Biblical Hebrew: Learning how to read with fluency 

First full disclosure. I am an observant Jew and not a Christian. I am also a private tutor of Biblical Hebrew. I tutor people on Zoom regardless of their religious affiliation and beliefs. I hope that I am allowed to share some of my observations which stem from my experiences. They reflect my own approach to teaching Biblical Hebrew ("BH"). Firstly, BH is a different language from Israeli Hebrew ("IH"), in some respects _very_ different. Whilst a large shared vocabulary _seems_ to make BH understandable for people with _some_ familiarity with IH, the vast differences in syntax are all-pervading. Then: it is extremely important to realise the nature of the text; e.g. Psalms is very different from Numbers etc. Then: my tutoring encourages my pupils to familiarise themselves with the 22 letters of the alef-beth, the consonantal skeleton of the language, the use (or non-use!) of "reading mothers" [matres lectionis, אִמּוֹת הקְרִיאָה], weak and strong consonants, gutturals etc. This will simplify comprehension of the grammar enormously. The grammar of BH seems bewildering at first glance but turns out to be very simple in its logic, by and large. Then: *reading!* Very few people alive today read BH in the pronunciation intended by the Masoretic punctuation system. The academic tradition, the Sefardic tradition and the Ashkenazi tradition each have their pluses and minuses. Whether you can pronounce a "real Ayin" or not does not need to stop you from reading accurately. Far more important is to clearly enunciate the consonant-vowel or consonant-vowel-consonant structure of *every syllable,* because that makes the building blocks of the words clear. I approach the language as "the Holy Tongue" and my pupils and I try to be attentative to any and all irregularities, oddities and quirks. I'd rather say "I do not understand" than satisfy myself with a handwaving 'explanation'. The goal of learning BH should, in my view, not be to be able to _translate_ but to _understand._ Any translation fails to capture the full payload of the Biblical text. Just my $0.02

I fully agree that using Greek or Hebrew for sermon preparation and devotional reading in Greek or Hebrew are very different things. By God's mercy, I have been reading the Bible in the original languages for some time. It is really a unique experience. And if you are called by God to teach His word to His people, your deep devotional reading of the Bible in the original languages can deepen and refine your teaching ministry. God bless everyone who studies Greek or Hebrew in order to be able to know Him better and grow in Christ! Thank you brothers for your help!

One additional, very important part is a gradually increasing difficulty, from very very simple to complex, beginning with simple clauses, then sentences, then paragraphs, short stories, and then Biblical graded readers or reorganizing the Biblical Corpus according to it’s difficulty level (like Biblical Mastery Academy does (shameless plug 🔌😉)

Thanks Frank, great points!

I appreciate what you are saying. There are definite advatages in being able to read fluently. However, I find the slow analytical way to read it has advantages too. If I read in English, I skim and do not absorb very well. Reading slowly and often lookng up words has improved my understanding and created a new appreciation of the NT (I am only learning Greek so far). Now I read the NT every day, because I love doing so.

A RU-vid channel that'll get you started with Hebrew Fluency is "Aleph with Beth". Amazing wisdom, very fun and intuitive, not hard to practise, completely free.

Can I come and stay with you for about a year? For real lol would love a few more videos like this teaching more about hebrew. I'm learning on my own.תורה וברך לך

My experience was I mastered all the verb conjugations and noun decisions. Then I memorized 5,000 word vocabulary including haphax Then I read through all the grammars. Then I went to seminary. I do not think you can learn with any fluency in a classroom. I read rapidly and have for near 30 years. It is doable. But it takes work. I took about 7 years to be fluent. I teach Greek but I don’t teach Greek. That is, I guide the student but he must learn on his own. No one can truly teach you a language. There are no short cuts. I don’t want to guess at it. The ancient reader followed forms and inflection. Learn the Greek. Then go to seminary. I breezed through the language classes because I was fluent by then.

The only thing that will carry to fluent reading is endless practice. Even native Hebrew speakers need to practice bible reading because it is not 100% identical to modern Hebrew. There is NO WAY to understand everything and each word of the Hebrew bible! Nobody can say that he understands everything, one needs a commented bible for many of the words and notions. Don't even try to do that, the bible is not a newspaper. It is a very old (and sometimes complicated) text and needs a lot of explanations. There are of course some simple chapters but generally it needs explanations.

