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Title: A Grammar for Biblical Hebrew by Choon L. Seow ISBN: 0-687-15786-2 Publisher: Abingdon Press Pub. Date: October, 1995 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $36.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.75 (8 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A good grammar
Comment: This is an excellent grammar. However, it is not a do it yourself beginner's book. It requires either a good instructor, or enough of a background in Biblical Hebrew to appreciate the complexity of the grammar and the thoroughness of Seow's approach. There are a few typographical errors. Seow also has a tendency to slip important concepts in without any fanfare. But his reinforcement of the material by picking unaltered Biblical texts to demonstrate is excellent. The addition of a volume with exercises is needed. It is a textbook, therefore not a complete grammar. Gesenius is still good to have on the side.
Rating: 2
Summary: There is a reason why Seow's grammar is relatively cheap.
Comment: Having used this text in my introductory Classical Hebrew studies I found the order of the lessons to be incredibly illogical, jumping from one verbal stem to another and then back to the first, rather than covering each one individually and thoroughly. Further, the whole book is pedagogically atrocious. Practice exercises in the book recommend translations from the Tanakh that contain a great deal of grammar that has not yet been covered in the book, rather than offering simplified paraphrases. Further, the book offers no practice in translating from English to Hebrew, which is invaluable in learning Classical Hebrew. Instead, I would suggest Thomas Lambdin's grammar which, though a bit more expensive, is worth every penny.
Rating: 4
Summary: Good Intro Grammar - Not so good Intro Text
Comment: This is a fine intro grammar for Biblical Hebrew. Ultimately, however, that is all it is. It gives the basics and does so in a well laid out manner. Finding topics is pretty easy using either the index of the table of contents. Explanations are extraordinarily thorough - this being the primary positive trait of this book.
More advanced grammars are need for the serious student of Biblical Hebrew (see Joüon-Muraoka; Waltke-O'Connor; Gesenius, etc.). But I keep Seow at hand for quick reminders and explanations for my students.
Unfortunately, many teachers seem to think this book serves as an intro text. Seow apparantly thought by adding exercises to the end of every chapter that it could serve this purpose, as well. I disagree. The order in which concepts are presented does not facilitate quick and easy access to the Hebrew text. Seow gives all of the minutiae on a given concept before moving on. One example should suffice: verbs are not even addressed until chapter VIII, before which nouns in all their forms (geminate, segolate, mem-prefix nouns, tav-prefix nouns, etc.), adjective inflection and patterns (qatol, qatel, qatal, qall, etc.), and an intro to BDB and 'Reading Markers and Pausal Forms' have all been addressed ad nauseum.
By contrast, A First Hebrew Primer by Simon, Resnikoff, and Motzkin serves as a fantastic intro text. It's laid out in a manner which gets students into the Hebrew Scriptures much quicker. This may seem like a small thing, but increases the level of interest in the student tremendously.
A Grammar for Biblical Hebrew receives four stars because it's a pretty good elementary grammar. If you're looking for an intro text, though, please look first at A First Hebrew Primer. It will be worth your time. Then you can use Seow's book to supplement what the Primer doesn't deal with as completely.
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Title: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia by American Bible Society ISBN: 3438052199 Publisher: Fortress Press Pub. Date: October, 2000 List Price(USD): $69.99 |
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Title: Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon by Francis Brown, S. Driver, C. Briggs ISBN: 1565632060 Publisher: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. Pub. Date: 01 March, 1996 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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Title: A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament: Based upon the Lexical Work of Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner by William Lee Holladay ISBN: 0802834132 Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Pub. Date: December, 1972 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: A Simplified Guide to Bhs: Critical Apparatus, Masora, Accents, Unusual Letters & Other Markings by William R. Scott, Hans Peter Ruger ISBN: 0941037355 Publisher: D & F Scott Pub Inc Pub. Date: May, 1995 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: A Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax by Bill T. Arnold, John H. Choi ISBN: 0521533481 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 24 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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