Tuesday, 19 May 2015

tanach - Which books help one acquire a systematic understanding of Biblical Hebrew grammar?


A question for the grammar experts. How can I learn Hebrew grammar in a systematic way? Especially a book that would help me understand how to layn properly. Something that covers rules of nikkud, teamim, word stress. Verb conjugation. Something that would help me understand the technical terminology that the Minchat Shai uses.


I'm familiar with the Tanakh, and I speak passing modern Hebrew, so its not a question of basics. I just feel that I never advanced beyond a well-informed "balabatish" understanding.


I would prefer a classic book that is available online, e.g. through hebrewbooks.org


Will I get a complete picture by reading one or two of the major books? Has the understanding of Hebrew grammar evolved over time? And if so, how drastically? Are there any accessible academic works on Hebrew? I enjoyed, for example, the few examples in the Wikipedia articles on Hebrew grammar which explained the relation of Hebrew to the other Semitic languages.



Answer



I would recommend either "Biblical Hebrew for Students of Modern Israeli Hebrew" by Marc Zvi Brettler or "A Grammar for Biblical Hebrew" by C. L. Seow. I've used each of these books in a biblical hebrew course in college.


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