Standard Reference Grammar for BH in English
Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar is the standard reference grammar in English for Biblical Hebrew. Anyone serious about reading and translating Hebrew Bible will need a copy on their shelf for reference, when things get difficult. The book is well indexed, so navigation is not too difficult. There is also a scriptural index, so finding entries that directly relate to a passage that you are working on may be found. The verbal paradigms are in the back of the book. They are complete. Given the age of the text, the language used to describe grammatical and syntactic features may be unfamiliar to people trained in modern linguistics.All this said, I like Waltke and O'Connors' Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax better. I frequently end up consulting multiple sources when really stuck, so it pays to have both.
By far the best in Hebrew Grammars
I have used many other grammars in my studies of Biblical Hebrew and none have been as helpful as this one. I would seriously consider selling the others if they were not required texts for my future studies. His handling of Hebrew and cognate languages will give a student a much deeper knowledge than many of the modern grammars targeted at a lazier student audience.
A "Must Have," and Worth All the Work Needed to Read It
Whether one is taking formal education classes or is seeking to read Biblical Hebrew on his/her own, this text will have to become part of the personal library. There are grammatical issues in Hebrew that are never explained in 1st-year grammars, but one will need to know them, and Gesenius provides this.I recommend reading this book from cover to cover at least twice: once as a studious overview, secondly as a serious study, maybe putting notes into your Hebrew text. But the following explanation is needed: there are portions of information that do not have to be known too thoroughly to understand what one is reading in the Hebrew Tanach. Much of the information is analytical more from a linguistics standpoint. In other words, don't think you need to know everything in the book. But embedded within the optional information is other information one will need; so all the book must be read.
The book can be broken down into 3 levels:
1. That which every serious student must know. This would mean that most of the book needs to be known, with probably placing details into your Hebrew text for reference. This text is especially needed for grammatical variations not found in basic grammars (e.g., a rare form of the infinitive used with intransitive verbs; the fem. objective affix seemingly having no antecedent, but actually having a previous phrase or clause for its antecedent, regardless of gender, Gen. 15:6); the ignoring of gender at times, etc. Like any other language, Hebrew has grammatical structures that have "broken the rules."
2. That which is interesting to know and which may or may not really help in translation. This would, for instance, include some of the heavier details concerning rules for vowel changes, etc.
3. That which surely does not need to be known to read and understand Hebrew. This information is for people who are grammar geeks, who need to know how things work even though not knowing this information will not hurt anyone's communication skills. Much of this has to do with comparing Hebrew with other Semitic and European languages. It's interesting, and in other fields, it is important; but for the Hebrew reader, this tends to be ineffectual in helping the student who is learning to read Hebrew. Don't be discouraged by this stuff as you read the book; read it and move on.
Just as with English, volumes can be written on how a language works, and Gesenius provides this. But no one needs to know the most intricate circuitry to communicate. For instance, speakers in English say, "If he were to go, I would stay." The rule for having a plural verb for the singular pronoun is: "3rd person singular subjunctive uses a plural verb." Most people don't know this, and yet they speak correctly. The same is true with Hebrew: You can get overloaded with the details, and yet without those details a student of Hebrew won't have a problem.
As one progresses in the book, the information becomes more practical in a sense, moving away from all the technical analysis of language and moving into what is really needed for anyone to do translation.
But, it is also true that while all this information should be reviewed because of its historical important in the process of understanding Hebrew, it is also necessary to know that there are significant points in this grammar that have been proven to be untrue. Such updated information can be found in Waltke & O'Connors "Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax," another, and even more so, must have.
Still standard, but no longer the last word.
Even recently published English-language grammars of Biblical Hebrew admit that Gesenius-Kautsch-Cowley (GKC) is still good for people like me who can't (yet) read German.As you read the Hebrew Bible and find grammatical challanges, look first in Jouon-Muraoka, Williams and Waltke-O'Connor . If they don't answer your question, look in GKC. If GKC doesn't answer it, look in commentaries.
The binding of GKC is beautiful and durable.
Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar
I found Jouon-Muraoka's grammar more readable. The old references are more dated than the book is. Not that Genesius' is suffering from being dated. Hardly. It is one of the leading grammars in Biblical Hebrew. It is worth getting for its reference value alone. In the translation of Gunkel's Genesis from Mercer Press, Gesenius' is frequently referenced. Also Dahood in his Anchor Bible translation of the Psalms uses it also. So I find it worthwhile to have, even though I don't understand most of it.marc_bauer@yahoo.com
