Transcription
Biblical HebrewBasic Grammarof theHebrewOld TestamentJohn PappasA companion book for the Biblical Hebrew VPOD Internet Video Instruction Programi
Copyright, 2018byJohn Pappas, Th.M, Th.Dii
Table of ContentsTHE METHOD . 6THE STORY OF HEBREW . 7THE HEBREW ALPHABET . 12THE HEBREW NOUN . 19THE NOUN PREFIXES . 24THE ADJECTIVE . 31PREPOSITIONS . 35PRONOUNS . 39HEBREW SUFFIXES . 43CONSTRUCT NOUNS. 49INTRODUCTION TO VERBS . 55QAL PERFECT STRONG VERBS . 60QAL IMPERFECT STRONG VERBS . 64QAL IMPERATIVE & PRONOMINAL SUFFIXES OF STRONG VERBS . 68QAL INFINITIVE STRONG VERBS . 72QAL PARTICIPLE STRONG VERBS . 75NIPHʽAL STRONG VERBS . 79PIʽEL STRONG VERBS . 85PUʽAL STRONG VERBS . 90HITHPAʽEL STRONG VERBS . 93HIFʽIL STRONG VERBS . 98HOFʽAL STRONG VERBS . 102THE HEBREW SENTENCE . 105FIRST GUTTURAL WEAK VERBS . 113SECOND GUTTURAL WEAK VERBS . 117THIRD GUTTURAL WEAK VERBS . 120THIRD ALEF GUTTURAL WEAK VERBS . 123THIRD HE GUTTURAL WEAK VERBS . 126FIRST NUN GUTTURAL WEAK VERBS . 129SECOND VAV/YOD GUTTURAL WEAK VERBS . 131FIRST VAV OR FIRST YOD GUTTURAL WEAK VERBS . 1343
GEMINATE GUTTURAL WEAK VERBS . 137APPENDIX . 139VERB CHART – STRONG VERB . 140VERB CHART 2 – I-GUTTURAL [PE GUTTURAL (P )] . 142VERB CHART 3 – I-ʼALEF [PE ʼALEF] . 144VERB CHART 4 – II-GUTTURAL [ʽAYIN GUTTURAL] . 146VERB CHART 5 – III-GUTTURAL [LAMED GUTTURAL] . 148VERB CHART 6 – III-ʽALEF [LAMED ʽALEF]. 150VERB CHART 7 – III-HE [LAMED HE] . 152VERB CHART 8 – I-NUN [PE NUN] . 154VERB CHART 9 – II-VAV/ II-YOD [ʽAYIN VAV/ ʽAYIN YOD] . 156VERB CHART 9 – II-VAV/II-YOD [ʽAYIN VAV/ʽAYIN YOD] CONTINUED. 157VERB CHART 10 – I-VAV/I-YOD [PE VAV/PE YOD] . 159VERB CHART 11 – GEMINATE [DOUBLE ʽAYIN] . 161DICTIONARY OF GRAMMAR TERMS . 163ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS . 165VOCABULARY . 1814
PrefaceSince the work done on the Bible Greek VPOD program is behind me, the reflection onand improvements considered are now made to the study of Hebrew. The basic idea is thesame – Keep It Simple! That is the primary goal of any first year language study andHebew needs that same treatment. While keeping it simple, I have tried to also keep thecomplexity inherent with Hebrew as every grammar includes multiple complexgrammatical terms for what should be one simple term. This simplification is often a hardthing to accomplish since the first year student also needs to get aquanted with thetechnical terms yet at the same time not be lost because of an unrelated expression.I must thank my Hebrew teacher, David Austin at Tyndale Seminary, Fort Worth,for his encouragement with both Hebrew and Greek. Also my doctrinal advisor andmentor Dr. Mal Couch who spent countless hours discussing language, theology, and lifeissues. They instilled in me the “keep it simple,” philosophy that I, in turn, emphisize tomy students. It is my hope that the student of this Hebrew grammar will find the complexmade simple, while expanding in knowledge and understanding of the original Jewishauthor’s meaning. That is the goal. It is not possible to interpret completely the thoughtsof the original author without going to the original author’s language. That means goingback to the Hebrew and Greek. Just having a cursory knowledge of the original languagehelps greatly in the understanding of the Word.5
The MethodThe method used for learning the Hebrew of the Old Testament is based on the internetvideo Bible Hebrew VPOD produced by the author. This program is based on the threefundamentals: Chapter reading of the grammar book Video instruction using the Hebrew video lessons Then, back to the book for practice and exercisesThis method is simple, straight to the point, and proven. It is the purpose of thismethod and program that the student will gain a quick understanding and confidenceworking with the language while the love and value of it grows.Working the practice exercises is extremely valuable. There is no substitute formemorizing the vocabulary and translating the verses. The volume of words to memorizefor each lesson is manageable, and the translation work limited to five or six verses. Theselection is made in order for the student to become experienced in the subject of thechapter. The verses were selected for the most part because of their doctrinal meat notjust verses for practice sake. Use a Bible, in fact several versions of the Bible whentranslating so as to get acquainted with variations. Do not get hung up on the variations –just do the basic translation work and wait until intermediate Hebrew to understand thevariations.May your time be spent in the Word, not around the Word. May the riches anddepths of His Word bless you greatly.6
