Biblical Studies: Hebrew

The Oxford English-Hebrew Dictionary is a landmark in the description of modern Hebrew. Hailed by the Jewish Chronicle as a `tremendous advance over previous works', it provides a unique description of Hebrew language as it is encountered and used today, covering formal and poetic Hebrew aswell as current idioms and phrases, slang and colloquialisms.Descriptive not prescriptiveThe first dictionary to describe rather than prescribe contemporary Hebrew.Exceptionally wide coverageCoverage of technical and scientific terminology; academic discourse; vocabulary from fields such as law and medicine, as well as slang and colloquialisms.Clear labelling systemThe labelling system allows quick identification of context, register, and usage.Essential referenceA reference tool for students, scholars, translators and business professionals.

The eighty lexical entries exemplify a diachronic investigation of Late Biblical Hebrew, which reflects the transition period from the Hebrew Bible to Talmudic literature. Together with relevant bibliography for ‎each entry, the Lexicon serves as an indispensable tool for understanding the emergence and development of Late Biblical Hebrew neologisms.‎

An indispensable and incomparable reference work, this translation of the "Theologisches Handworterbuch zum Alten Testament" makes accessible for the first time in English a wealth of theological insight. In these volumes outstanding scholars provide in-depth and wide-ranging investigations of the historical, semantic, and theological meanings of Old Testament concepts. Well-organized and clearly written articles analyze a significant portion of the Old Testament vocabulary. This reference work can serve a wide audience, from professors and researchers to pastors and students of the Bible. Even readers with little or no knowledge of Hebrew can use it profitably. Whereas traditional lexicons do little more than offer possible translations in the light of etymological and grammatical evidence, "The Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament" goes further, evaluating each term's theological relevance by clearly describing its actual usage in the language. In the process, it makes available to readers in many form- and tradition-critical insights hitherto buried in scattered commentaries, monographs, Old Testament theologies, journal articles, etc. Thus the individual articles serve as concise, well-structured histories of research with conclusions, discussion of controversies, and references to the most important literature. The methodological repertoire of the "TLOT" is deliberately broad because today it is generally agreed that no single approach can fully illuminate a term's meaning. Assumptions that led to ill-advised short-cuts--e.g., the chimera of a basic meaning from which all other meanings developed--have given way to a methodological pluralism, that considers a term's significance from several points of view and thus does more justice to actual usage. Words were included because of their importance within the Hebrew Bible, not their suitability as elements of a secondary system of Old Testament theology. Since the entries are generally ordered according to roots--the traditional and sensible approach for Semitic languages--and many words are treated as derivatives, synonyms, or antonyms of the terms listed in the article titles, thousands of words can be considered in about 330 articles. These other words can easily be found in the index. Besides examining the key verbs, nouns, and adjectives, the "TLOT" examines theologically noteworthy pronouns and particles in their own entries. "Like a diamond, highly prized for its fine cut, sparkle, setting, durability, utility, and symbolism, Jenni-Westermann's Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament has enormous value for a variety of reasons. Its rich data range from the historical to the theological, from the earliest occurrence of a particular word to its post-biblical use, from its distribution in the canon to its attestation in other literature from the ancient Near East, from its grammatical and syntactical peculiarities to its religious nuance. The contributors retain their individual perspectives, which give freshness and excitement to the whole. I have long wished for an English translation of this important work so that my divinity students would have access to it. Now, thanks to Hendrickson Publishers, that whish has been granted." --James L. Crenshaw, Robert L. Flowers Professor of Old Testament, Duke University

A practical and easy-to-understand guide to the logical structure of both Hebrew and Greek. Ideal for biblical language students.

Jews call the Hebrew Scriptures the "Tanakh" and Christians call them the "Old Testament." It doesn't take long to see that Jews and Christians view the same set of books differently and interpret these scriptures in unique and at times conflicting ways. The Hebrew Bible for Beginners introduces students to the tremendous influence the Hebrew Bible has had on western society for over two millennia and explores the complexities of reading ancient religious literature today. The book also addresses how certain modern critical approaches may initially be alarming, indeed even shocking, to those who have not been exposed to them, but it tackles the conversation in a respectful fashion. Avoiding jargon and convoluted prose, this highly accessible volume provides textboxes, charts, a timeline, a glossary, and regularly includes artistic renderings of biblical scenes to keep lay and beginning readers engaged.