John A. Cook and Robert D. Holmstedt, Beginning Biblical Hebrew: A Grammar and Illustrated Reader (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013). (Amazon.com)
John A. Cook and Robert D. Holmstedt have created a introductory textbook for biblical Hebrew that is quite unique. In their preface they explain the logic that went into putting it together. First, they sought “to incorporate more recent ideas about pedagogy” as concerns teaching second-language acquisition. This means the book does not used a “grammar-translation”, but instead their goal is to “provide the student with competency in reading, listening, and even producing Hebrew.” [1] Their goal is not to have students master the language for mere translation, but to master the language itself. Second, there is less data to be memorized in their lessons than in other textbooks. Third, the textbook “centers around discrete grammatical issues.” [2] This means they move along in “small chunks” emphasizing “repetition” as “a key to language acquisition.” [3] Fourth, the exercises are “text-based”. The authors write, “The lessening of the morphology burden in the grammar has allowed us space to incorporate discussions of grammar that are conductive to reading and understanding Hebrew literature.” [4] Fifth, rather than being exhaustive the focus comes from the Book of Genesis. The authors note that the Hebrew we find in the Bible is not monolithic; it represents an evolution. To ignore this would be to mislead students. Sixth, the authors aim to incorporate more modern linguistics into their presentation. Finally, there is a “nonconfessional orientation” so that the book is about the language itself, not learning for the sake of a particular religious or theological agenda.
People who have taken or taught biblical Hebrew will find this book to be different from others. The authors have given us a minimalist textbook. Lessons can be two or three pages long. The content is rarely data oriented, but instead focus on the basics and then encourages students to jump right into reading and writing Hebrew. This does not mean that important paradigm charts and so forth are missing. There is a bit scattered here and there through the lessons as well as Appendices in the back for students to consult. The back contains Hebrew-English and English-Hebrew Glossaries as well. The most impressive element is the Illustrated Reader at the end of the book (with illustrations from Philip Williams) which allow students to visualize the passages that they are translating.
To help you get a better understanding of my description here are some pictures:
Example of a Lesson:
Example of Some Puzzles:
Example of a Chart and Lesson Vocabulary:
Example of an Appendix:
Example from the Illustrated Reader:
Now, I’m neither a linguist, nor an expert in Hebrew, but as someone who has studied Hebrew I think the authors are trying to do something that could prove very helpful for many people and there is no rule against accompanying it with a more traditional grammar for those instructors who believe students should spend time reading the nitty-gritty details about grammar. The Amazon.com preview allows people to view a lot of the book, so if you’re interested in this book and my brief preview is insufficient, go here.
This book was provided courtesy of Baker Academic in exchange for an unbiased review.
__________
[1] p. 9
[2] p. 10
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid.
the archives near Emmaus 
Brian,
I saw this on the biblioblog library and thank you for reviewing our textbook. I can’t help but point out a few corrections, however.
First, we say on p. 9 of the Preface that we “avoid” the grammar-translation model (which is what almost every other textbook uses, but our does *not*).
Second, “lessing” should be “lessening”. 😉
Third, it won’t work well for instructors to go looking at other introductory textbooks to get more “nitty-gritty” details. What we do not cover in the lessons is often discussed in the appendices, and beyond that would really mean engaging with reference grammars or our published linguistic research. However, it might be worth mentioning here that we are developing both intermediate and advanced textbooks that will cover more of the nitty-gritty (but still within a communicative learning approach).
Finally, it is important for any instructor to know that we and Baker developed a full Instructor’s Manual for this textbook, which Baker will provide for instructors who contact them. It is the *full* textbook, with answers included in the exercises, and running instruction and grammar (the nitty-gritty!) notes in the margins. It is a truly incredible instructional tool, for which we owe a great debt to Baker and their editors.
Best,
Robert Holmstedt
@Robert: Thank you for pointing out that misreading on my part. Not sure how I scrambled things there, but I did, so I’ll edit it as well as the spelling error.
As regards consulting an additional textbook, I’m just throwing that idea out there for people who may be considering the book. You and others who teach the language would know better than me. I did mention the Appendixes in the back, though my description was bland so your clarification is helpful.
I hope this textbook receives attention from instructors as well as your two other forthcoming volumes! Thank you again for stopping by to help provide some clarifications, insights, and an extra pair of editorial eyes for this post!