A New Grammar of Biblical Hebrew

327 Pages·2010·1.91 MB·English

by  Frederic Clarke Putnam

A NEW GRAMMAR OF
B H
IBLICAL EBREW
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ALSO BY THE SAME AUTHOR
(with Ted A. Hildebrandt). The Book of Proverbs: A Classified Bibliography. Sheffield: Sheffield
Phoenix Press, 2010.
Proverbs. The Complete Biblical Library. Old Testament Study Bible. Springfield, MO: World
Library Press, 1998.
Card-Guide to Biblical Hebrew. Quakertown, PA: Stylus, 1996; rev. ed., 1997.
Hebrew Bible Insert: A Student’s Guide to the Syntax of Biblical Hebrew. Quakertown, PA: Stylus,
1996.
A Cumulative Scripture Index of Hebrew Grammar & Syntax. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1996.
(with James C. Pakala). Directory & Profile: Collection Evaluation & Development Section of the
American Theological Library Association. Collection Evaluation and Development Committee of
the ATLA, 1986.
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A N G
EW RAMMAR OF
B H
IBLICAL EBREW
Frederic Clarke Putnam
Wnyle[' Wnyhel{a/ yn"doa] ~[;nO yhiywI
Wnyle[' hn"n>AK Wnydey" hfe[]m;W
`WhnEn>AK Wnydey" hfe[]m;W
And may the favor of the Lord our God be upon us;
And the work of our hands establish for us;
And the work of our hands, establish it.
Psalm 90.17
Sheffield Phoenix Press
2010
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Copyright © 2006, 2010 Frederic Clarke Putnam
Published by Sheffield Phoenix Press
Department of Biblical Studies, University of Sheffield
Sheffield S3 7QB England
www.sheffieldphoenix.com
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information
storage or retrieval system, without the publisher’s permission in writing.
A CIP catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library
Typeset by Vikatan Publishing Solutions (P) Ltd., Chennai, India
Printed by Lightning Source Inc.
ISBN 978-1-907534-03-4 (hardback)
ISBN 978-1-907534-04-1 (paperback)
Notice: BWHEBB [Hebrew] and BWGRKL [Greek] Postscript® Type 1 and TrueTypeT fonts Copy-
right © 1994-2009 BibleWorks, LLC. All rights reserved. These Biblical Greek and Hebrew fonts
are used with permission and are from BibleWorks, software for Biblical exegesis and research.
If you use or derive any materials from this work, please respect this copyright by displaying this
notice. Thank you.
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To Emilie,
with thanks for unfailing
love & support
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CONTENTS
List of Enrichment Sections ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgements xiii
Abbreviations xv
Introduction xvii
PART I: READING & PRONOUNCING HEBREW 1
Introduction 3
1. The Hebrew Alphabet 5
2. The Vowels 11
3. Syllables 21
PART II: NOMINAL & VERBAL GRAMMAR (I) 29
4. The Noun 31
5. The Hebrew Verb 41
6. The Preterite 55
7. Nominal Modification (II): Prepositions 65
8. Commands & Prohibitions 73
9. Nominal Modification (III): The Construct 79
10. The Perfect (Qatal, Suffix Conjugation) 87
11. Nominal Modification (IV) 95
12. The Participle 103
13. Pronominals (I) 109
14. Pronominals (II): Suffixes 117
15. Stative Verbs & hyh 127
16. The Infinitives & Summary of Qal 135
17. Questions, Negatives, Numerals 143
PART III: VERBAL GRAMMAR (II) & READING HEBREW 151
18. Other Stems 153
19. The D-Stems (Piel, Pual, Hitpael) 163
20. The H-Stems (Hifil, Hofal) 173
21. The Qal Passive / Identifying (Parsing) Verbal Forms 181
22. Guttural Verbs 189
23. Basic Tools 195
24. Other kinds of Verbal Roots 203
25. “Pre-reading” Biblical Narrative 211
n
26. I- Verbs 221
27. Pre-reading a Biblical Poem 231
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viii Biblical Hebrew
28. Hollow (II-W/ Y) Verbs 235
29. The Masora 243
yw
30. I- / Verbs 249
[ [
31. Geminate ( “ )Verbs 255
APPENDICES 263
A. Supplementary Vocabulary 265
B. Hebrew-English Glossary 269
The Most Common “Proper” Nouns 280
C. Glossary of Morphosyntactical Terms 283
D. Paradigms 289
E. Annotated Bibliography 301
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LIST OF ENRICHMENT SECTIONS
(AT THE END OF EACH LESSON)
Section Topic
1.4 Acrostic Poetry
2.8 Implicit/Assumed Information
3.8 The Divine Name
4.11 Hendiadys
5.10 Translation & the Exercises
6.11 Narrative Backbone (& Ancillary Information)
7.11 Directions
8.10 Verbal Euphony in Poetry
9.6 Semantic Clusters
10.8 The Perfect as Performative?
11.8 Reading a Bulla
12.6 Participles & Poetic Compression
13.8 Disjunctives in Poetry
14.8 Ruth 3.16
15.8 Genesis 13.2
16.7 Gerundive Infinitives Construct
17.7 Irrealis
18.8 Nifal vs. Hitpael?
19.8 The Nature of D/Piel
20.8 Modality
21.5 Nominal Formation
22.11 Vocabulary
23.5 Using the Lexicon
24.8 Narrative Aperture
25.10 Pre-reading Ruth 2.1-7
26.7 Participant Reference
27.7 Reading a Poem
28.8 Dating Haggai
29.6 The Masora Marginalis to Genesis 37.18-22
30.6 Pay Attention While Reading
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