NOT for the undergraduate
The language experts give this book a good rating, but I, the undergraduate, see little value in this book. The author's native tongue doesnot seem to be english. The book focuses on things like why "their" is an execption to the rule "i before e except after c". This book is far from simple to understand.
A reference point
A great work. Not for faint-hearted ones. The problem with this type of subject is to know what is still considered correct, as research proceeds. But, of course, that by no means diminishes the value of the book! Certainly a must have for serious, deep-digging students.
Good Price, but not Most Recent Edition
Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar remains as one of the standard grammars for Biblical Hebrew studies. This paperback edition is a very affordable alternative to the expensive hardcover edition. Especially suitable for starving graduate students such as myself! However, it should be noted that the Dover paperback edition was apparently not printed from the most recent hardcover edition & therefore doesn't have the updated indices that the newer edition has, which may explain why it is so cheap. Otherwise it appears to be identicle to the hardcover.
great
It's a classical book and this paperback version is for a very affordable price. Useful tool for all serious students of the old testament hebrew.
Reference piece of note but difficult to read
This grammar book would have been the best available. It has everything one needs - simple word forms, complex usages and useful tables. It has a syntax section (a must for really understanding a language) and groups the different parts in a logical and straightforward manner.
It is fully comprehensive and I use this book as the standard reference.
However it fails in other respects. It takes a lot of time to get used to the layout (I've been using it for 4 years and I still find it hard to look up information). Its notes, however useful, are not as clearly distinct from the text. And when I wanted a simple translation of the form under discussion, I found it difficult to find.
The Tables at the back were very useful, but the noun-forms, also central to understanding, were in the middle, and not in the back.
I found the print also difficult to read. But perhaps this was due to my edition, which is older.
Beginners and even Scholars would probably find: "A Practical Grammar for Classical Hebrew" by Jacob Weingreen more useful, and user-friendly.
Personally, I use both, together with Hebrew Syntax an Outline
by Ronald J. Williams and 501 Hebrew Verbs as a set that would be most helpful. A good Dictionary such as The Complete Hebrew-English Dictionary by Reuben Alcalay is a must as well.
Unfortunately I would really like to give This complete and comprehensive Hebrew grammar a higher rating - 4/5 stars, but the layout and difficulties in reading add to the fact that the english is out-moded (written in the early 1920s), and is really for scholars than the layman. It is a very comprehensive, detailed reference piece however, and for scholars these issues are less of a problem.
