Hebrew

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StartThe Hebrew alphabet (1)Start

Letters and sounds

  1. The Hebrew alphabet (1)You will know that Hebrew reads right to left and that its alphabet is 22 consonants, recognise the first eleven letters א–כ, and read short words such as אָב, יָד and אֶחָד.
  2. The Hebrew alphabet (2)You will know the last eleven letters ל–ת and the five final forms ך ם ן ף ץ used at the end of a word, recognise every consonant of Genesis 1:1, and read the letters of words such as מֶלֶךְ, עַם and אֶרֶץ.
  3. Vowel pointsYou will recognise the vowel points for a, e, i, o and u and the vowel letters וֹ, וּ and ִי, and sound out words such as דָּם, לֵב, אֵשׁ and קוֹל.
  4. Shewa and dageshYou will tell when a shewa (ְ) is sounded and when it is silent, know how the dagesh dot changes b, k and p or doubles a consonant, and read words such as בְּרִית, כָּבוֹד, דֶּרֶךְ and תּוֹרָה.
  5. Reading Genesis 1:1 aloudYou will split Hebrew words into syllables, find the stress, and read Genesis 1:1 aloud one word at a time, and you will know how to read one line of the app's 원어 panel (form, transliteration, meaning, grammar labels).
  6. The divine nameYou will understand why the four letters יהוה are written יְהוָה but read aloud as Adonai, "Lord", recognise the Old Testament's main words for God (יְהוָה, אֲדֹנָי, אֱלֹהִים, אֵל, אָדוֹן, "LORD of Hosts"), and read the panel's tag "noun, proper, title".

Nouns and little words

  1. Nouns: gender and numberYou will know that every Hebrew noun is masculine or feminine and singular, plural or dual, guess gender and number from the endings (-ָה, -ת, -ִים, -וֹת, -ַיִם), and read the panel's noun labels (common, proper, location, gender, number).
  2. The article and the object markerYou will recognise Hebrew "the" as a הַ stuck to the front of a word, and the small untranslated word אֵת as the marker of a definite direct object, so that words like הַשָּׁמַיִם, הָאָרֶץ and הָאוֹר can be taken apart at a glance.
  3. PrepositionsYou will recognise the one-letter prepositions בְּ, לְ, כְּ and מִ, the separate ones such as עַל, אֶל, עַד, עִם and תַּחַת, and see how a preposition swallows the ה of the article and leaves only a vowel behind.
  4. וְ and other little wordsYou will recognise וְ ("and") joined to the next word in its three spellings, and the small words כִּי, אֲשֶׁר, לֹא, אַל, אִם, גַּם and שָׁם, together with the panel's labels for them: conjunction, particle, negative, relative, conditional and adverb.

Noun phrases

  1. The construct chainYou will see how Hebrew says "the Spirit of God" or "the house of slaves" without a word for "of", and use the panel's absolute and construct labels to find and read these two-word chains.
  2. Pronouns and suffixesYou will see how Hebrew attaches "my, your, his, our" and "me, you" to the end of a word, read the person of a suffix from the panel's labels, and recognise the separate pronouns אֲנִי, אַתָּה and הוּא.
  3. Adjectives, demonstratives, numbersYou will see how Hebrew adjectives copy their noun's gender, number and article, how an adjective alone can make a sentence meaning "is", and how to read "this, these" and numbers such as "one", "two" and "sixth".

Verbs: the Qal

  1. The three-letter rootYou will know that most Hebrew words are built on a root of three consonants, be able to strip prefixes and endings to find a verb's root, and read the app panel's first grammar label, "verb".
  2. The Qal perfectYou will know Qal as the basic verb stem and the perfect as the "complete" conjugation, recognise who did the action from the ending (person, gender, number), and read Qal perfects in verses such as Psalm 1:1 and Genesis 3:12.
  3. The Qal imperfectYou will recognise the Qal imperfect by its prefixes א, ת, י, נ, tell it apart from the perfect, and see where "will", "shall" and "must not" come from in Psalm 23, Genesis 2:17 and other verses.
  4. The consecutive imperfectYou will recognise the verb form that carries Hebrew narrative, וַ plus a prefix, and know that the panel's "consecutive imperfect" label usually means "and he did…" in the past.
  5. The consecutive perfectYou will recognise וְ plus a perfect, the form that continues a command, a future or a habit, know that the panel calls it "consecutive perfect", and tell it apart from the consecutive imperfect and from plain וְ + imperfect.

Commands, infinitives, participles

  1. Commands and wishesYou will recognise the imperative (2nd-person commands), the jussive (3rd-person "let it…") and the cohortative (1st-person "let me…") by the panel's labels, and know that a negative command does not use the imperative.
  2. InfinitivesYou will know that Hebrew has two infinitives, and recognise the construct infinitive ("to do", "when he does", "saying") and the absolute infinitive ("surely do") from the panel's labels.
  3. ParticiplesYou will know that a participle is a verbal adjective and noun ("-ing", "one who does"), recognise the Qal participle pattern and the passive participle ("blessed"), and read them from the panel's labels.

The verb stems

  1. The verb stems and the NiphalYou will know that a Hebrew root appears in several stems (Qal, Niphal, Piel, Pual, Hiphil, Hophal, Hithpael) that shift its meaning, and recognise the Niphal and its passive or reflexive sense.
  2. Piel, Pual and HithpaelYou will recognise the stems that double the middle letter (Piel), their passive (Pual), the reflexive stem that begins with הִתְ- (Hithpael) and the Hishtaphel of "bow down", and read what the panel's stem label tells you about a verb.
  3. Hiphil and HophalYou will recognise the causative stem (Hiphil, "cause to…") and its rare passive (Hophal) by their signs, and see how one root changes its meaning when it moves from Qal to Hiphil.
  4. Recognising weak verbsYou will recognise the common kinds of verbs whose root letters drop out or change, so that only two root letters show, and learn to read them with the panel's dictionary form and labels as your guide.

Reading Scripture

  1. Hebrew poetry and parallelismYou will know that Hebrew poetry is built from short lines in pairs, where the second line echoes, contrasts with or carries forward the first (parallelism), and you will be able to spot the pairs in Psalm 19:1, 1:1, 1:6 and 136:1.
  2. Reading Genesis 1:1–5You will gather what the course has taught (the perfect, the consecutive imperfect, the construct, the participle, the article) to read Genesis 1:1–5 word by word, including the Hebrew way of saying "evening … morning … day one".
  3. Reading the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4–5)You will read the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4–5) word by word, see why the verbless sentence about "one" can be read in more than one way, and understand what "heart, soul and strength" literally say.
  4. Reading Psalm 23:1–3You will read Psalm 23:1–3 word by word, recognising its verb forms, suffixes, construct chains and parallel lines, and meet the words soul (נֶפֶשׁ), name (שֵׁם) and לְמַעַן.
  5. Using the tools, and what nextYou will have a five-step routine for reading any Old Testament verse with the app, recognise four labels not yet met (interrogative, interjection, directional, gentilic), and know where to go next.