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Foreign Languages · Biblical Hebrew

Biblical Hebrew Foundations: Reading the Hebrew Bible

Beginner Biblical Hebrew: reading and writing

Level
Beginner
Lessons
24 lessons in 4 modules
Estimated study
About 16 hours
Format
Online, self-paced
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About this course

Learn to read the Hebrew of the Hebrew Bible. Four modules alternate writing and reading-aloud lessons: square-script tracing, vowel points, paper handwriting, the article, prepositions, gender and number, qatal and yiqtol at an introductory level, and verses from Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Numbers and the Psalms with word-by-word glosses. Audio is a computer voice using the modern academic reading pronunciation; ancient pronunciation differed.

Course outline

Learn the direction of Hebrew, the first fifteen letters and your first spoken words.

  1. Right to left: alef, bet, gimel, dalet and he40 minFree preview
  2. Read aloud: family words40 min
  3. Vav, zayin, het, tet and yod40 min
  4. Words you will meet on every page40 min
  5. Kaf, lamed, mem, nun and samekh40 min
  6. Stress on the first syllable40 min

Complete the 22 letters and five final forms, learn the first vowel points and hear the article and prefixed prepositions.

  1. Ayin to tav: the alphabet complete40 min
  2. Hear the article in a phrase40 min
  3. The five final forms40 min
  4. Prepositions joined to words: in, to and like40 min
  5. Vowel points 1: patah, qamets, tsere, segol and hireq40 min
  6. The word and: ve-, u- and va-40 min

Read every vowel point, shewa and dagesh, hear gender and number, and recognize the qatal and yiqtol verb forms.

  1. Vowel points 2: holam, וֹ and וּ40 min
  2. Number and gender when you read40 min
  3. Shewa and the hurried vowels40 min
  4. First verbs: the qatal form40 min
  5. Dagesh, and the dots on shin and sin40 min
  6. The yiqtol form and the divine name40 min

Write the article, plurals and Genesis 1:1, hear narrative verbs, and read the Shema and the priestly blessing.

  1. The article, maqqef and sof pasuq on paper40 min
  2. Narrative: and God said40 min
  3. Masculine and feminine, singular and plural40 min
  4. The Shema: Deuteronomy 6:4 and 6:540 min
  5. Write Genesis 1:1 from memory40 min
  6. The priestly blessing: Numbers 6:24 to 2640 min
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