Learning Hebrew from the bible

[Lillen]

When it came to german, i learnt Deutsche by reading the bible. I am not very good at german, but I am autodidact. I learnt it by myself by opening Luther 1545 and read it. I was planning to do the samething with Hebrew, but here i need guidance from some who's familiar with biblical hebrew (The total foreign alphabeth and the large distinction between semetic langugaes and german languages).

I am familiar with the orthodox Christian bible... In which Lucifer is mentioned as the bright and morningstar, while the messiah is adressed as the Great Morningstar. Nevermind. I don't own a hebrew glossary or dictionary anymore. So I need guidance from someone willing to spend time with me translating the hebrew bible on biblegateway, into english.

This was my plan, i will try to memorize 10 clauses each day, Since I can stumble myself through the alphabeth I can read the hebrew words even though really slow. But I need someone who are willing to explain the diffrent words for me in english. Doing the ultra orthodox jewish way, memorizing the torah and keep it in an oral tradition.

I realize this will take sometime. If anyone bothers helping me out!

I started in advance; but forgot the hebrew word "created" at had a fresh reminder from Biblegateway.com

בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃

Transliterary with latin letters; Bureshit bara elohim et hashamaim vet eretz

Bara = created with a plowshare!?

the next verse is:
וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְהֹ֑ום וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃

2And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Connect the hebrew words into the english, Because there is to much diffrence between biblical hebrew and english. Needless to say, i don't have a clue.

Remeber I can be alittle slow here because I still drink milk (I do so on purpose to lower myself into an infant, the period were you learn languages the best).

Don't talk grammar, I have no clue about the science of grammar. This will cause me to form my very own dialect (like i have done with english) by reading the bible in hebrew. Just the glossary and transliterary translation with latin letters.

I am impressed of orthodox jews who uphold a verbal tradition and memorizing the torah. Since we are all brothers here, i thought parhaps someone would assist me in learning to keep a verbal tradition of the torah like the orthodox Jews.

 

[Laureate]

For those who have the luxury to take their time and walk through the Torah, perferably with a couple lexicons, and an interlineer, they would find the ancient Hebrew relatively easy to learn; it is much more diverse than modern Hebrew.

Imagine if you will, a child being placed in a foreign country and being bathed in its language, eventually they would learn how to speak the language, and with a little effort comprehend it as well as any native, with a sincere desire and a little more effort you can comprehend it better than the average native. Look arround, this is not only true in theory, it happens to occur every day.

For me, translating ancient Hebrew is more fun than a video game could ever be. True it would be nice to have some one whom you could call from time to time to help clarify a thing or two; But H'QDSh RWKh (the Holy spirit) is a wonderful teacher, and very authoratative, all you need is faith, a sincere desire, and a little time to spare.

I firmly believe the desire to learn ancient Hebrew is an invitation from our Divine father to do so, yet all who recieve the invitation do not respond the same or to the same degree, how much you put into it, is how much you will get out of it.

If you place yourself under the guidance of one who might be limited or bent with preconceptions, then you will be bathed in the scriptures with that bent and likely adopt their preconceptions.

To me, when I read between the lines, the New covenant says, give him a chance to honor his word, why go to a third party when you can recieve directly from the source? is that not what the New covenant is all about.

Yet if you were one who was highly qualified to teach, how would you feel if some one did not rely on you, but instead sought someone with lesser qualifications, H'QDSh RWKh is indeed a real PERSON.

In the Tanach we have thousands of years to observe a language and it's developement, no biblical character had the opportunity that we have today, to study it as we are capable.

Have fun, Im not orthodox, but if you have a question, I can refer you to an authoratative response, i.e., quote a verse, quote a lexicon, dictionary, etc.,

 

[yonah_mishael]

Why do you want to learn Hebrew in order to understand Isaiah 14? Aren't there higher goals?

 

[Lillen]

That's the bible version i am looking for... I am looking for a hebrew bible using the right translation of Isaiah 14... and try to learn biblical hebrew from that specific bible... There are higher goals indeed!!!

 

[Lillen]

2 וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְהֹ֑ום וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃
Whats letter is that? The first letter appearing there in the biggining sentence? Vav?

Let's see: "vharz hith thv vbrv ctsCk al-phni chhvm vrvt elohim mrtft al-phni hmim"

Did i spell that correctly transliterarly?

The vovelpoitings are to small for me to see on these forums, and i am not certain of them all. Can somone do a recap of the vovels?

