Beyond Babel: A Handbook for Biblical Hebrew and Related Languages (Resources for Biblical Study)

Rating:
Summary: Great book - wish there was more of it!
Review: This book is not so much a handbook as it is a basic introduction to near eastern languages and literature. It is geared toward beginning/intermediate students of biblical hebrew who want to supplement their studies with comparative methods. This book will give you a small taste of the field without excess detail or jargon. Each chapter focuses on a particular language, providing a brief grammatical survey, an overview of the literature and suggestions for further study. Additional background material would have made the book much more useful-- things like historical timelines, comparison of grammatical paradigm's, more samples of literature, glossary of terms etc. In sum, beginners will find a user-friendly starting point, advanced students are advised to look elsewhere for more practical help.