Jonathan brought to my attention a couple of days ago that we haven’t done any real kind of update about our activities recently. The last post I made about this was back in February. So, I’m going to write really quickly now to let you know what we’ve been doing and working on around here. Also, I’d love it if you gave me some feedback about new things you’d be interested in doing.

It’s been our recent practice to divide our sessions up into “first hour,” “second hour,” and “third hour,” as we do three hours on Monday evenings. These hours are 5:00pm, 6:00pm, and 7:00pm (Eastern US), which correspond to 12:00am, 1:00am, and 2:00am in Israel. I know that this isn’t a convenient time slot for everyone in the world, but I’m not sure what else I can do at this point.

First Hour — Reading Hebrew
Since Simḥaṯ Torah, we’ve been reading through a single aliyah from within Parashat haShavua [פָּרָשַׁת הַשָּׁבוּעַ Pārāšaṯ Haššāḇû(a)ʿ]. Our reading schedule is posted online here.

Second Hour — Translating into Biblical Hebrew
Until now, we’ve been using the second hour to translate from KJV-style English into biblical Hebrew using Weingreen’s Classical Hebrew Composition (Oxford, 1957).

Third Hour — Modern Hebrew (now using Hebrew from Scratch, book 2)
Colton and I have been going through a set of textbooks intended to introduce students to spoken Hebrew. It’s been a great ride, and Colton has made great strides. We’re very willing to review and practice speaking if anyone wants to join us!

Anyone who makes a paid subscription on Patreon can join us on Stream and join the modern Hebrew hour.

To check out our past and upcoming streams, go to The Hebrew Café’s YouTube channel under the Live tab.

Admittedly, I didn’t know the difference between “pictograph” and “pictogram,” so I just asked ChatGPT, and it confirmed to me that I should be using the word “pictograph” throughout my discussion and not “pictogram.” I don’t feel like going back through the posts to change it, so please understand that I mean the use of a written symbol to represent a full word that is supposed to resemble it in drawing. For example, א is supposed to look like an ox head and represent the word אלף elef. I shouldn’t be using the word “pictogram” to describe this.

עִמָּכֶם הַסְּלִיחָה

As we come to the beginning of March, I just wanted to take a few minutes to update you on our YouTube activities and where we are going in the near future.

What’s Staying the Same

We will continue to break up our lessons into “hours” (“First Hour,” “Second Hour,” etc.). I’m not sure on what date the following changes will go into effect, but this is the direction that I’m thinking at this time.

Continue reading “March 2025 Update” →

ִApologies for the clickbaity title! I have really enjoyed learning and writing about Second Language Acquisition (SLA) in these blog posts, so I am going to continue to build on one of the concepts from the last one I wrote.  One of the language-learning tasks I mentioned in that previous post was fluency development. When we hear the word “fluency,” most of us think of “complete mastery” of some target language. While anyone who has a complete mastery of a language would in fact be fluent, I am not sure such a person exists. Needless to say, there are a few issues I have with this approach to fluency.

Continue reading “Are you Fluent or a Flunky?” →

The Beginning: 2012-2015

Central to any journey is the motivation to begin. Like many people who study Ancient Hebrew (and Greek), I wanted to learn the scripture better. When I learned that there were other languages behind the English translations, I HAD to find a way to learn them. I loved studying the Bible, and I knew that the languages of the original texts were the gateway to knowing it better. I had taken a particular interest in the Old Testament and then a great fascination with Hebrew was birthed. I am not sure why I preferred the Hebrew Bible, but I definitely did.

College: 2015-2019

Fast Forward to college, I spent my first 2 years of undergrad taking classes about the background and literary features of the Bible, but I still hadn’t learned Hebrew.  Then, my academic advisor (Duane Smith) told me he was going to be teaching Hebrew for the first time since I had been a student at the college, I was STOKED. The following three semesters working though Thomas Lambdin’s Introduction to Biblical Hebrew officially began my journey with Hebrew. Though it was frustrating at times, I managed to make it through Lambdin’s exercises. My last semester of college we didn’t have an official class, but I would occasionally get together with Dr. Smith to read Hebrew together, while I tried to keep up on my own. 

Continue reading “Why I Started This Journey” →

In our recent YouTube Live session, we delved into the fascinating world of Biblical Hebrew, focusing on two unique types of nouns: segolate and geminate nouns. These concepts are crucial for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of Hebrew grammar.

Segolate Nouns

Segolate nouns are a distinctive category in Biblical Hebrew. They typically have a two-syllable structure with the accent on the first syllable. The name “segolate” comes from the Hebrew word “segol,” which is a vowel sound represented by three dots arranged in a triangle (ֶ). These nouns often undergo vowel changes when they are inflected, making them an interesting study for linguists and language enthusiasts alike.

Geminate Nouns

Geminate nouns, on the other hand, are characterized by having two identical consonants in succession. This doubling of consonants can affect the pronunciation and inflection of the noun. Understanding geminate nouns is essential for proper pronunciation and comprehension of Biblical texts.

Continue reading “Seow — Session 7” →

You heard me, I hated it.

I’m not a visual person. So it’s no wonder that I hated the charts, the comics, the pictures, the diagrams (which thy used to explain linguistic phenomena). It was a different book – a book so different that it rattled me tot my core.

Ok, so that’s a bit of an exaggeration.

Way back in the dark ages (2007, to be precise), I started seminary. Of course, Hebrew was my favorite, so the Hebrew program was what I wanted to experience the most!  It wasn’t long before I was tutoring and leading the reading groups for the young’uns, as we down south are wont to call them.

Like every other grammar I had ever used, Seow’s starting point was the traditional grammar-translation method; that is, one is expected to learn Hebrew by – you guessed it – learning the grammar and doing the subsequent exercises. Of course, there are no “reading” exercises in Seow’s grammar – or Lambdin’s.  At least not that many, and not beyond the first few lessons.

Continue reading “A Traditional Grammarian’s Take On Second-Language Aquisition (SLA) Methods” →

So, you’ve decided to dive into the ancient and fascinating world of Biblical Hebrew? Mazal tov (מַזָּל טוֹב)! You’re about to embark on a journey that will not only deepen your understanding of ancient texts but also enrich your appreciation of history, culture, and language. Here are some tips to help you get started.

1. Start with the Basics

Before you can read and understand Biblical Hebrew, you need to get familiar with the Hebrew alphabet (The “Aleph-Bet”). There are 22 letters, and each one has a unique sound and shape. Spend some time practicing writing and pronouncing each letter. Flashcards can be a great tool for this. Our recent posts on this blog dealing with the beginnings of the study of Seow’s grammar will help you get started with that. You will also find advice for other online learning sites there.

Continue reading “Embarking on Your Journey with Biblical Hebrew: A Beginner’s Guide” →

Jonathan taught this session, presenting an introduction to nouns and the endings that they take. This was the fourth session of the course, and it was aimed at covering the material in Lesson III of the book.

Making Plurals in English

In English, our nouns are normally very simple. To form plurals, we just add –s, or –es if the last sound calls for it. Thus, computer simply becomes computers; desk becomes desks; friend becomes friends; and, box (ending in an s sound) becomes boxes. There is a list that all school children must memorize of “irregular” nouns like ox (oxen) and child (children), as well as some that do not change form for the plural (fish can be either one fish or twenty fish).

Continue reading “Seow — Session 4” →