Chapter OneThe Story of HebrewHebrew is the language of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Hebrew was the language of theHebrews of the Egyptian bondage. Hebrew was the language the LORD Himself carvedon stone tablets and gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. Technically, Hebrew is one of theSemitic languages categorized as West Semitic which includes the ancient languages ofUgaritic, Phoenician, and Canaanite.Was Hebrew the original language of mankind? We cannot say, but we can saythe Hebrew found in the Old Testament was not the original since it was written fromaround 1450 to 400 B.C. The earliest forms of a written language can be dated to around3500 B. C. in the Near Eastern region of Sumer. And it is interesting to find archeologicalevidence to support the biblical account of the separation of languages (Gen. 11). Dr.Henry Morris provides a quote from Ralph Linton, one of the foremost anthropologistswho says, “Writing was also a Near Eastern invention and one whose contribution tocivilization has been even greater than that of metal Writing appears almostsimultaneously some 5000-6000 years ago in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the IndusValley.”1.It should be noted that even though one finds the written record of Sumer earlierthan the written record of Hebrew, that in itself does not prove Hebrew did not exist as adistinct language at the same time. It only says the Hebrew dialect either was not awritten language at the time of Sumer, or that Hebrew may have been a fully developedwritten language but without the societal dominance that Sumer experienced with all itspreserved clay tablets.The ancient Semitic division of languages includes the following four divisions: Eastern Semitic: Akkadian, Assyrian & Babylonian Southern: Arabic & Ethiopic Northern: Amorite & Aramaic Northwestern: Canaanite, Hebrew, Ugaritic & PhoenicianWithin the northwestern Semitic division, the Canaanite division is the main categorywhere all the dialects of the region are classified. The primary north Canaanite dialect isUgaritic of ancient Ugarit containing a thirty character alphabet and of which much isknown due to the large volume of clay tablets describing a rich culture of law, history,religion, business, and epic poetry.The Moabite dialect of northwestern Canaan dates from 840 B.C. Ourunderstanding of the Moabites apart from the Biblical record comes primarily from theMesha Stone. The stone identified with the Moabite king Mesha tells how Chemosh, thegod of Moab, had been angry with his people and had allowed them to be subjugated to1Henry Morris, Scientific Creationism (Green Forest: Master Books, 2003), p. 1937
Israel, but Chemosh returned and assisted Mesha to defeat Israel and restore the land toMoab. The stone describes many of Mesha’s building projects.The northern coastal region of Canaan was dominated by the Phoenician dialect.This was the region of Tyre, Sidon, Berytus, Tripolis and Byblos, involving all theforeign emigrants from Cyprus, Sicily, and North Africa. The Phoenician dialect becomesmore important for the 5th to 2nd centuries BC.ScriptThe script of Hebrew has developed from what is called the Early Hebrew through thegeneration to what is called the Square Hebrew. The Early Hebrew alphabet is theoriginal script of the Hebrew Bible up to the pre-exilic writings. There was developedamong the scribes a cursive script which served the scribe’s quick flowing hand. It is thetime of the Babylonian captivity that the square script moves to the Hebrew alphabet.Thought to be derived from the Aramaic script, the Hebrew developed into a distinctiveJewish type of script.2While the square script was the most significant development of the Hebrew text,the second most important development was the vowel pointing. Hebrew developed witha consonant only system wherein one knew how to pronounce the vowel sound of theword based on tradition and some basic rules. A verb had an “a” vowel sound, while anoun possessed an “e” sound. During the Babylonian captivity the Hebrew almost losttheir language but was somewhat restored, at least in Jerusalem, during the return. B
The script of Hebrew has developed from what is called the Early Hebrew through the generation to what is called the Square Hebrew. The Early Hebrew alphabet is the original script of the Hebrew Bible up to the pre-exilic writings. There was developed among the scribes a cursive script which served the scribe’s quick flowing hand. It is the
