The Ancient Hebrew Language and Alphabet: Understanding the Ancient Hebrew Language of the Bible Based on Ancient Hebrew Culture and Thought published by Virtualbookworm.com Publishing

by Jeff A. Benner

The Hebrew Bible, called the "Tenach" by Jews and "Old Testament" by Christians, was originally written in the Hebrew language using an ancient pictographic, or paleo-Hebrew, script. Through the study of this ancient language and script the words of the Bible will come alive to the reader in a way never seen before. When we read the Bible from our modern western perspective the original meanings of the words within the text are lost to us. Only by understanding these words in their original Hebraic context can we read the Bible through the eyes of the original authors. This book will examine the origins and history of the ancient Hebrew language and script and their close relationship to the culture of the ancient Hebrews. Included are detailed charts of the evolution of the ancient Hebrew script as well as many other related Semitic and non-Semitic scripts. Also included are the details of the root system of the Hebrew language, and a lexicon of ancient Hebrew roots to assist the reader of the Bible with finding the original cultural context for many Hebrew words.

Genres: Reference, Language, Theology, Nonfiction, Christian, Judaica, History

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh dear, Mr. Benner. I know you mean well and I understand your passion for others to understand Biblical Hebrew. As a fellow student of the study of Biblical language, please do some more research when it comes to the origins of Hebrew. Have you used databases with peer reviewed articles? Also, please cite the sources you used to make statements such as "from this we can conclude that God, Adam and Eve and their descendants spoke Hebrew" (p. 4). Such broad and unfounded statements cannot be taken seriously in research nor do they contribute to this field.

[Adam Balshan · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 star [Primer]
(U 1.5 | T 1 | M 1)
Exact rating: 1.17

This is Benner's expanded, general language version of another of his books, His Name is One. Benner writes a short 49 pages (the rest is appendices) on the nature of proto-Hebrew's ancient biconsonantal roots, and the morphology that transformed them to the later triconsonantal roots.

Before I learned exegetical methodology, this analysis seemed intriguing, but I now know that Benner's thesis cannot be correct. Languages are organic, not artificially constructed in such a fashion as Benner proposes, where each letter has a "secret meaning," or semantics coded into the originating ideograph.

What's worse, this specious paradigm started becoming popular and now there is a somewhat-sizable fringe of Christians deceived by it.

// Use rating of 1 is characterized as "Example of Gaping Holes"; this was mitigated up to a 1.5 by bits of true language history mixed in.
//Truth rating of 1 is "Axiomatic Falsehood."

[Nzcgzmt · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author has some interesting insights on how the alphabet system evolved across ancient languages. However the materials are a bit thin and repetitive. Importantly, some of the historical assertions are not sufficiently supported and are probably wrong.

[gladys fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Interesting Book

I really enjoy learning all I can about the Bible . Understanding the people of biblical times help a great deal in understanding the Bible . Language draws us more together than most of us realize . I high recommend this book to all people who want a greater understanding of God and His most amazing Book and of His people .

[C.A. Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is amazing, and so insightful! The book itself is very short; the majority of the pages are appendix. I feel like I have at least a semi-decent foundation for understanding some of the depth of meaning in Ancient Hebrew words as well as culture.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Melalui buku ini saya mengerti makna dan sejarah dari setiap huruf yang saya tulis ini serta setiap makna konkrit yang dibawa.

[Jacquie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting background information. The appendices should be a helpful resource moving forward.

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great important information to know to better understand modern hebrew through the ancient perspective. Gives meaning to characters and helps expand view of how hebrew has morphed. And shows it is a foundational language of old.

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to understand where hebrew came from! And it breaks down so much good info to understandable pieces and how the language has morphed over time. Want to understand the bible better? Study it's more original language/meanings.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

once digested, its really interesting...