Keeping Your Hebrew 2: Setting Goals

I did well in first-year Hebrew, so I had a fair amount of self-confidence at the end of that year. I set myself the goal of reading in the Psalms that summer. I mentioned this to my professor, and he told me that the Psalms were a difficult place to start. I found out that summer that he was right. A little bit of practice in Hebrew narrative does not leave you prepared for Hebrew poetry.

One man I know set himself the goal of reading through the Hebrew Bible. He did, but it took him seven years. That works out to about nine verses per day, though I'm sure there were some day he did many more, and some days he did fewer.

The points from these two stories are: 1) make your goals reasonable. It was not reasonable for me to attempt Hebrew poetry after only first-year Hebrew; 2) set intermediate goals, even if your eventual goal is to read through the whole Hebrew Bible. Seven years is a long time, and most people do not have the persistence to stick with such a long-term goal.

My recommendation is that you begin by setting a daily goal of time--say ten to fifteen minutes. Anyone, no matter how busy, can find ten to fifteen minutes per day. Second, I would recommend that you try to do that ten to fifteen minutes every day. Don't beat yourself up if you miss a day or two, but get back on track. It is harder to keep the habit than it is to break it. With this time goal, set a timer. When the time is over, you can quit (for the day). That way, if you're in the middle of a frustrating verse, you can come back the next day with a fresh look. The timer gives you the freedom to quit. On the other hand, if you're moving along quickly, you have the freedom to continue.

As to where to begin your reading, Campbell ( in Keep Your Greek) recommends the Gospel of John. For Hebrew, any of the narrative books will do, though Ruth and Jonah (excepting chapter 2) are often used as introductory texts, because the narrative is straightforward and the vocabulary is simple. Further, both books are short, and you get a sense of accomplishment quickly.

Keeping Your Hebrew 1: Great Expectations.

This is the first in a series on keeping up your Hebrew after seminary (or even while in seminary).

My first recommendation is that you buy and read Con Campbell's book Keep Your Greek, as most of what he suggests works for Hebrew as well. That being said, I don't intend to repeat what he has already said so well.

My first recommendation is that you not expect more from your first-year Hebrew class than it can actually deliver. In some seminaries, first-year Hebrew is intended only to give you enough Hebrew so that you you can make reasonable use of the electronic resources. Such a course is not designed to enable you to begin learning to read Hebrew.

Assuming that your Hebrew course is intended to help you begin the process of learning to read Hebrew, keep some things in mind.

First, remember first grade? When you learned the alphabet, and began to learn how to sound out words, and spell? In first-year Hebrew, you're back in first grade all over again. At the end of your first year, you'll have a modicum of vocabulary (usually around 400 words--everything that occurs more than 100 times in the OT). You'll also have a modicum of grammar and syntax; enough to help you make sense of most narrative sentences. That would be great if the OT were written in first-grade Hebrew, like those old Dick and Jane books were written in first-grade English.

Second, remember that you did not, at the end of first grade, begin reading Great Expectations. However, many people who want to use their Hebrew after finishing first-year Hebrew have great expectations about reading the Hebrew Bible. It's an understatement to say that such expectations are unreasonable. It is like setting a second-grader to reading Dickens. He might be able to do it, but it would happen very slowly, with frequent reference to a dictionary, and there would be many passages that he would be uncertain about. And that's "reading" a book written in his native language.

So. You have finished first-year Hebrew and you pick a passage, maybe a favorite passage in Isaiah, and you realize you have no idea what it says. You look up all the words and you still don't know what it says. Don't blame your first-year course. You're just not ready for Isaiah yet.