How I Go About My Translations

Posted on by Jason Hare

Or: Weingreen English-Hebrew Translation, Exercise 31, Number 6

I’ve mentioned before that we are doing English-to-Hebrew translation exercises from Weingreen’s A Practical Grammar for Classical Hebrew as entertainment, not as a formal study. I figured that I would post the exercise that I have just posted on B-Hebrew and give you some insight into what goes into my thinking when I produce my translations. You are free to comment and let me know if you agree or disagree with my decisions and why.

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the verb pattern פָּעַל (part I)

Posted on by Mariana Ferreira

As we have seen in the introductory article the פָּעַל is the “basic” verb pattern in Hebrew. However , this does not mean that the פָּעַל is simple. In order to cover the main regularities and irregularities of this pattern, I have decided to split the explanations for פָּעַל in two articles to enhance clarity.

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The best way to learn to read in Hebrew

Posted on by Dikla Berkowitz

When my oldest daughter was 5 years old she was supposed to start learning how to read in Hebrew in her preschool, but we were about to move to a different city so it didn’t work out. That’s how I ended up teaching her how to read in Hebrew. Our primary language is Hebrew, but we also speak in English.

From my experience, it is best to start with memorizing the letters (including the ending letters like Nun Sofit – נון סופית) again and again, until you know them 90% at least. 

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Word order in Biblical Hebrew, pt. 2: Real and Irreal Mood (a)

Posted on by Jonathan Beck

I am working on a post on real and irreal mood.  It is really long, so I think I’m going to cut it into further parts. Besides, Jason reminded me that “No one knows what real and irreal moods are!” So, that’s what this post is for.

Real and irreal mood is more or less the same thing as the indicative and subjunctive moods in English. Real mood (indicative) is a statement grounded in reality.  Most often, this is a simple statement.

Irreal (subjunctive) mood includes sentences or statements that are one step removed from reality, i.e., something that may or may not have happened. “Irreal” is a linguistic description derived from the Latin irrealis. Irreal mood may also be called “unreal” mood.

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Verbs in Modern Hebrew (Introduction)

Posted on by Mariana Ferreira

Verbs are certainly one of the hardest parts of modern Hebrew. This article starts a series of articles on the פְּעָלִים that are the nightmare of any Hebrew learner, not only for beginners. This introductory post will discuss the basic characteristics of Hebrew verbs; while in the following articles, we will dig deeper into each one of the בִּנְיָינִים.

All verbs in Hebrew consist of two things:

  1. Pattern (בִּנְיָין): this is the “body” or the “structure” of the verb, what gives each פֹּ֫עַל (verb) its form. 
  2. Root (שׁ֫וֹרֶשׁ): this is the three- or four-letter system that gives meaning to each פֹּ֫עַל.

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How I Agree with Nehemia Gordon

Posted on by Jason Hare

It might surprise some to learn that I have more in common with Nehemia Gordon than not. After all, I spend a lot of time talking about why I believe he is wrong about the pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton. It’s truly not a feud that I have with him personally, since I would agree with the great majority of his stances on biblical issues (as far as I’ve understood them). In this post, I want to enumerate the ways in which I agree with Nehemia Gordon so that people don’t think that I oppose everything he has to say.

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Word Order in Biblical Hebrew, Pt. 1: An Overview

Posted on by Jonathan Beck

In recent years, there has been lively discussions concerning word order in Biblical Hebrew.  For last century, and until  very recently, the consensus among most scholars has been that Hebrew exhibits VERB-SUBJECT word order.  For example:

בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֲלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָעָרֶץ׃
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.¹

At the head of the clause, we have an infinitive followed by the perfect verb ברא, followed by the subject אֲלֹהִים. The verb is first, followed by the subject.  While this is the most common word order, I argue (following John A. Cook and Robert D. Holmstedt) that it is not the “default” word order. Instead, the default word order is SUBJECT-VERB, as in English.

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The key(s) to success in Biblical Hebrew

Posted on by Jonathan Beck

I have learned many things over the course of my years teaching and tutoring Biblical Hebrew.  For most people, the process of learning a new language is an intimidating one. This feeling of intimidation is compounded when you learn an ancient language, especially a Semitic one. The letters are foreign, apparently consisting of symbols rather than letters. It sounds strange to the ear. OK, more than strange – downright foreign. So, when it comes to learning a language like Biblical Hebrew, what is there to be done?

The answer is “plenty.” But there’s one thing in particular that “must” be done: you need to learn how to READ it.

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