlō’ yāḵîn ləḏabēr kēn (Judges 12:6)
They said to him, ‘Then say Shibboleth’, and he said, ‘Sibboleth’, for he could not pronounce it right.

Introduction - Hebrew today

2008-06-16T10:14:00.003-07:00

Update: see this

Introduction - Useful Exercises

2008-06-16T10:14:00.001-07:00

• Cook p.3-7
• Dobson Lesson 1
• Milingua
• Parsons
• istudyhebrew.com lesson excerpt

Update: more here

Lesson 9 - Prayers

2008-06-16T07:30:00.005-07:00

oteka natatah hodeka al-hashamayim elohim
You have set your glory above the heavens, O God.

yehaleluhu shamayim wa'arets adonai
Let heaven and earth praise you, O Lord!

mi-li bashamayim we'imeka adonai
Whom have I in heaven but you, O Lord?

Lesson 9 - Key Verses

2008-06-16T07:30:00.003-07:00

shamayim
bərē’šîṯ bārā’ ’ĕlōhîm ’ēṯ haššāmayim wə’ēṯ hā’āreṣ (Gen.1:1)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

ăšer tənâ hwōḏəḵā ‘al-haššāmāyim (Ps.8:1)
[You] have set your glory above the heavens.

haššāmayim məsapərîm kəḇwōḏ-’ēl Ps.19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God.

yəhaləlûhû šāmayim wā’āreṣ (Ps.69:34)
Let the heaven and earth praise him!

mî-lî ḇaššāmāyim wə‘imməḵā (Ps.73:25 )
Whom have I in heaven but you?

yom
... ywōm hakipurîm (Lev. 23:27)
... there shall be a day of atonement.

zeh-hayywōm ‘āśâ yəhwâ (Ps. 118:24)
This is the day that the Lord has made.

Lesson 9 - Word Studies

2008-06-16T07:30:00.001-07:00

lo', Went

Lesson 9 - Vocab

2008-06-16T07:29:00.000-07:00

yom (VPF 22, Strong's H3117)
laylah (VPF 192, Strong's H3915)
maqom (VPF 125, Strong's H4725)
shamayim (VPF 118, Strong's H8064)
yalad (VPF 99)
qabats (VPF 319)
zakar (VPF 190)
'ehad (VPF 45)
ben (VPF 121)
betok (VPF 48)
mitok [cf. Strong's H8484]
gam (VPF 63)
lo' (VPF 12, Strong's H3808)

Lesson 2 - Hebrew today

2008-06-14T09:31:00.001-07:00

See the Hebrew name of the Jewish National & University Library on its website; it begins "bayit hasepharim," or "house of books":

Lesson 2 - Prayers

2008-06-14T09:29:00.001-07:00

baruch atta adonai melek ha'olam
Blessed are you, O Lord, ruler of the universe.

Lesson 2 - Key Verses

2008-06-14T09:28:00.004-07:00

melek
yəhwâ meleḵə ‘wōlām wā‘eḏ (Ps.10:16)
The Lord is king forever and ever.

hekal
yəhwâ bəhêḵal qāḏəšwō (Ps.11:4)
The Lord is in his holy temple.

yeled
wayəhî liphəninnâ yəlāḏîm ûləḥannâ ’ên yəlāḏîm (1 Sam.1:2)
Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

'ir
wa’ănî lō’ ’āḥûs ‘al-nînəwēh hā‘îr hagəḏwōlâ (Jonah 4:11)
And should I not care for Nineveh, that great city?

sepher
‘ăśwōṯ səfārîm harəbēh ’ên qēṣ (Eccl.12:12)
Of the making of many books there is no end.

Lesson 1 - Prayers

2008-06-14T09:28:00.003-07:00

ahavti beteka yahweh
I love your house, O Lord.

horeni yahweh laleket bederakekem
Teach me, O Lord, to walk in your ways.

Lesson 1 - Key Verses

2008-06-14T09:28:00.001-07:00

bayit
wə’ānōḵî ûḇêṯî na‘ăḇōḏ ’eṯ-yəhwâ (Josh.24:15)
As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

śāmaḥətî bə’ōmərîm lî bêṯ yəhwâ nēlēḵə (Ps.122:1)
I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord.'

derek
’ašərê-hā’îš ’ăšer ḇəḏereḵə ḥaṭṭā’îm lō’ ‘āmāḏ (Ps.1:1)
Blessed is the one who ... does not stand in the way of sinners.

