As the field of linguistics advances, it is vital that we bring those advances over to our study of the Hebrew Bible so that we can have the clearest and most accurate comprehension of the text as possible. Over the past twenty years, the fields of pragmatics and generative linguistics have shown that complementizers, like … Read more
This paper proposes that a moderate integration of the grammatical formation of the pronominal suffixes into first-year Biblical Hebrew grammar will facilitate the students’ mastery of them. First-year students might easily get frustrated by the different variations of pronominal suffixes. Understanding their general formation will minimize rote memorization. The first section of the paper will … Read more
Co-authored by Linda Liu and Brian L. Webster Reference grammars properly refer to the participle as an atemporal form (e.g., Joüon 121), in that the predicate participle becomes temporal by drawing its time reference from context. Substantival participles are generally not discussed in terms of temporality since they function as nouns. But even when substantival, … Read more
Co-authored by Linda Liu and Brian L. Webster (Dallas Theological Seminary) Reference grammars properly refer to the participle as an atemporal form (e.g., Joüon 121), in that the predicate participle becomes temporal by drawing its time reference from context. Substantival participles are generally not discussed in terms of temporality since they function as nouns. But … Read more
This paper argues that one possible use of either form of the focus particle (הנה and הן; “behold”) is to indicate literary dependence for what follows. Using the focus particle to mark an allusion has ramifications for understanding the rhetoric of the alluding text and can be used as a corroborating factor to determine the … Read more
Currently, access to reading resources at a beginning level constitutes a significant pedagogical lacuna for Hebrew students. While there is broad agreement that beginning to read texts as soon as possible is important, without accessible texts at a beginning level, this goal is difficult to achieve. Recognizing this need, the present instructor has over the … Read more
The word “evil” appears frequently in English versions of the Hebrew Bible. Usually, it translates Hebrew ra‘. Over the centuries, however, English Bibles have used this rendering less frequently. While the KJV (or AV; 17th century) has “evil” 489.00 times in the Old Testament, the JPS (20th century) uses it only 120.00 times. Contemporary English … Read more