Essential Biblical Hebrew: The Language and Life of Ancient Israel

In this introductory Hebrew workbook, Jan Verbruggen tries to add the element of the culture of Ancient Israel to the students’ learning process. Through the study of Biblical Hebrew, students often have their first encounter with the culture of the Ancient Near East. This book adds to that experience by way of short introductory paragraphs concerning the life and culture of Ancient Israel placed at the beginning of every lesson. Dr. Verbruggen is also of the opinion that what students learn first they often remember the longest. Since the Hebrew verbal system is crucial to understanding of the language, the verbs are placed at the beginning of the book. The vocabulary in this grammar is listed and learned by frequency, but at the same time, it is presented within context by placing the word in short Hebrew sentences or phrases, most of them coming straight from the Scriptures. Most of the exercises are taken straight from the Scriptures. When the students are finished going through this grammar, they will have encountered every literary type, and every genre found in the Hebrew Scriptures.