A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew presents two distinct, but related courses
geared mainly toward seminary students, designed to turn out intelligent
users of the Hebrew Bible. The first part provides a four-week intensive
course leading to a lexical knowledge of biblical Hebrew. Its goal is to
teach the necessary linguistic tools to enable students to gain a basic
grasp of the nature and structure of political Hebrew, to use the Hebrew
lexicon and concordance to be able to exercise some control over
translations, to develop a basic vocabulary of words significant for
biblical thought, to understand the peculiar problems of the Hebrew text
and its transmission, and to use scholarly commentaries with
understanding. The second part provides a full course in grammar and
reading by focusing on the Elijah narratives in 1 Kings 17-19 which
contain examples of nearly all the elements needed for a sound knowledge
of biblical Hebrew. A major portion of the second part gives a full
summary of Hebrew grammar and extensive notes on Hebrew syntax providing
a basic reference for any reading of the Hebrew Bible. Robert Bornemann
(d.2009) was Anna Burkhalter Professor Emeritus of Old Testament and
Hebrew at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.
