ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a comprehensive introduction to Biblical Hebrew language and texts. It presents the essentials of biblical grammar and vocabulary in an engaging and systematic way. The chapter focuses on all the topics expected in a first-year Biblical Hebrew course, including the Hebrew writing system, pointing rules, nouns and adjectives, parsing, mastery of strong and weak verb paradigms and full attention to syntax. Hebrew is a member of the Afro-Asiatic language family, which is a large group of languages spread throughout much of northern Africa and the Middle East. The chapter examines the disyllabic singular nouns that undergo propretonic reduction when possessive suffixes are added, just as they do in the plural and construct state. A noun with a possessive suffix is considered definite just as it would be if it were prefixed by the definite article. The last consonant of geminate nouns doubles when one of the vocalic possessive suffixes is added.
