Sun, Moon, and Stars in Biblical Hebrew

The Old Testament makes several references to the sun, moon, and stars. Let's look at these words in biblical Hebrew: Sun שֶׁמֶשׁ That's one of those "exception" words where the stress is on the first syllable. Moon יָרֵחַ Star כּוֹכָב Looking up the verses listed below in your Hebrew Bible, see if you can recognize …

Biblical Hebrew Adjectives – Our Great God in the Smallest of Ways

For beginning students of biblical Hebrew, it's common to learn several nouns first. So I thought it might be interesting to learn a few adjectives to go with those nouns: רַב = many, much ("rav") צַדִּיק = righteous (tzaddiq) גָּדוֹל = great (gadol) קָטֹן = small (katon) Interesting how those adjectives describe the body of …

A Hebrew Prayer

It has been a busy day of prayer ministry here, so I did not have time to prepare a Hebrew lesson to share. Instead, I would like to share the first line of a Hebrew prayer, at the close of this beautiful day, in thanksgiving to God. This is the opening line of several Hebrew …

Biblical Hebrew: 3 More Words from Joseph’s Story

I hope you have enjoyed spending time with Joseph's story this past week. Here, you can review the 5 Hebrew words we learned in the previous lesson about Joseph. As a reminder, Joseph's story begins with Genesis 37. While we still have Joseph on our hearts, let's learn three more words in biblical Hebrew. Tunic …

Joseph’s Story: 5 Biblical Hebrew Words

As you are learning to read biblical Hebrew, you might find it helpful to focus on a Bible story. Stories often repeat key words. The vivid action, setting, and dialogue of stories help you to memorize words. Perhaps the biggest plus (at least, it was for me) is that you already know how the story …

Psalm 23:1 in Hebrew: A Very Real Relationship with a Very Real God

This is one of my favorite verses in biblical Hebrew - Psalm 23:1: יְהוָה רֹעִי לאֹ אֶחְסָר (YHWH ro-’ee lo ekh-sar.) As a student of biblical Hebrew, it takes me several rounds of translation before arriving at smooth-sounding English. I love the first stage of this process, and I really don't ever want to lose …

Biblical Hebrew Qal Verbs: Yatza and Matza (but not Matzah)

Let's look at two Qal verbs in biblical Hebrew: יָצָא ("yatza"), which means "to go forth," and מָצָא ("matza"), which means "to find." (Remember, Qal is a type of Hebrew verb stem, or "binyan." If you don't know what that means yet, that's okay - you can still learn these verbs and their meanings.) I have …

Biblical Hebrew Prepositions: Over and Under

Here are two helpful prepositions to learn in Biblical Hebrew - the words for “over” and “under.” על This word is pronounced like “all.” It means “over.” תחת This word is pronounced “ta-khat” (with the stress on the first syllable). It means “under.” As usual, I came up with a way to remember these words. …

“Before” We Learn More Biblical Hebrew Prepositions, Let’s Learn This One

Prepositions are great to learn. They help us get around. We can use prepositions spatially and temporally, and sometimes both. For example, you could say, “I am standing before the door.” “I will be there before you get there.” The same word is used -- the preposition “before.” But it acts in two different ways. …

A Hebrew Practice Exercise: Jeremiah 31:3-4

A friend asked what Jeremiah 31:3-4 looks like in Hebrew. I thought these might be good verses to look up in the lexicon, to practice translation and analysis. Following is my attempt. Remember, I am also a student. I am learning every day. I encourage you to make your own attempt. Enjoy writing out the …