May i ask, whats that line in the cealing in the middle of עַל־פְּנֵ֣י ? When i learnt the hebrew alphabeth that wasn't mentioned! What is it?

 

[Lillen]

May i ask, how do i spell "fear of the gnome", in hebrew?!?

 

[yonah_mishael]

That's the bible version i am looking for... I am looking for a hebrew bible using the right translation of Isaiah 14... and try to learn biblical hebrew from that specific bible... There are higher goals indeed!!!

What is the "right translation"? There is only ONE Hebrew version of the Bible. I really am having a hard time understanding what people are writing on this forum recently. There is like zero connection between the words and reality. It's so confusing!

 

[yonah_mishael]

May i ask, how do i spell "fear of the gnome", in hebrew?!?

תְּפַחֵד מֵהַגַּמָּד! ׳

Why would someone fear a gnome, though? What is the relevance of your question?

 

[yonah_mishael]

2 וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְהֹ֑ום וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃
Whats letter is that? The first letter appearing there in the biggining sentence? Vav?

Let's see: "vharz hith thv vbrv ctsCk al-phni chhvm vrvt elohim mrtft al-phni hmim"

Did i spell that correctly transliterarly?

The vovelpoitings are to small for me to see on these forums, and i am not certain of them all. Can somone do a recap of the vovels?

May i ask, whats that line in the cealing in the middle of עַל־פְּנֵ֣י ? When i learnt the hebrew alphabeth that wasn't mentioned! What is it?

No, you didn't transliterate it correctly.

First, צ (tsadi) is ts (like at the end of the English word "hits"). It is not z. The letter that represents the z sound is ז (zayin).

When ו (vav) appears with a dot in it (like this: ו&#1468, it should be transliterated into English as u (read like the "oo" in "food").

There are a lot of other problems you've got going on here. I don't know why you wouldn't want to learn properly instead of just messing around like this. I'm so disappointed in what's going on with this forum right now. Where do all of these weird ideas come from? JUST LEARN THE LANGUAGE. Why are you guys playing with Hebrew as if it was some weird number game or something.

You will not get anywhere with Hebrew by saying that grammar is out. If you don't know what a noun and a verb is, you're going to have a hard time. And there are rules in Hebrew about when וְ (the letter that's added to the beginning of a word to mean "and" or "but") becomes וּ or וִ. There are rules for EVERYTHING, and if you don't get into learning the language and setting up the basics before you start, you're going to come away with utter confusion. The most basic things are unintelligible without some explanation. This is an ancient language. It's not like English, where nouns only have four forms (boy, boys, boy's and boys', for example). Hebrew has a LOT of forms. The verb system is very complex.

If you were not raised in a home where Hebrew was spoken or do not currently live in Israel, you're going to have a hard time learning Hebrew inductively. It just won't go anywhere. It's a bad idea. But, good luck - if that's the route you think you should take.

 

[namakele]

or how about ...what is a gnome afraid of?

 

[Laureate]

That's the bible version i am looking for... I am looking for a hebrew bible using the right translation of Isaiah 14... and try to learn biblical hebrew from that specific bible... There are higher goals indeed!!!

I understand, according to the context in which you used the word 'right (translation)', not as in, 'right or wrong' , but as in, 'appropriate'. A real practicle bible for someone just learning the ancient Hebrew language would be an 'interlineer'preferably with Strongs reference numbers. An interlineer lays out the Hebrew text with an English translation directly under each word, and a Strongs ref. # above each Hebrew word, this will help simplfy a complex search tremendously.

Otherwise, in a given translation, one translator may chose the word 'explain', and another translator may chose the word 'clarify', both translators may be apropriate in their rendering because the words both mean the same i.e., 'to make clear'.

My first interlineer was a Kohlenberger, its still my most valued (material) possession.

 

[yonah_mishael]

I understand, according to the context in which you used the word 'right (translation)', not as in, 'right or wrong' , but as in, 'appropriate'. A real practicle bible for someone just learning the ancient Hebrew language would be an 'interlineer'preferably with Strongs reference numbers. An interlineer lays out the Hebrew text with an English translation directly under each word, and a Strongs ref. # above each Hebrew word, this will help simplfy a complex search tremendously.

Otherwise, in a given translation, one translator may chose the word 'explain', and another translator may chose the word 'clarify', both translators may be apropriate in their rendering because the words both mean the same i.e., 'to make clear'.

