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 also talks about I-roots, which are classed as weak to assimilate when it is not at the beginning of the syllable. This means that I-roots conjugate differently from strong roots in the following stems and conjugations: hifil, hofal, qal yiqol, wayyiqol, volitives, and infinitive construct, nifal qaal and participle.
