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 fascinating language with a rich history spanning 3,000 years. It 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 all of the possessive suffixes that are added to plural nouns. Plural nouns undergo propretonic reduction when the addition of the suffix results in a tone-long vowel being left in an open propretonic syllable. If the propretonic reduction results in two vocal shewas in a row, the rule of shewa must be applied as usual.
