Like most language teachers, I would love to have the time and energy to write my own text-book. Here I would deposit all the gems of knowledge and technique gleaned over the years, and correct all the faults of books used in the meantime! So far I’ve used four different grammars, scrutinised many more, returned to a faithful classic (Weingreen), and yet remain unsatisfied. Is one of these the answer to my search?

Teaching Hebrew alongside Arabic and Akkadian in an Oriental Studies faculty is obviously very different to teaching it alongside ethics and missiology in a theological college or seminary. Students in the latter have less background knowledge and less time available. So there is plenty of room for different types of grammars. Which are these?

Hostetter’s book is more for the purists. It adopts traditional language and a comprehensive, syntactic approach. Thus it covers Hebrew grammar in three logical sections: nouns and particles; strong verbs; and weak verbs. Each section tries to cover its grammar fully, even if it relates to elements not yet introduced. It has 34 chapters, each concluding with very brief exercises.

Unfortunately it has two major didactic faults. First, the order of the first half is hopeless. Students must plough through 13 chapters before reaching the most basic form of the verb, the Qal perfect. Meanwhile they study pausal forms in chapter 2 (having barely mastered the alphabet), Rafe in chapter 5 (though they will never meet it), and the object marker in chapter 8 (long before the verb)! It may be logical to put all the grammar relating to nouns and particles together, but it is didactic folly: teachers will be frustrated, students will be bored, and classes will empty. Secondly, the presentation is terrible. Most of the explanation is discursive, with very few tables. Vowels are presented in a single list, vowel-consonant combinations in a running text, nouns discussed without the simplest tables of masculine/feminine or singular/plural, and the complicated explanation of nominal plurals will make all but the bravest quake. Those who persevere will be relieved to find that verbs fare somewhat better, with tables in the text and full paradigms at the end.

Students need several things in a text-book: a good order, starting with basics and progressing to details; good visual presentation, for immediate learning and later back-reference; and good exercises, with repeated practice of common forms. Sadly, there is little of this in Hostetter. It might be usable by Semiticists, but certainly not by seminarians.

Ross’s grammar, by contrast, is completely different in every respect. From first glance, it is obviously written by an experienced college teacher, who has thought carefully about order of material, style of explanation, division into chapter-lessons, exercises for students, etc. It is larger, over three times longer, and more expensive (even through Amazon, since it is hardback only). But you get far more for your money, and would spend as much on Weingreen. A short Part 1 (Signs and Sounds, 6 chs) introduces the basics; the main Part 2 (Forms and Meanings, 34 chs) covers the essential grammar and syntax; and a very useful Part 3 (Texts and Contexts, 14 chs) gives readings from Genesis with more advanced explanations. This is complemented by Part 4 (Study Aids), with glossaries, full paradigms, index, one-page summaries of every chapter (Lesson Reviews), and 12 blank pages for vocabulary lists etc. These last two features are welcome innovations, and will be extremely helpful for many learners.

The book is very well signposted throughout, including contents summaries for each chapter. The Hebrew font is large and clear. Explanations are well worded, managing to be both simple and thorough. Tables abound, and some highlight unexpected forms (e.g. guttural verbs, p. 89). The exercises look well balanced, with translation into English and into Hebrew (essential for serious learning) roughly equal in length until chapter 32, when the latter fades out. And students will certainly appreciate the ‘mechanical parsing method’ presented for both regular and irregular verbs

Several features delight the eye, e.g. one learns the ‘ordinary’ article a chapter before the article with gutturals, the Infinitive Construct a chapter before the Infinitive Absolute, and numerals before irregular verbs. Some features cause raised eyebrows, e.g. suffixes are presented in the order third-second-first person, and the ‘converted imperfect’ is taught as the preterite. A few features may even cause furrowed brows: the ‘historical vowel chart’ is too complex for chapter 9, suffixes on singular and plural nouns in the same lesson look indigestible, as do the suffixes on verbs (always a nightmare to teach). And inevitably there are typos, though I’ve spotted very few (41 for 40, p. 69; feminine dual, p. 71).

Altogether, Ross’s grammar contains all the essentials of a good text-book, and many welcome extras. I’ll certainly give it a go.

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