Basics of Biblical Hebrew

by Gary D. Pratico, Miles V. Van Pelt

Genres: Judaism, Language

491 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2019

About the author

Dr. Gary D. Pratico is Senior Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew Language at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. Dr. Pratico holds a Bachelor of Arts from Berkshire Christian College, a Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Theology from Harvard University with concentration in Hebrew Bible, Ancient Near Eastern History and Syro-Palestinian Archeology. Dr. Pratico was curator of archaeological collections at the Harvard Semitic Museum from September 1982 until December 1993. He has participated in archaeological projects in North Africa, Cyprus, Israel and Jordan. He has also directed dozens of archaeological study tours of Israel, Jordan and Egypt. Dr. Pratico’s most recent book is entitled, Nelson Glueck’s 1938-1940 Excavations at Tell el-Kheleifeh: A Reappraisal. He has co-authored numerous articles with Dr. Cooley on the western cemetary at Tell Dothan and has published many articles on topics concerning biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies.

Reviews

[Grant Carter]

It is finished.

[Landon Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got me through basic and advanced Hebrew courses

[Troy Nevitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the grammar lessons. I did not remember all of it. I disliked the vocab. Vocab is hard. I like the language a lot, but vocab aquisition is not beneficial in a context like this. I would suggest having someone read through this and work through a living language method so that they can have both the knowledge of the language in a technical sense, while getting practical hands-on work with vocabulary in sentences that allow people to have a better comprehensive and intuitive knowledge of Ancient Hebrew. I highly suggest Aleph with Beth for that purpose. Having this grammar, or Mark Futato's grammar (Daily Dose of Hebrew, where they give lessons for free and they work through a portion of Scripture every week day) or other tools to help immerse you in the language are essential to get a basic comprehension where you feel equip to work with the language (I am admittedly not there yet, but I'm far far far better than I was even 4 months ago when I started this grammar)

[Ross McKnight · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've interacted with a number of textbooks and this is by far the best. If you're stepping into a Hebrew course you should pray this is your textbook! Provides thorough explanation of major components without drowning you in unnecessary details. This book absolutely "majors on the majors" and "minors on the minors" in a very practical way. Pratico and Van Pelt have created tons of auxiliary resources such as flashcards, a summary chart, vocab in context book, etc. that are all wildly helpful in study. Make sure to get their laminated Hebrew chart for a helpful summary of the whole book.

[Marcus Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not a fan of the Grammar-Translation method for several reasons. I had to use this book as a textbook for my Hebrew classes in Seminary. I prefer a Living Language approach which aims for meaning and mastery in speaking, writing, reading, and listening whereas in the Garmmar-Translation method you would be lucky to get one.

For a Grammar-Translation method this textbook is considered the gold standard. However, Kutz newer Grammar-Translation is attracting a lot of eyes and is another great Grammar-Translation that I hope to go through soon.

[Jeffrey]

I've decided to take up The First Hebrew Primer: The Adult Beginner's Path to Biblical Hebrew, Third Edition by Ethelyn Simon (FHP) instead of Basics of Biblical Hebrew (BBH) as it seems more geared to student success rather than completeness as BBH. Cons for FHP are its price and it is softcover. Additional con for BBH is the continual Evangelical Christian propaganda.

[Cliff Dailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal resource for the biblical language student.

[Scott Meadows · Rating 5 out of 5]

Van Pelt and Practico have done an exceptional job in creating a remarkably accessible and invaluable guide to Biblical Hebrew. I am grateful for the abundance of resources provided by the authors. Additionally, I want to express my gratitude to Dr. Tyler Sykora for his guidance and support in helping us study the Lord during our studies at MBTS.