Lesson 8 - Hebrew today

2008-06-13T09:51:00.002-07:00

• This blog by two rabbis is called "Two Tzaddiks":

• see this sign for a Chabad House in Israel: "Chabad" is a word formed from the first letters of the three Hebrew words for wisdom, understanding, and knowledge—including the letter bet for "binah"

Lesson 7 - Hebrew today

2008-06-13T09:51:00.001-07:00

• See the Hebrew Wikipedia entry for lehem, "bread."

• See the Hebrew Wikipedia entry for gamal, "camel."

Lesson 1 - Word Studies

2008-06-13T08:51:00.001-07:00

derek, Went

Lesson 8 - Word Studies

2008-06-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

tsedeq, Went

Lesson 7 - Word Studies

2008-06-13T08:48:00.001-07:00

lehem, Cliff

Lesson 2 - Word Studies

2008-06-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

ish, Stein
ish, Went

Lesson 6 - Hebrew today

2008-06-13T08:23:00.000-07:00

&bull: See the Hebrew Wikipedia entry for ets, "tree."

&bull: See the Hebrew Wikipedia entry for kerem, "vineyard."

&bull: The name of the city of Karmiel, Israel, means "vineyards of the Lord."

Lesson 8 - Key Verses

2008-06-09T15:28:00.001-07:00

binah
êfōh hāyîṯā bəyāsəḏî-’āreṣ hagēḏ ’im-yāḏa‘ətā ḇînâ (Job 38:4)
Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.

mî-šāṯ baṭṭuḥwōṯ ḥāḵəmâ ’wō mî-nāṯan laśśeḵəwî ḇînâ (Job 38:36)
Who has put wisdom in the inward parts, or given understanding to the mind?

lāḏa‘aṯ ḥāḵəmâ ûmûsār ləhāḇîn ’imərê ḇînâ (Prov.1:2)
To know wisdom and instructions, to understand/discern the words of understanding.

nabi', ala'
hinnāḇē’ wə’āmarətā ’ălêhem kōh-’āmar ’ăḏōnāy yəhwih ha‘ălêṯî ’eṯəḵem miqqiḇərwōṯêḵem ‘ammî (Ez.37:12)
Prophesy and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: I will bring you up from your graves, my people.'

[demonstratives]
əzarə‘ăḵā nāṯatî ’eṯ-hā’āreṣ hazzō’ṯ (Gen 15:18)
To your descendants I give this land.

hû’ hadāḇār ’ăšer dibarətî ’el-parə‘ōh Gen.41:28)
This is the word which I spoke to Pharoah.

Lesson 7 - Key Verses

2008-06-09T15:07:00.000-07:00

lehem
wayyō’mer yəhwâ ’el-mōšeh hinənî maməṭîr lāḵem leḥem min-haššāmāyim (Ex.16:4)
Then the Lord said to Moses, 'I am going to rain bread from heaven for you.'

re'sh wa'osher 'al-titen-li hateripheni lehem huqi (Prov 30.8)
Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me my daily bread.

tso'n
neḥəšaḇənû kəṣō’n ṭiḇəḥâ (Ps.44:22)
We are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

dal
šifəṭû-ḏal wəyāṯwōm (Ps.82:3)
Defend the poor and orphan ...

Lesson 8 - Prayers

2008-06-09T12:39:00.000-07:00

'al-titen-li ubinatekem adonai
Give me your understanding, O Lord

Lesson 7 - Prayers

2008-06-09T12:33:00.000-07:00

re'sh wa'osher 'al-titen-li hateripheni lehem huqi (Prov 30.8)
Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me my daily bread.

ten-lanu hayom lechem huqenu
Give us today our daily bread.

Lesson 6 - Prayers

2008-06-09T12:23:00.000-07:00

qoleka yatsah bekal ha'arets
Your voice goes out through all the earth.

