“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”

— Ludwig Wittgenstein

Language Studies

Along with ancient history, legend, and mythology, language studies have also been an area of research that continues to hold my sustained interest. In 2005, I spent about a year studying both Hebrew and Greek. Since then, I have used my knowledge in these languages on occasion but not enough to master either of them. Mastering an ancient language takes much time and devotion. Because my historical interests are fairly broad, I do not know how much time I can devote to master any of them. Nonetheless, one must know something about the languages of antiquity to be a student of ancient history. Even having some knowledge of Hebrew and Greek has thus aided my understanding of many ancient cultures, since Hebrew is related to the languages spoken by the Akkadians, Assyrians, Amorites, Arameans, Chaldeans, Phoenicians, and even distantly to the Egyptians. Similarly, Greek belongs to the branch of languages known as Indo-European, which includes Hittite, Latin, and Sanskrit.

Below are some resources that I have found helpful.

HEBREW

  • Arnold, Bill T., and John H. Choi. A Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

  • Benner, Jeff A. Learn Biblical Hebrew. College Station, TX: Virtualbookworm.com Publishing, 2004.

  • —-. The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible: Hebrew Letters, Words and Roots Defined Within Their Ancient Cultural Context. College Station, TX: Virtualbookworm.com Publishing, 2005.

  • Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, and A. Briggs. The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon: With an appendix containing the Biblical Aramaic. 1906. Reprint, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2005.

  • Dobson, John H. Learn Biblical Hebrew. 2nd. ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005.

  • Fuller, Russell T., and Kyoungwon Choi. Invitation to Biblical Hebrew: A Beginning Grammar. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2006.

  • Strong, James. The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990.

  • Wigram, George V. The Englishman’s Hebrew Concordance of the Old Testament. Originally published by Samuel Bagster and Sons, London, 1874. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2009.

GREEK

  • Dobson, John H. Learn New Testament Greek. 3rd. ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2005.

  • Strong, James. The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990.

AUDIO/VISUAL RECORDINGS

  • Biblical Hebrew: Learning a Sacred Language, DVD. Taught by Michael Carasik. The Great Courses, 2018.

  • Invitation to Biblical Hebrew: A Beginning Grammar, DVD. Taught by Russell T. Fuller. Kregel, Academic & Professional, 2006.

  • Modern Hebrew 1, CD. Pimsleur, 2000.

  • The Story of Human Language, DVD. Taught by John McWhorter. The Great Courses, 2004.