Yesterday, July 1, B & H Academic published A Modern Grammar for Biblical Hebrew, authored by Duane Garrett and Jason DeRouchie. Jason, the new Associate Professor of Old Testament at Bethlehem College & Seminary, has been working for several years on this grammar. BCS started using this as our grammar of choice within the TBI Apprenticeship program during the summer 2008 Hebrew class. From the back cover:
A first-year resource to guide introductory Hebrew courses, A Modern Grammar for Biblical Hebrew is a complete revision of Duane Garrett’s previous textbook titled A Modern Grammar for Classical Hebrew. Written with the student in mind, this new textbook provides an innovative overview of the essentials of grammar while moving the learning into the original text as early as lesson eight, providing first-hand experience in God’s Word. Some of the distinct features are as follows:
- Completes all essential first-year material in 26 lessons.
- Clarifies the rules for accent shift and vowel change very early.
- Overviews the verb within the first weeks of study.
- Enables early mastery of weak verbs.
- Initially introduces weak roots and derived stems first through principal parts.
- Includes intermediate topics in the final chapters and appendixes.
A Modern Grammar for Biblical Hebrew includes tables, charts, and “blackboards” for further emphasis and features a CD containing additional helps for the student and the teacher. Flexible teaching plans guide the learner through the essentials, whether the goal is an understanding of only the rudiments of traditional first-year biblical Hebrew or an appreciation of intermediate issues like Masoretic cantillation, textual criticism, lexicography, or discourse grammar and literary structure in prose and poetry. Appendixes include introductions to the standard Hebrew text and use of a lexicon, as well as a glossary, vocabulary lists, and verb paradigms.
In addition, A Modern Grammar for Biblical Hebrew Workbook is also available.