Do It Yourself Hebrew and Greek

The late Prof. Goodrick knew he was facing a challenge when he came up with this syllabus. How can one equip a Bible student to "break the language barrier" between himself and the original-language texts of the Bible, without requiring him to tackle the languages "head-on" and without making him think he know more than he really does by the end of the course? This syllabus is the best such effort I have yet seen. It helped me tremendously in my beginning studies of biblical Hebrew; it still helps me even though I'm now fluent enough in biblical Hebrew to read much of it without aid of English helps; and it continues to be a tremendous help in my fledgling efforts to deal with New Testament Greek. One of the most helpful features is the persistent goal of the author to keep the student in mind of what the non-linguist's limitations are in technical Bible study -- a goal which is aimed for (and, I think, reached) with humility and humor. The book isn't absolutely perfect. It doesn't deal with biblical Aramaic at all (although admittedly not much of the Bible is in Aramaic); once in a great while, some theological biases get under the author's radar screen; and thanks to my current coursework in Dr. Randall Buth's LIVING BIBLICAL HEBREW FOR EVERYONE, I've spotted one important error of omission in this syllabus' discussion of Hebrew grammar. Contrary to Dr. Goodrick's claim that biblical Hebrew has no tense, it not only has tense, it has tense-aspect. (One may pardon Dr. Goodrick for looking to the Masoretic paradigm of the Hebrew accents -- and thus ignoring it as too complex for the student he aims to help -- rather than to the much simpler and much more helpful melodic paradigm developed by Suzanne Haik-Vantoura in a book likewise sold here.) Despite those problems, I always recommend this syllabus without hesitation to everyone I know who wants to learn how to use the "language tools".

This is a great first step in learning the Biblical languages. While it is geared towards those who only desire it to understand how to move around in the language tools, it explains the basics of noun forms and verb inflections extremely well. One who finishes the Greek section will have a good foundation to take on a first year Greek grammar without getting lost in the details. In addition, you will be able to use the language tools in order to work through actual passages of the Greek New Testament while you absorb the rules of grammar. There is no substitute for actually reading the language. If you intend to learn Greek on your own, read Goodrick's work first - it will pay off.

If you are considering purchasing this book then you should really take the subtitle seriously - "A Guide to Biblical Language Tools". This is not a book about learning Hebrew and Greek so that you can read either of them in a Hebrew or Greek Bible. This is a book about understanding the Hebrew and Greek language so that you can better use and understand biblical language tools. For each language it goes over the alphabet, parts and types of speech, pronunciation, and similar items. Then, using your understanding of the word forms and the like, you can turn to a concordance, biblical Greek dictionary, lexicon or similar reference and understand the importance of how a particular ending on a verb changes it and changes the meaning of a whole sentence. If you are intimidated by the daunting task of learning another language like Greek or Hebrew then this is the book that will free you to at least learn about the language and its structure so you can use other tools more effectively for Bible study. "Do It Yourself Hebrew and Greek" is a recommended book for any Bible students who just can't quite bring themselves to learn another language.

This book is what I have been looking to buy for weeks. It is great! It has the best discussion of case structure grammer I have seen.

For years, the insights of the original languages of the Bible were limited to those who knew Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew. Now, through this volume, anyone with a little discipline can learn enough of the original languages to use some of the tools which until now were only used by "scholars". Goodrick introduces the reader to both languages and also recommends which study tools to buy in order to allow the students the ability to dig deeper into the original languages through the use of the "short cuts" he shares. One important note: Once this volume is completed, the reader is NOT a Biblical scholar. The reader will only have a cursory knowledge at best of both Greek and Hebrew. But it is this "cursory" knowledge together with the recommended tools which allow the reader to realize Goodrick's main goal-that of placing into the reader's hands the means whereby they may enjoy the original languages deeper.