Lesson 8 - Vocab

2008-06-09T10:26:00.000-07:00

binah (VPF 806, Strong's H0998)
tsedeq (VPF 131, Strong's H6664)
'esh (VPF 328, Strong's H0784)
nabi' (VPF 151, Strong's H5030)
banah (Strong's H1140)
'alah (VPF 49, Strong's H5927)
napal (VPF 113, Strong's H5034)

Lesson 7 - Vocab

2008-06-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

tso'n (VPF , Strong's H6629)
baqar (VPF 239, Strong's H1241)
gamal (VPF 607, Strong's H1581)
lehem (VPF 40, Strong's H3899)
yarad (VPF 128, Strong's H3381)
'ashir (Strong's H6223)
dal (VPF 659, Strong's H1800)
yesh (VPF 297)
'en (VPF 60)

Lesson 6 - Key Verses

2008-06-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

qol
’ên-’ōmer wə’ên dəḇārîm bəlî nišəmā‘ qwōlām (Ps.19:3) (read)
There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard.

qwōl yəhwâ ‘al-hammāyim ... qwōl-yəhwâ bakōḥa qwōl yəhwâ behāḏār
The voice of the LORD is upon the waters ... The voice of the LORD is powerful. The voice of the LORD is full of majesty.(Ps. 29:3,4) (read)

kerem
kerem hayah le-nabovt etzel heichal achav, melech (1 Kings 21:1) (read)
Naboth had a vineyard near the palace of king Ahab.

Lesson 6 - Word Studies

2008-06-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

ets, Bierma
ets, Went
ets, Parsons

Lesson 6 - Vocab

2008-06-03T08:27:00.000-07:00

qol (VPF 97, Strong's H6963)
'ets (VPF 143, Strong's H6806)
kerem (VPF 398, Strong's H3754)
tsa'aq (VPF 603)
salah (Strong's H6817)
nata' (VPF 574)
yasa' (VPF 40)
tahat
ki
rab

Lesson 1 - Vocab

2008-06-02T16:47:00.002-07:00

na'ar (VPF 187, Strong's H5288)
zaqen (VPF 241, Strong's H2205)
bayit (VPF 25, Strong's H1004)
nahar (Strong's H5104)
tsadeh ([cf. Strong's H6718])
derek (VPF 73, Strong's H1870)
'al- (VPF 8)
be- (VPF 4)
etsel
sham
'ayeh
we- (VPF 1)

Lesson 2 - Vocab

2008-06-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

ish (VPF 23, Strong's H376, Davar 8)
ishah (VPF 61, Strong's H802, Davar 7)
battim (VPF 25, [cf. Strong's H1004])
yeled (VPF 414, Strong's H3206, Davar 73)
hekal (Strong's H1964, Davar 383)
melek (VPF 20, Strong's H4428, Davar 85)
sepher (Strong's H5612, Davar 29)
ebed (VPF 59, Strong's H5650, Davar 296)
'ir (VPF 39, Strong's H5892)
hu' (VPF 31
hi' (VPF 104
mi (VPF 116
poh
'epoh

Lesson 5 - Prayers

2008-06-02T16:43:00.000-07:00

debareka adonai woqir miza'ab
Your word, O Lord, is more precious than gold.

Lesson 5 - Key Verses

2008-05-28T07:29:00.000-07:00

zahab
hanneḥĕmāḏîm mizzâāḇ (Ps.19:10) (read)
They are to be more desired than gold ...

hokmah
wayhwâ nāṯan ḥāḵəmâ lišəlōmōh (1 Kings 5:12/26) (read)
And God gave wisdom to Solomon ...

rē’šîṯ ḥāḵəmâ| yirə’aṯ yəhwâ (Ps.111:10) (read)
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom ...

keseph
wayyiməkərû ’eṯ-ywōsēf layyišəmə‘ē’lîm bə‘eśərîm kāsef (Gen. 37:28) (read)
... and they sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver ...

yaqar
yāqarətā ḇə‘ênay (Isa 43:4) (read)
You are precious in my sight.

Lesson 5 - Hebrew today

2008-05-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

•The Avodah Institute in Florida, which is dedicated to issues of faith in the workplace, chose its name on the basis of the fact that "abodah" can mean both "worship" and "work."

• see this sign for a Chabad House in Israel: "Chabad" is a word formed from the first letters of the three Hebrew words for wisdom, understanding, and knowledge—beginning with the letter he for "hokmah"

Lesson 5 - Word Studies

2008-05-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

hokmah, Turner p.55-59
abod, Tverberg p.21
etsah, Bierma
etsah, Went
rasha, Went
tsaddiq, Went
tsaddiq, Parsons

