Williams' Hebrew Syntax

by John C. Beckman

Although the morphology and lexicon of Hebrew are reasonably well understood, its syntax has long been a neglected area of study. Syntax, the relationship of words to one another, forms, together with morphology, the material of grammar. Its relative importance varies according to the language considered. This is particularly true of word order, for when an inflected language loses its case endings, word order assumes many of the functions of the former cases. This outline by Professor Williams re-emphasizes the significance of word order in Hebrew. Developed over fifteen years in a formal course on Hebrew syntax at the University of Toronto, it treats the syntax of the noun, the verb, particles and clauses, with a selection of illustrative examples. Its contents are based on classical Hebrew prose, but some account is also taken of the deviations in later prose and poetry. In this new edition English translations have been provided for all Hebrew phrases and sentences, and the bibliography has been expanded.

Genres: Reference, Biblical Studies, Nonfiction, Language, Theology

264 pages, Paperback

First published June 16, 2007

About the author

John Beckman (PhD, Stanford University; PhD, Harvard University) is Assistant Professor of Old Testament at Bethlehem College & Seminary.

When John Beckman first came to Bethlehem in 1997, he was seeking Biblical and cross-cultural training in preparation for a tentmaking career overseas as an engineering professor. He had just completed his Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Stanford University after doing nanofabrication research at Hitachi Central Research Laboratory in Tokyo and at IBM’s Yorktown Heights research laboratory in New York. But while at Bethlehem, he discovered the joy of studying and teaching the Bible and Biblical languages. As a result, after completing pastoral studies at The Bethlehem Institute and teaching Greek and systematic theology at Bethlehem, he quit his engineering job, dropped out of a master’s program in intercultural studies, and moved to Boston in 2004 for seminary and then a Ph.D. in Old Testament. Dr. Beckman returned to Bethlehem in 2011 after first learning, and then teaching, Biblical languages and exegesis at both Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and at Harvard University.

As a language specialist, Dr. Beckman’s passion is making it easier for students to learn and remember the langauges of the Bible, and then to grow spiritually through reading the Bible in its original languages. To that end he re-wrote a classic intermediate Hebrew grammar and maintains a website where he distributes hundreds of pages of worksheets, overheads, and other materials to help students learn Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and other languages that are relevant to Biblical studies.

John and his wife, Olivia, have been married for over 20 years, and enjoy reading books out loud together on the sofa, going on walks, and having long conversations. They have been blessed with two sons, one of whom loves to snuggle with Dad while reading books, and the other prefers to play games (current favorites include chess, Axis & Allies, Settlers of Catan, and Dominion).

Reviews

[Matthew Bonzon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful grammar with a helpful format that was especially clear. However, it could have used more explanation in some sections.

[Greg Baughman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great little "backpack" grammar. Concise and to the point, you gain a lot of easily accessible information without working through the more dense grammar's like Muraoka. Its strength is its weakness, however, as the details are few and each category only has one or two examples. Still, for the price, this is a must buy for the Hebrew student.

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

A version of Williams' Hebrew Grammar which is far easier to use than the original.

[Mary_Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's no greater resource for Hebrew syntax than this one. It doesn't read like a novel, but it sure is useful as a reference. Definitely a must-have for the library of an OT/Hebrew scholar.

[Robert Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super handy grammar. Not as exhaustive as Joüon-Muraoka, not as systematic as Waltke-O'Connor, but a fantastic reference resource. Highly recommended to have on hand

[Matthew Grotheer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a helpful intermediate syntax that will help students transition from a simple beginning grammar to the more advanced reference grammars.

[Dallas Goebel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very simple reference tool.

[Travis Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely dry, extremely helpful. Essential for any 2nd year and beyond Hebrew student. Make a cheat sheet and then refer back if you need to dig deeper.