My first interlineer was a Kohlenberger, its still my most valued (material) possession.

Strong's is the WORST choice for someone who is serious about learning the language. You're absolutely pointing this person in the wrong direction.

 

[Lillen]

my jealousy for the dicipline of Jews holding oral tradition of the torah, keeps me motivated to study the five first books of the bible.

Something tells me that I will only study the psalms for starters! So parahaps i should print one psalm each week from leningrad codex, and read from there. I am not certain I will translate it, but i feel the most convinient way to get a grip of it is to print some other bibles (such as Luther 1545 and swedish 1917) and study it interlinear.

 

[Lillen]

Concerning the word Elohim.. i've heard diffrent meanings for that word, "they came from the sky," (raelians) and "Master of the powers".

I know it is in plural and "El" is the root. In jeremiah and ezeikel the word of the LORD is adressed as LORD. (Then the word of the LORD came to my saying; "thus says the LORD"). This would theroetically explains why it is in plural even though we do not seperate the deity, but unite it in singular.

Jonah, what's your definition of Elohim, do it mean "master of the powers", or "they came from the sky"???

 

[Lillen]

Sorry for confusing you...

I do realize I will have trubble learning biblical hebrew, Let's take grammar later. I will sneak around on these forums, reading hebrew schoolars posts about grammar. But for now I will only expand my vocabulary and focus on that. Remeber I am totally freshmen on biblical hebrew and have no connection to the language. But that will not stop me from doing useful things on my sparetime. - Such as learning new languages, and studying the bible.

Anyways this was the first thing I plan I would do; Post a verse in hebrew each day, and learning the meaning of the verse. Thats why i first posted genesis 1:1 (which I already am familiar with) and latest Genesis 1:2... There will be some questions written as a side note. For my curiousity sake!

So there are more then one thing which I plan to do under this topic. Memorizing verses from the bible for starters, second thing is to expand my vocabulary. I am confused where to start. But memorizing the verses will automatically mean I will expand my vocabulary!

we're still on Genesis 1:2

2 וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְהֹ֑ום וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃

Let me spell it once again: I will do it with pen and paper. And also I need to read your comment once again Jonah.

... *Editing post*

What does that Heh after vav mean in "vahe'erets"? vav as you corrected me means "and" or "for" when placed in the beginning of the word. But no dot after it is placed, to make that "oo" sound you mentioned. Erets (earth) is the root of the first word in the sentence right?

 

[yonah_mishael]

my jealousy for the dicipline of Jews holding oral tradition of the torah, keeps me motivated to study the five first books of the bible.

Something tells me that I will only study the psalms for starters! So parahaps i should print one psalm each week from leningrad codex, and read from there. I am not certain I will translate it, but i feel the most convinient way to get a grip of it is to print some other bibles (such as Luther 1545 and swedish 1917) and study it interlinear.

The best place to learn Hebrew would be from narrative, not from the Psalms. It has too many difficulties. You should first read the Joseph story from Genesis. That's the best place to start. Then, I would suggest reading the book of Ruth.

 

[yonah_mishael]

Concerning the word Elohim.. i've heard diffrent meanings for that word, "they came from the sky," (raelians) and "Master of the powers".

I know it is in plural and "El" is the root. In jeremiah and ezeikel the word of the LORD is adressed as LORD. (Then the word of the LORD came to my saying; "thus says the LORD"). This would theroetically explains why it is in plural even though we do not seperate the deity, but unite it in singular.

Jonah, what's your definition of Elohim, do it mean "master of the powers", or "they came from the sky"???

Elohim (אֱלֹהִי&#1501 is the plural of eloah (אֱלֹהַ&#1468. Elim (אֵלִי&#1501 is the plural of el (אֵ&#1500. It doesn't mean "they came from the sky." First off, the root alef-lamed-heh appears in Hebrew (אֱלֹהַּ eloah), Aramaic (אֱלָהּ\אֱלָהָא elah/elaha) and Arabic (إِلَه ilah) with the meaning of "deity" or "higher spiritual being." The ancient near eastern peoples had a pantheon of gods very similar to those of the Greeks and later Romans. The head of the pantheon was called Elyon (עֶלְיוֹ&#1503 or El Elyon (אֵל עֶלְיוֹ&#1503, which came into Judaism as "God Most High." In Judaism, some of the gods of the pantheon were spurned (such as Baal and Asherah), while others were erased or amalgamated into the one called YHWH. Originally, though, YHWH was counted among the children of Elyon.