Lesson 5 - Vocab

2008-05-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

(L p.24-25)

zahab (VPF 127, Strong's H2091, Davar 301)
hokmah (VPF 271, Strong's H2451, Davar 461)
keseph (VPF 123, Strong's H3701, Davar 300)
abodah (VPF 284, [cf. Strong's H5467], Davar 310)
etsah (VPF 422, Strong's H6098)
yaqar (VPF 843, Strong's H3368)
yashar (VPF 336, Strong's H3477)
tsaddiq (VPF 219, Strong's H6662, Davar 225)
qasheh (VPF 856, Strong's H7186)
rasha' (VPF 177)
Dawid
Samu'el
Yerushalaim
min- (VPF 6)
asher

Lesson 4 - Word Studies

2008-05-23T08:53:00.000-07:00

shophet, Tverberg p.11,12
yashab, Went
halak, Went

Lesson 4 - Hebrew today

2008-05-23T08:14:00.000-07:00

see the noun form of 'akel in this modern Hebrew phrasebook:

Lesson 4 - Key Verses

2008-05-22T12:11:00.000-07:00

shophet
wayyāqem yəhwâ šōfəṭîm wayywōšî‘ûm (Judg.2:16) (read)
Then the Lord raised up judges, who delivered them …

kî yəhwâ šōfəṭēnû yəhwâ məḥōqəqēnû yəhwâ maləkēnû hû’ ywōšî‘ēnû (Isa.33:22) (read) (note)
For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler, the Lord is our king; he will save us.

kisse'
yəhwâ| bəhêḵal qāḏəšwō yəhwâ baššāmayim kisə’wō (Ps.11:4) (read)
The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven.

kōh ’āmar yəhwâ haššāmayim kisə’î wəhā’āreṣ hăḏōm raḡəlāy (Isa.66:1) (read)
Thus says the Lord: Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool ...

Lesson 4 - Fancy Terms in Plain English

2008-05-21T11:12:00.000-07:00

participle -- the "-ing" form of the verb

Lesson 4 - Useful Exercises

2008-05-21T08:56:00.000-07:00

• Cook, p.70-71 (#1-2)

Lesson 4 - Key Concepts

2008-05-21T08:26:00.000-07:00

Key Concepts

complicated:
partciples (L.26)

simple:
direct object marker (L.27)

Less-Key Concepts

more quirks in noun plurals (L.25)

Lesson 4 - Vocab

2008-05-20T06:00:00.001-07:00

(L p.19-20)

shophet (VPF 221, [cf.Strong's H8199], Davar 302)
mal'ak (VPF 214, Strong's H4397, Davar 140)
kisse (VPF 303, Strong's H3678, Davar 490)
katab (VPF 199, Strong's H3791, Davar 122)
'akal (VPF 804, Strong's H0398, Davar 332)
natan (VPF 26, Strong's H5414, Davar 128)
halak (VPF 29, Strong's H1980, Davar 526)
yashab (VPF 38, Strong's H3427, Davar 125)
et (VPF 5)
le [dative use]
el- (VPF 8)
be'ene [be + ayin]

Lesson 3 - Prayers

2008-05-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

debareka yatsah bekal ha'arets
Your word goes out through all the earth.

debareka ner-lerageli
Your word is a lamp to my feet.

yahweh gadol 'atah wegadol shimeka bigebura
You are great, O Lord, and your name is great and mighty.

Lesson 3 - Hebrew today

2008-05-18T12:18:00.001-07:00

• See the Hebrew Wikipedia entry for har, "mountain."

• See the word gan in this sign for the "Garden Tomb" (one of the possible sites of the burial and resurrection of Christ):

Lesson 3 - Notes for Preaching and Devotions

2008-05-16T12:32:00.001-07:00

• dabar is sometimes translated "promise" in the Bible--usually for the promises of God. As in English, in which 'word' can sometimes mean 'promise' ("I give you my word"), 'word' and 'promise' have some semantic ovelap in Hebrew; when "the word of the Lord" comes, it comes as a sure promise.

• In John 1, the incarnate Christ is revealed as the logos, the "Word" made flesh (and logos can be used to translate dabar in the Septuagint; while dabar is used in Hebrew translations of John 1).

• Rabbinic tradition contains some imaginative etymologizing, which in some cases holds little linguistic weight but can help us, with the rabbis, enter the text more deeply. Here's an example that ties 'erets to ratsah and ratsohn.

