Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax

I have been a fan of Gesenius for a long time. While I knew there was updated information to consider, I thought his text was enough. But although his text is certainly still necessary, and necessarily covers issues that the book reviewed here does not, it is clear that one must turn to Waltke & O'Connor to reach a greater level of accuracy. Writing so long after Gesenius, they have presented new and accurate information based on the latest research, not only of Ancient Hebrew, but also based on cognate Semitic languages.I have found the sections on Hebrew verbs the most enlightening and correcting, e.g., that the Pi'el stem is NOT intensive. Such intenseness must be detected from a combination of the lexical verb meaning, the stem, and the text/co-text. This book also presents other up-to-date information on the forming of nouns from verbs, etc.As others have noted, the layout and presentation is great. It really can't be presented any easier, I don't think.One must read Gesenius, for he presents very important information across the board, including much on phonology and linguistics not covered by Waltke & O'Connor. But to stick with Gesenius will leave one in error on some points. Waltke & O'Connor, simply put, make the corrections and make studying Biblical Hebrew exciting, and even much easier to learn.

This book is an amazing resource for anyone who has completed preliminary Hebrew such as with Pratico and Van Pelt in their Basics of Biblical Hebrew. This book goes above and beyond, it gives the diagnostic origin patterns for adjectives, patterns in noun formation as well as other components of speech, contrasts each of the seven major verb forms and the minor forms as well, and gives an excellent evolution of the utilization of the Hebrew language and its update in characters.It explains in its initial history a lot of unique statements in the Torah, and illustrations throughout give the reader an excellent idea about the Hebrew Scriptures. I bought this to aid in designing a language studies course at seminary and it has stood me in great help so far, going beyond anything I would have expected to get out of an intermediate level grammar and is an amazing, invaluable, and priceless resource, both to the professor, and the student. I recommend all people taking Hebrew purchase this book and add it to their collection and read it through cover to cover as well as using it as a topical reference guide.

This is the Hebrew grammar that I use the most often. While I also use Williams and Arnold and Choi, this grammar is more comprehensive, and its size certainly reflects this. It probably betrays my inclination towards the exactness of Greek to like this grammar so much. As my Hebrew professor often tells us, all these grammar categories are contrived to some extent, so at some point it isn't helpful anymore to go further in depth on the uses of the so-called "cases."All in all, I usually find it easy to locate the grammatical point in which I am interested, though sometimes I have to resort to looking up every instance a Hebrew particle occurs throughout the book. For this looking up of various nuances of a particle, I sometimes find Williams more user friendly. Nevertheless, Waltke and O'Connor's volume has been my resource of choice.

This is the best reference work for Biblical Hebrew (BH) syntax. There are other syntax references for BH, but none this thorough by a long shot. They all have their place and fulfill their own function, but in terms of a definite reference guide, this is the one. It's a pretty hefty volume and will certainly keep the reader busy for some time.... Beginners might want to check out Arnold/Choi's or Williams's work, which are essentially abbreviated or simplified versions of this one.

Waltke's grammar is about as good as it gets with Hebrew Grammars. Considering the subject matter and its scope one has to expect a monolith like this 700pg jumbo sized monster. But this isn't just some pedantic and wordy school book, it is accessible (assuming that the reader has a basic understanding of Hebrew already), rich with Biblical examples, and comprehensive (at least as far as a grammar can be). This book has set a standard for Hebrew Grammars and is a must for the serious Hebrew student.

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This is the best book I've ever yet read on Hebrew Syntax as was used in the Tanakh. You can't go wrong with this, even though at times, the English-language linguistical jargon may give you a headache, the authors were quick to point out that Hebrew cannot really be clearly defined with English Grammar terminology. But it's format is easy on the eyes.You will often find yourself flipping back a page or two at a list or chart, for whatever they're explaining, but I don't understand how you could have a problem with that. I first saw this at the Portland City Library in PDX, Oregon, and vowed to myself I was going to buy it, no matter what the cost. It's worth it's weight in pure platinum..!

This is a good resource for introduction to syntax. However, the vast amount of examples has benefits as well as disadvantages. The benefit is that it is comprehensive in information which makes it good for a reference. The disadvantage is that the many subcategories can cause one to be discouraged as the quantity of information may be overwhelming. Nonetheless that is the nature of learning a language.It is still a good resource if you can maintain the brain power to understand the technical language if you have a novice background to linguistics. The volume could be more pedagogical however that would cater to the self learner and perhaps that was not the intent of the author. This volume seems to be designed for the classroom setting. However it is still decent for the self learner.

Best Hebrew grammar book I've found so far

A great book for those wanting to take their Hebrew syntax beyond the basic grammars and who don't want to/can't afford the more expensive JM

Speedy delivery and the item came in excellent condition. I could not complain if I wanted to (well, I could but it would not be honest).