All of the gods collectively were called elohim, but any time a people group chose one god to be their patron, they would imbue him with the power of all of the gods, saying that he was the greatest - and they would call him elohim, in the plural.

There are other words in the Bible that carry the plural when they refer to someone who has power over life and death. For example, the life of Joseph was placed in the hands of Potiphar, and Potiphar is referred to as Joseph's adonim (really, adonav, which is plural with the possessive suffix for "his"). Certainly Potiphar wasn't all-powerful, but he held power over Joseph's life.

I think we should see the plural in this way - that the Hebrews were representing the one who they thought had power over their very existence. He could decided who to kill, who to save, who to curse, who to bless. He was in complete control of their lives, thus he became their all-in-all... and the plural represents the totality of their devotion to him.

That's how I imagine it worked initially, anyway. With time, it just became a standard form.

 

[yonah_mishael]

Sorry for confusing you...

I do realize I will have trubble learning biblical hebrew, Let's take grammar later. I will sneak around on these forums, reading hebrew schoolars posts about grammar. But for now I will only expand my vocabulary and focus on that. Remeber I am totally freshmen on biblical hebrew and have no connection to the language. But that will not stop me from doing useful things on my sparetime. - Such as learning new languages, and studying the bible.

Anyways this was the first thing I plan I would do; Post a verse in hebrew each day, and learning the meaning of the verse. Thats why i first posted genesis 1:1 (which I already am familiar with) and latest Genesis 1:2... There will be some questions written as a side note. For my curiousity sake!

So there are more then one thing which I plan to do under this topic. Memorizing verses from the bible for starters, second thing is to expand my vocabulary. I am confused where to start. But memorizing the verses will automatically mean I will expand my vocabulary!

we're still on Genesis 1:2

2 וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְהֹ֑ום וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃

Let me spell it once again: I will do it with pen and paper. And also I need to read your comment once again Jonah.

... *Editing post*

What does that Heh after vav mean in "vahe'erets"? vav as you corrected me means "and" or "for" when placed in the beginning of the word. But no dot after it is placed, to make that "oo" sound you mentioned. Erets (earth) is the root of the first word in the sentence right?

וְ־ ve- means "and."

הַ־ ha- means "the." The letter א that comes after will not receive the "dot" (called dagesh), but rejects it. So, instead of having the dagesh, the a vowel under the ה is lengthened to הָ־ (which is still ha-).

אֶ֫רֶץ érets means "earth" or "land." When you put the article ("the") on it, it changes to הָאָ֫רֶץ ha-árets (not *ha-érets). [I'm using ם֫ to indicate the stress of the word not falling on the end of the word.]

Thus, וְהָאָ֫רֶץ ve-ha-árets means "and the earth."

Notice that הַשָּׁמַ֫יִם ha-shamáyim can mean both "heaven" (in the ethereal living forever sense) or "the sky." Similarly, הָאָ֫רֶץ ha-árets can mean both "earth" or "land" (or even "country," as Israel itself is called הָאָ֫רֶץ ha-árets without any descriptors). It's entirely possible that the story of Genesis 1 is telling us about the creation of the sky and the earth, not taking into account any type of outer space at all, if you will. The earth is the focus of the recounting, not the extremities of the universe.

 

[yonah_mishael]

By the way, I am sure you know that the vowels in Hebrew are pure.

• When I write a, I'm referring to the "a" in "father," not "apple."
• When I write e, I'm referring to the "e" in "bed," not "mete."
• When I write i, I'm referring to the "i" in "unique," not "quit."
• When I write o, I'm referring to the "o" in "hope," not "hot."
• When I write u, I'm referring to the "u" in "flute," not "cut" or "put" or "cute."

Similarly, ei is like the "ey" in "they."
ai is like the "i" in "pipe."
oi is like the "oi" in "oil."

I hope that makes sense. We shouldn't pronounce the words like English letters.

Thus, ha-árets is more clearly represented as hah-AH-rehts.

 

[yonah_mishael]

If you're going to read the Bible in Hebrew, you should listen to someone pronounce it correctly. This site presents all of the books of the Bible as MP3 audio that you can download.

For example, if you click here, you can hear the reader go through Genesis 1 in Hebrew.

If you would like, you can post the chapter that you want to listen through. You will need a copy of the Hebrew Bible, which you can also view online. Then you'll need a link to the relevant audio chapter. If you need links and stuff, let me know.

YM