Add a note

Lesson 3 - Word Studies

2008-05-16T12:31:00.001-07:00

'erets, Turner p.22,23
dabar, Turner p.46,47
dabar, Went
ra', Tverberg p.99,100
tob, Kaminski

Lesson 3 - Key Verses

2008-05-16T11:39:00.000-07:00

dabar
‏אַחַ֣ר׀ הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֗לֶּה הָיָ֤ה דְבַר־יְהוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם בַּֽמַּחֲזֶ֖ה
’aḥar| hadəḇārîm hā’ēlleh hāyâ ḏəḇar-yəhwâ ’el-’aḇərām bammaḥăzeh (Gen 15:1) (read)
After these things he word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision.

nēr-ləraḡəlî ḏəḇāreḵā (Ps.119:105)
Your word is a lamp to my feet.

ḇwōḵîm kāl-hā‘ām kəšāmə‘ām ’eṯ-diḇərê hatwōrâ (Neh.8:9)
All the people wept when they hear the words of the law.

haššōlēḥa ’imərāṯwō ’āreṣ ‘aḏ-məhērâ yārûṣ dəḇārwō (Ps.147:15)
He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.

yiṯəmāḵə-dəḇāray libeḵā (Prov.4:4)
Let your heart keep my words.

kāl-hadəḇārîm yəḡē‘îm (Eccl. 1:8)
All things are wearisome.

'erets
bərē’šîṯ bārā’ ’ĕlōhîm ’ēṯ haššāmayim wə’ēṯ hā’āreṣ (Gen 1:1)
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

layhwâ3 hā’āreṣ ûməlwō’āh (Ps.24:1)
The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it.

ra'ab
wəqāmû šeḇa‘ šənê rā‘āḇ ’aḥărêhen wənišəkaḥ kāl-haśśāḇā‘ bə’ereṣ miṣərāyim wəḵillâ hārā‘āḇ ’eṯ-hā’āreṣ (Gen 41:30)
And there will arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land.

har
mah-nnā’wû ‘al-hehārîm raḡəlê məḇaśśēr (Isa.52:7)
How lovely on the mountains are the feet of the one who brings good news.

hehārîm wəhagəḇā‘wōṯ yifəṣəḥû lifənêḵem (Isa.55:12)
The mountains and the hills will break forth before you.

tob
wayyarə’ ’ĕlōhîm kî-ṭwōḇ (Gen 1:10)
And God saw that it was good.

... wəḏāḇār ṭwōḇ yəśamməḥennâ (Prov.12:25)
[Anxiety weighs down the human heart,] but a good word makes it glad.

gadol
gāḏwōl yəhwâ ûməhullāl mə’ōḏ (Ps.48:1)
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised!

mē’ên kāmwōḵā yəhwâ gāḏwōl ’atâ wəḡāḏwōl šiməḵā biḡəḇûrâ (Jer. 10:6)
There is none like you, O Lord, you are great, and your name is great in might.

qaton
... ḥayywōṯ qəṭannwōṯ ‘im-gəḏōlwōṯ (Ps.104:25)
[Yonder is the sea, great and wide, creeping things innumerable are there,]
creatures small and great.

Add a verse

Lesson 3 - Useful Exercises

2008-05-16T11:04:00.000-07:00

• Cook p.65-66
• Dobson p.51,54,56

Lesson 3 - Key Concepts

2008-05-16T08:55:00.001-07:00

Key Concepts

adjectives, number and gender (L.22 / Cook ch. 9.1, Dobson ch.5, Parsons u.5.1-5.2, Pratico ch.7)
adjectives, function (L.23 / Cook ch. 9.1, Dobson ch.5, Parsons u.5.3-5.5, Pratico ch.7)

Less-Key Concepts

quirks in the definite article (L.21)

Lesson 3 - Vocab

2008-05-16T08:46:00.000-07:00

(L. p15)

dabar (VPF 30, Strong's H1697, Davar 259)
ra'ab (VPF 381, Strong's H7458, Davar 560)
'erets (VPF 21, Strong's H0776, Davar 108)
har (VPF 89, Strong's 2022, Davar 132)
'am (VPF 27, Strong's H5971, Davar 190)
gan (VPF 767, Strong's H1588, Davar 204)
tob (VPF 92, Strong's H2896, Davar 395)
gadol (VPF 93, Strong's H1419, Davar 394)
qaton (VPF 477, Strong's H6996, Davar 459)
yapeh (VPF 749, Strong's H3303, Davar 61)
ra' (VPF 153, Strong's H7451, Davar 396)
me'od (VPF 83, Strong's H3966, Davar 293)

Lesson 3 - Fancy Terms in Plain English

2008-05-16T08:39:00.001-07:00

(I'm starting with Lesson 3, where I got stuck, but I'll try to go back and do the previous lessons, for my own benefit if no one else's.)

