Introduction to Hebrew

248 Pages·1965·7.576 MB·English

by  Moshe Greenberg

ה
10011459138
INTRODUCTION
TO
HEBREW
MOSHE GREENBERG
ee hiesiprarve: 2 |
SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY
= דא‎ CLAREMONT
WEST FOOTHILL AT COLLEGE AVENUE
CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA

₪
57
eae INTRODUCTION
See TO
HEBREW
גיב ראב בקלי בישו
Bay Spy mtn
ו ןאצב ויזואתא הקר יי
"יבא לעג -- 5 ו
לארשיו םהי בלאא
‏yy וכ אות םינק זןב
םתיבא בתא ותא 'כ
ץו םסישכורבר וככי
תא אניש דוע ופסוו =
א₪ש יו הזה STING reser ne‏
תעירן בהוך DN‏
א הניבסת הנו הבצנ .
A Agoda Library
SCHOOL OF THY FOLOGY
AT CLAREMONT
California
PRENTICE-HALL INTERNATIONAL, Inc. London
PRENTICE-HALL OF AUSTRALIA, Pry., Lrp. Sydney
PRENTICE-HALL פס‎ CanapA, Ltp. Toronto
Prentice-Ha.t oF Inp1A (PRIVATE) Ltp. New Delhi
PRENTICE-HALL OF JAPAN, Inc. Tokyo
Current printing (last digit):
1 17 1615) 14
© 1965 by PRENTICE-HALL, INC.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
All rights reserved. No part of
this book may be reproduced in any form,
by mimeographo r any other means, without per-
mission in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 64-10135
Printed in the United States of America
48446-C
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am happy to acknowledge the generous attention of the
following persons whose comment and criticism have done much to
lessen the imperfections of this work.
Dr. Haim Blanc went over an earlier draft of the grammar
with me; the benefit of his comments to that draft continues into the
present revision.
My father, Dr. Simon Greenberg, criticized the work from a
pedagogic viewpoint; whatever merit it possesses on that count derives
largely from his criticism.
The Hebrew parts underwent the careful scrutiny of Dr.
Svi Rin.
Drs. D.N. Freedman and E.A. Speiser were good enough to
review the philological material and supply many helpful observations.
I am indebted to the Department of Oriental Studies of the
University of Pennsylvania and its chairman, Dr. Speiser, for having
enabled me to publish and teach from successive drafts of the work
and thus to accumulate precious classroom experience that I trust has
accrued to its advantage.
I have dedicated this work to my parents, who instilled in me
the love of the Hebrew language and its literature.
MosHE GREENBERG
III
ON THE USE
OF
THIS BOOK
The plan of the work
The aim of this book is to teach the fundamentals of Hebrew
grammar and to enable one to acquire a mastery over a basic vocabulary
of Biblical Hebrew. The grammatical material has been selected on the
basis of frequency, less common phenomena being omitted. Vocabulary
and readings are based on a self-contained part of the Joseph story in
Genesis 37-45, and illustrations of the grammar and the material for the
exercises are drawn almost exclusively from these readings. The last
stage of the course is the study of five chapters of Genesis. The essentials
of Biblical Hebrew grammar, and roughly a third of the words of
highest frequency in Biblical Hebrew (fifty occurrences and more) are
included.
The order of study
The grammar and readings have been interlaced so as to illustrate
and reinforce one another. Grammar sections 1-8 are to be studied
consecutively. Thereafter, two readings (pp. 139-169) are to be covered
IV
On the Use of This Book V
before each grammar section, as indicated at the end of each grammar
section and reading.
Sections 27—30 are for reference only and are not integrated with
readings. Following section 26, then, reading — which has now reached
Genesis 44:10 — may proceed uninterruptedly. A convenient division
of the remaining material into units is Genesis 44:1 1-23, 24-34; 45:1-15,
16-28.
Just before beginning the study of the biblical text the Orientation
in the Hebrew Bible (pp. 173-179) may be read. To aid the student
during this study, Notes on the Hebrew Text of Genesis 37, 42—45 (pp.
.180-192( ,a nd a Glossary (pp. 197-207) are supplied. As each chapter
is finished, the Questions for Review pertaining to it (pp. 193-196) may
be utilized. The Index (pp. 219-224) brings together all the topics
and grammatical terms in the book.
Abbreviations and signs
abs absolute
apoc apocopated form
art the article
B.C.E before the Common Era
6 common gender
C.E Common Era
coh cohortative
cond condition (al)
conj conjunction
cs construct form, state
di obj direct object
du dual
1 feminine
fs, fpl feminine singular, feminine plural
impf imperfect
impfcons imperfect consecutive
imv imperative
inf infinitive
Juss jussive
.
VI Introduction to Hebrew
m masculine
ms, mpl masculine singular, masculine plural
MH Modern Hebrew (Israeli)
neg negative
part particle
pass passive
pers person
pf perfect
pf cons perfect consecutive
pl plural
pron pronoun
pt participle
8 singular
suf suffix
term terminitive
w with
1 first person
Ics, 1 first person common gender singular, 66 66 66 66 plural
2 second person
2m, etc. second person masculine
3 third person
3m, etc. third person masculine
* hypothetical form
>
becomes, became
< (is) derived from
8 section
stressed syllable; used as. a.rule only when stress is
not on the final syllable