07:13 "Let context be our guide as to how accurately we are understanding the meaning of the words". That is so well formulated. This video is a gem. As a life-long language learning "addict" (although not yet fluent in Hebrew) I agree that this is the right approach. Blessings!

A good practice appears to be the daily reading what is called in German DIE LOSUNGEN. There is also DIE LOSUNGEN URSPRACHE. Have fun, for it´s international! Greetings & thank you from Germany!

Amazing! I was recently talking with someone about this very topic, and how I've come to realize (after having analyzed my own experience) that there are different levels to reading, and in so many words agreed with that which you've stated. More so in particular, and I'm open to be corrected on this point, it seems to me that many who attend a seminary that teaches the biblical languages often times leave not truly being able to read with comprehension, but in my own words, become grammatical, syntactical, even exegetical experts; and that's fine if that's the goal. At this point the levels of reading vary, and the level of which you are referring to seems to be the highest if not at least second highest (and this is how it has come to me so far): Level 1) recognition of the alphabets and being able to pronounce words come across, 2) recognition of grammar (syntactically and all, while gaining a bit of vocabulary along the way), 3) harnessing the previous two within to the point that it all becomes second nature to do, while gaining mastery of vocabulary, 4) Discourse analysis, recognizing how one point being made by the writer in one section enhances the understanding of that which is being read in another, 5) I think there may be a higher level such as textual criticism, comparing the different family lines of ancient manuscripts and the like; and it seems to me in the end, that it depends on the level to which the person is desiring to get to. I hope this all makes sense, and as I stated earlier I am open to correction.

you take too long to get to your point: if you have a method for reading, OUT WITH IT!

This is a great video! I'm so glad youtube algorithms, under the Lord, suggested it for me. I definitely find myself stopping at each word or sometimes even each vowel point and thinking about it. Sometimes I feel like a first grader again. haha. My children are actually native Hebrew speakers so what's been helpful for me is to have them sit and read with me and then I read it back to them. That way I hear the cadences of the language. They think this is really funny, especially when I say something wrong! They are also practicing Biblical Hebrew this way, rather than just Modern Hebrew, so this is a win-win all around. Another thing that's helping is having the audio Hebrew Bible on in the background while I'm doing other things. Your tips here are good and what you're recommending has me motivated to keep working on vocabulary. :)

I both agree and disagree with you. With a dead language you cannot rely on context. Lexicons are not dictionaries. Understanding the usage of the word throughout the corpus of the language is essential. If you start to take the glossary definition as definitive you will draw many wrong conclusions. Even worse is to use meanings from a different era, such as modern Hebrew or Greek, and applying those to an ancient text is even worse. Dead languages do not work like living languages. You cannot ask followup questions or observe body language or inflection. It is great to learn vocab and be able to read smoothly but skipping over the analysis will not get you much deeper than reading in translation.

Brother Frank, Question. Has all the time spent in learning Hebrew and Greek made you a better practical Christian? Has that made you more holy and given you a closer walk with our lord and savior Jesus? I am not asking this question to troll you. Just curious because it seems it is hard enough just to memorize and apply the scriptures in my own language. Also why not just learn modern Greek and become fluent first, and then study the ancient Greek texts? Would not that make it so much easier? Anyway I look forward to your respond.

That happens to be a few verses I know well, so when you got to the end of the line I filled in "pney təhom".

From the things I see.... Seminary teaches its own bias whichever denominational Seminary they are. Have yet to see one that would say we can walk as HE walked 1 Jhn 2:6, by imitating him like Paul 1 Cor 11:1, and by HIS example following in HIS footsteps 1 Pet 2:21. They teach those things are 1 not possible, and 2 not of faith. They are possible as all things are possible with Christ who strengthens us Phil 4:13. HE is the same yesterday, today, and forever Heb 13:8 which means HE will be walking and living the exact same Law HE walked before the Cross before HIS ascension. blessings

Forget about grammar just keep on reading and check your reading with your mother tongue.

In Latin derived languages we address the creator as Dios,Deus, one of the first things I learned in Hebrew was that the first title of the creator was not a name derived from the greek deity zeus, but אלוהים Elohim. I love Hebrew, the language the Almighty preferred over Greek the language of de olimpians.