Atrributive adjective - adjective that combines with a noun to make a phrase (the blue car)

Predicate adjective - adjective that combines with a noun to make a sentence (the car [is] blue)

Substantive adjective - adjective that functions as a noun (the blue [one])

Store

2008-05-16T07:56:00.001-07:00

Help out a Hebrew student: buy any of these books by clicking on these links and I get a cut. Thanks! Nathan

--

--

--

--

--

Buy something else

Flashcards

2008-05-16T07:20:00.000-07:00

Is there a better way to learn vocabulary other than flashcards? Well, I guess there's immersion (the linguistic kind, not the baptismal kind), and maybe divine foreknowledge, which neither you nor I are likely to have. So whether you make your own, install the Teknia program (which I can't get to work on my computer), use Davar, or—my recommendation—buy the Van Pelt flashcards, it's time to get flashing.

(I'll abbreviate the Van Pelt flashcards as VPF# at this blog, so, for instance, VPF 10 = Van Pelt flashcard number 10.)

Update: Here's a very cool flashcards website.

Textbooks

2008-05-16T06:53:00.000-07:00

* = recommended

Books

* Cook, John and Robert Holmstedt. Ancient Hebrew: A Student Grammar (Unpublished PDF draft, 2007)

* Dobson, John. Learn Biblical Hebrew (Baker Academic, 2005)

Kelley, Page. Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar (Eerdmans, 1992)

Kittel, Bonnie P.; Vicki Hoffer; and Rebecca A. Wright. Biblical Hebrew: Text and Workbook (Yale, 1989)

Lambdin, Thomas. Introduction to Biblical Hebrew (Prentice Hall, 1971)

* Pratico, Gary and Miles Van Pelt. Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammmar (Zondervan, 2001) (W) (buy)

Ross, Allen. Introducing Biblical Hebrew (Baker Academic, 2001)

Seow, C.L. A Grammar for Biblical Hebrew (Abingdon Press, 1995)

Waltke, Bruce and Michael O'Connor. An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax (Eisenbrauns, 1990)

• Annotated reviews and companion resources from Tyler Williams

Websites

Concordia

Eby

* Milingua

* Parsons

Poulos

Williams (unpublished study guide to Lambdin)

Transliteration

2008-05-16T05:37:00.000-07:00

To avoid all the problems of font and browser displays of the Hebrew alphabet, I thiink I'm going to opt for transliteration at this blog. But remember, the characters of the actual Hebrew alphabet are only a click away.

Granted, transliteration can actually be a barrier to getting familiar with the Hebrew alphabet (which is why Cook and Dobson, which use only the Hebrew alphabet for Hebrew, are more intuitive). But I've also found that at this stage, transliteration is one helpful measure to make sure I'm getting the pronunciation right of the Hebrew letters and words.

My own transliteration scheme is simplistic and imprecise (which, in a way, is a good reminder that romanization is only an approximation of Hebrew sound--plus, of course, we don't know what Ancient Hebrew actually sounded like). For verses, I tend to use the transliteration from Sacred Texts, which appears to use ISO 259.

(Update: I've realized another benefit of transliteration: it makes Hebrew sounds feel more like words. That, of course, is purely my bias and limitation as someone whose native language and other languages I've studied use the Roman alphabet. But the danger in reading a non-native alphabet is that it feels like you're deciphering, not reading. Transliteration helps remind me that these are words and sentences, not just symbols.)

Here are some consonant transliteration guides from other textbooks:

Lambdin

Ross

Doukhan

Williams

Parsons

Also, while the point is to read Hebrew, not to write it, some textbooks have some helpful handwriting guides: see the guides from Cook and Ross

The Shear* Necessity of Lambdin

2008-05-15T14:20:00.001-07:00

Thomas Lambdin's Introduction to Biblical Hebrew is not the best textbook for a first-year Hebrew class. But where I'm studying Hebrew it 's long been an immovable object, and as far as I know Jesus himself used Lambdin in Hebrew school, so I'll try to make the best of it. After I twice flunked the quiz for Lesson 3 I realized I had to get organized. Here it goes.

(* Yes, I realize the spelling "error" in the title of this post—it was supposed to be a sheep-related pun. Get it—Lamb-din? Never mind.)

Update: See my new Hebrew blog.