Miles V. Van Pelt - English Grammar to Ace Biblical Hebrew

I have the uncommon privilege of teaching all three biblical languages at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. In each course, I continue to observe that students are not simply struggling to learn Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek; they are also struggling to learn English. Now, lets be clear. Most of my students already speak the English language, and so they are not struggling to communicate in English, or even to understand English vocabulary. Rather, I see my students struggling with the basic concepts of English grammar. The categories of pronoun and antecedent, direct and indirect , transitive and intransitive, continue to stupefy even the most enthusiastic student. So I often find myself teaching a fourth foreign language in the classroom, the language of English grammar.

A knowledge of both English and Hebrew grammar is essential for your studies. A foreign language like Hebrew consists of more than just foreign words. It also contains foreign grammar and syntax. Good translations require more than the translation of words. They also require the translation of grammar and syntax. You will discover that translating a Hebrew word into an English word is not that difficult. Translating a Hebrew sentence into an English sentence, however, is much more difficult. Translating sentences requires the translation of grammar and syntax. If your knowledge of English grammar is poor, then your ability to translate Hebrew into English will suffer. And, if you cant translate Hebrew into English, then your ability to understand and interpret the biblical text will be hindered, and this is what we want to avoid.

So, this little book is intended to provide Hebrew students with a very basic introduction to English grammar. Please understand, however, that this introduction is not comprehensive, but rather selective. The grammatical presentations that follow are limited and shaped by the needs of those students who are working to learn biblical Hebrew.

It is also worth noting that many students who study biblical languages in an English-speaking context may not be native speakers. Many of my students, for example, are from South Korea or Africa. I hope that this book will serve their needs too.

Depending on your needs, there are a number of different ways in which this book may be used. One approach would be to read the entire book and complete the exercises in each chapter before you begin working through a Hebrew grammar. This approach would provide a comprehensive summary of English grammatical concepts necessary for the study of Hebrew grammar.

Another option would be to work through the nominal material in in preparation for studying the Hebrew verbal system.

Finally, you may have noticed that each chapter listed in the table of contents contains references to chapters in BBH. You can simply work through this book in conjunction with the study of Hebrew, topic by topic. But this is simply another suggestion. The design of the book and the references contained within each of the chapters are intended to provide maximum flexibility and adaptability.

If you are preparing to learn biblical Hebrew, allow me to offer a few words of language learning wisdom. I have watched many students succeed and others fail. There are some common characteristics for both groups. If you would like to succeed, consider the following: