Languages
馃摐 Intro to Classical Hebrew
A beginner course in classical Hebrew as a living skill: the alphabet in print and cursive, vowel points, modern Israeli pronunciation with notes on the classical sounds, grammar from the article to the derived stems and weak verbs, writing and speaking drills, and short readings from Genesis, Ruth, Jonah and the Psalms in the Westminster Leningrad Codex. 22 lessons.
- 1The Alphabet and HandwritingLearn the 22 Hebrew letters in the square print script, their names and sounds, the five final forms, the letters that look alike, how to write each letter by hand in print and in modern cursive, where the script came from, how letters work as numbers, and how to write your own name in Hebrew.45 min
- 2Vowel Points, Shewa and DageshLearn the dots and dashes the Masoretes added to the Hebrew letters: every vowel sign with its name and sound, the vowel letters 讜 and 讬 and final 讛, vocal and silent shewa, the hateph vowels, dagesh lene and dagesh forte, mappiq, the shin and sin dots, and how the divine name is read aloud.50 min
- 3PronunciationHow Hebrew sounds in the modern Israeli pronunciation this course speaks, how it sounded in the classical Tiberian reading of about 900 AD, what we can tell about older sounds, and how the Sephardi and Ashkenazi traditions differ, with the reasons this course made its choice.45 min
- 4Syllables, Stress and Reading AloudHow Hebrew words break into open and closed syllables, how shewa and dagesh affect the division, where the stress falls (usually on the last syllable, sometimes on the one before), what furtive patah, maqaf, pause and sof pasuq do, and how to read the first verses of Genesis aloud syllable by syllable.45 min
- 5Greetings and Everyday PhrasesStart speaking with phrases real speakers use in Genesis, Ruth, Samuel and Jonah: shalom and its many jobs, the reapers' greeting in Ruth 2:4, 'here I am,' asking names and home towns, yes and no, please, the question words, blessing and thanks, and a set of classroom phrases. Each phrase is marked as classical (with a verse) or as a modern Israeli convention.45 min
- 6Nouns: Gender, Number and the Construct StateHow a Hebrew noun works: masculine and feminine, the plural endings 讬诐- and 讜止转-, the dual 址讬执诐- for pairs, the common irregular nouns, the segolate nouns like 诪侄诇侄讱职, and the construct state (smikhut) that Hebrew uses for 'of.' Every form in the tables is attested in the Westminster Leningrad Codex, with a verse to find it.50 min
- 7The Article, the Conjunction and the PrepositionsThe little words that stick to the front of Hebrew words: the article 讛址 and its changes before gutturals and resh, the conjunction 讜职 in all its forms, the prepositions 讘职旨, 讻职旨, 诇职 and 诪执谉 and how they merge with the article, the common independent prepositions, and the object marker 讗值转. All taught from Genesis 1.50 min
- 8Adjectives and DemonstrativesHow Hebrew describes things: the four forms of an adjective, attributive adjectives that follow their noun and copy its article, predicate adjectives that make a statement with no verb, adjectives used as nouns, comparison with 诪执谉, and the demonstratives 讝侄讛, 讝止讗转, 讗值诇侄旨讛 with 讛讜旨讗, 讛执讬讗, 讛值诐 for 'that' and 'those.' Taught from Genesis 1, Genesis 29, Ruth and Deuteronomy.45 min
- 9Pronouns, Verbless Clauses and Pronominal SuffixesLearn the independent personal pronouns (讗植谞执讬, 讗址转指旨讛, 讛讜旨讗 ...), build sentences with no verb at all, attach pronoun endings to singular and plural nouns and to prepositions (住讜旨住执讬, 住讜旨住指讬讜, 诇执讬, 注执诪旨讜止, 讗止转执讬), and use the relative 讗植砖侄讈专 and the question words 诪执讬, 诪指讛 and 讛植.48 min
- 10Roots, the Seven Stems (Binyanim) and the QalSee how Hebrew builds words from three-letter roots and fixed patterns (诪志诇志讱 gives 诪侄诇侄讱职, 诪指诇址讱职, 讬执诪职诇止讱职, 讛执诪职诇执讬讱职, 诪址诪职诇指讻指讛), meet the seven verb stems from Qal to Hophal, tell strong roots from weak ones, and learn the words you need to parse any verb form.45 min
- 11The Qal PerfectConjugate the Qal perfect of 拽指讟址诇 and of the real verb 砖指讈诪址专 with forms found in the text, learn what the perfect means (completed action, states, knowing and remembering, promises spoken as done), conjugate stative verbs like 讻指旨讘值讚 and 拽指讟止谉, negate with 诇止讗, and read word order in verbal clauses.46 min
- 12The Qal Imperfect and the Waw-ConsecutiveConjugate the Qal imperfect with its prefixes and endings (讬执拽职讟止诇, 转执旨拽职讟止诇, 讗侄拽职讟止诇 ...), learn its meanings (future, habit, may, must, shall not), and master the waw-consecutive imperfect (讜址讬执旨拽职讟止诇, 讜址讬止旨讗诪侄专) that carries Hebrew narrative, and the waw-consecutive perfect (讜职拽指讟址诇职转指旨) that carries instructions and predictions. Read the chains in Genesis 1:3 to 5, Jonah 1:1 to 3 and Ruth 1:1 to 2.50 min
- 13Imperative, Jussive and CohortativeHebrew's three forms of will: the imperative for orders to you, the cohortative for let me and let us, the jussive for let him and may it be. Learn the Qal imperative of 拽指讟址诇 and 砖指讈诪址注, the lengthened imperative in 指讛, the particle 谞指讗, prohibitions with 诇止讗 and 讗址诇, and the volitive sequence that turns do this and live into do this so that you live.45 min
- 14Participles and InfinitivesHebrew's four non-finite verb forms: the active participle 拽止讟值诇 (the one killing, killer), the passive participle 拽指讟讜旨诇 (killed), the infinitive construct 拽职讟止诇 (to kill, killing, when he killed) and the infinitive absolute 拽指讟讜止诇, which can stand before a verb to say surely, as in 诪讜止转 转指旨诪讜旨转, you shall surely die.45 min
- 15The Derived StemsBeyond the Qal, a Hebrew root can be built into six more stems: Niphal, Piel, Pual, Hiphil, Hophal and Hithpael. Learn the marker of each (prefix 谞, doubled middle letter, prefix 讛, prefix 讛执转职), what each stem usually does to the meaning and where that rule breaks, the Gesenius paradigm of 拽指讟址诇 in all seven stems, attested examples from Genesis to Isaiah, and the Hithpael's trick of swapping its 转 with a hissing letter.50 min
- 16Weak VerbsMost common Hebrew verbs are weak: one of their root letters is a guttural, a 谞, a 讬 or 讜, a final 讛, a final 讗, or a repeated letter, and it changes the regular pattern. Learn each class, the signs that give it away, real forms from Genesis to Isaiah, the doubly weak verbs 谞指转址谉, 讛指诇址讱职 and 诇指拽址讞, and a step-by-step method for finding the root of any form.50 min
- 17Numbers, Dates and TimeCount from one to a thousand in classical Hebrew, learn why three to ten seem to take the 'wrong' gender, read ordinals and dates the way Genesis and Exodus write them, write numbers with letters (and see why 15 is 讟状讜), give ages with 讘侄旨谉 and 讘址旨转, and tell the time in modern Israeli Hebrew.50 min
- 18Conversation and CompositionPut the grammar to work: describe people and places with verbless clauses and adjectives, ask questions with 讛植, 诪执讬, 诪指讛, 讗址讬值旨讛, 讗值讬驻止讛 and 诇指诪指旨讛, tell a story in the narrative past with 讜址讬职讛执讬 and the waw-consecutive, hold short dialogues built from real classical phrases (with modern ones labeled), and write a guided story of your own.45 min
- 19Clauses and Word OrderHow Hebrew builds sentences: verb first in narrative, verbless clauses, fronting for emphasis and contrast, the background clause that starts with 讜职 and a noun (Genesis 1:2), subordinate clauses with 讻执旨讬, 讗植砖侄讈专, 讗执诐, 诇职诪址注址谉 and 驻侄旨谉, conditional sentences, 讜址讬职讛执讬 and 讜职讛指讬指讛 as signposts, and a recap of questions and negatives, read in Genesis 3, Ruth 1 and Jonah 1.50 min
- 20Using a Lexicon and Reading AidsFind any Hebrew word you meet: how Brown, Driver and Briggs (BDB) is arranged by root, a step-by-step method for getting from a weak verb form back to its root, what Strong's numbers can and cannot do, what HALOT is, the free tools (Open Scriptures, Sefaria, STEP Bible, tanach.us), how to read morphology codes like HVqp3ms, how to use reader's editions and interlinears without leaning on them, and the Masoretic ketiv and qere.45 min
- 21Readings: Genesis, Ruth, Jonah, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Micah, EcclesiastesSeven real passages in the Westminster Leningrad Codex text, from narrative to poetry: Genesis 1:1 to 5, Ruth 1:1 to 5, Jonah 1:1 to 3, Deuteronomy 6:4 to 5, Psalm 23, Micah 6:8 and Ecclesiastes 1:2 to 4, each with a pronunciation guide, word help, grammar notes and a full translation, plus an unpointed version of Genesis 1:1 to 5 and an introduction to parallelism in Hebrew poetry.50 min
- 22Review and Next StepsThe whole course on a few pages: the alphabet with its sounds and numbers, the vowel chart, the rules for the article, prepositions and conjunction, pronouns and suffixes, the Qal of 拽指讟址诇 in every form, the seven stems at a glance, the signs of the weak verbs, a modern and Tiberian pronunciation chart, a 25-item cumulative review with answers, what to read and use next, and a 30-day practice plan.50 min