The Hebrew Bible, called the "Tenach" by Jews and "Old Testament" by Christians, was originally written in the Hebrew language using an ancient pictographic, or paleo-Hebrew, script. Through the study of this ancient language and script the words of the Bible will come alive to the reader in a way never seen before. When we read the Bible from our modern western perspective the original meanings of the words within the text are lost to us. Only by understanding these words in their original Hebraic context can we read the Bible through the eyes of the original authors. This book will examine the origins and history of the ancient Hebrew language and script and their close relationship to the culture of the ancient Hebrews. Included are detailed charts of the evolution of the ancient Hebrew script as well as many other related Semitic and non-Semitic scripts. Also included are the details of the root system of the Hebrew language, and a lexicon of ancient Hebrew roots to assist the reader of the Bible with finding the original cultural context for many Hebrew words.
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About the Author
Jeff Benner has had a long interest in the Hebrew language of the Bible and in 1996 he began researching the ancient pictographic alphabet used by the Hebrew people and other Semitic tribes. He has made many significant discoveries linking the ancient Hebrew culture with the ancient Hebrew language and alphabet. In 1999 Jeff founded the "Ancient Hebrew Research Center" to research and teach Biblical understanding through the alphabet and language to those with little or no Hebrew background. Jeff's current project is the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible. This Lexicon defines Hebrew words of the Bible according to their cultural context revealing the original Hebraic meanings of Biblical passages and words.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By Sophie Cooke
Format:Paperback
A great guide to the way that English and Arabic alphabets (not to mention all other modern Latin alphabets, and modern Hebrew, as well as ancient Greek, Phonecian, and Aramaic) have all derived from the shared root of the Ancient Hebrew alphabet. Benner uses charts to draw out the diverging evolutionary paths of the alphabets in a very visual way that is easy to understand. Most illuminating, for me, were the appendices containing the ancient Hebrew alphabet (with "translations" of the meaning of each letter), and the parent root dictionary (which shows how two or more letters are combined to create a more complex meaning, which can then be further refined by adding additional letters). For example, the pictographs for the letters "P" and "D" mean "mouth / open" and "door" - so "PD" means "open the door", in the literal sense, and "redeem" in the ideal sense, for which opening the door is a poetic analogy. If you are remotely interested in language and poetry, then you will be fascinated by the ideas and information in this book. It is amazing to think that this ancient root language built mental concepts out of the building blocks of physical realities, and it offers an exciting alternative to the Greek emphasis on the primacy of abstract thought which has formed our own cultural inheritance. My only complaint is that there are quite a lot of typos in the book, but the subject matter is so interesting that I didn't really mind too much.
0 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Do'vele
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I don't know wher this person gets his ideas from, or how he gets to his final conclusions, but he has succeeded in writing the biggest load of rubbish I have had the mis-fortune to read.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.9 out of 5 stars
21 reviews
78 of 87 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A most excellent intro to ancient hebrew
25 Dec 2004
By Justthe Factsmaam
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
I loved this book. The rare opinion stated as fact and the few faith based comments do not change my feeling that this is a good intro to the subject.
I am a borderline agnostic with a sincere interest in Ancient Greek, Hebrew, Egyptian Hieroglyphs, early Phoenecian scripts, etc. I don't care about anyone else's religious beliefs and I don't care if the occasional prejudice slips through between the lines now & then when I am reading the works of authors with a passion for their faith, as long as I am learning something in a subject of interest.
Sure, I disagreed with a few of Mr. Benner's opinions here and there but in the end I have to say that this is the single best book I have seen that teaches introductory 'Ancient Hebrew 101' in such a clear, readable, and most importantly, learnable fashion. Now I can order Mr. Benner's other books with confidence that I will actually learn a good deal of the subject matter rather than fall asleep trying to stay focused on the dry, boring, dull treatment of ancient scripts given by snobbish academians whose obvious priority is trying to impress their peers rather than actually teach the neophytes.
Another good book on ancient scripts is "Mysteries of the Alphabet" by Ouaknin.
I am a borderline agnostic with a sincere interest in Ancient Greek, Hebrew, Egyptian Hieroglyphs, early Phoenecian scripts, etc. I don't care about anyone else's religious beliefs and I don't care if the occasional prejudice slips through between the lines now & then when I am reading the works of authors with a passion for their faith, as long as I am learning something in a subject of interest.
Sure, I disagreed with a few of Mr. Benner's opinions here and there but in the end I have to say that this is the single best book I have seen that teaches introductory 'Ancient Hebrew 101' in such a clear, readable, and most importantly, learnable fashion. Now I can order Mr. Benner's other books with confidence that I will actually learn a good deal of the subject matter rather than fall asleep trying to stay focused on the dry, boring, dull treatment of ancient scripts given by snobbish academians whose obvious priority is trying to impress their peers rather than actually teach the neophytes.
Another good book on ancient scripts is "Mysteries of the Alphabet" by Ouaknin.
31 of 37 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Info for Any Bible Student
9 Aug 2005
By Dennis
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The book actually contains only about 50 pages of simple to understand background information on the ancient Hebrew language. The rest of the book deals with specific appendices that detail information on the pictographic and alphabetic characters themselves. All told, the info opens up a wide area of additional information on Bible names.
43 of 57 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you want to understand Hebrew READ THIS
22 Aug 2005
By D. Foster
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
This book is a wonderful introduction to the world of the Hebrew Language. I have been struggling to teach myself Hebrew, and frankly was having trouble learning the aleph-beit. So many letters that look similar! Such a different type of writing! And why do they have three letters than mean "s", more than one "K" and two that don't have any sound, anyway?
THIS BOOK ANSWERS THOSE QUESTIONS, and more!
This book explains the origins of Hebrew, and allows you to see what each of the ancient letters MEAN. I had been wondering how the sages made determinations of the "real" meanings of Hebrew words by looking at the letters that make them up, and now I know! This book will open a window to the Hebrew Language that will "turn you on" to how the language works, and how it affects the Jewish Faith. Their earliest beliefs about G-d will become very clear...just by studying the letters they used to spell his name.
GREAT BOOK.
THIS BOOK ANSWERS THOSE QUESTIONS, and more!
This book explains the origins of Hebrew, and allows you to see what each of the ancient letters MEAN. I had been wondering how the sages made determinations of the "real" meanings of Hebrew words by looking at the letters that make them up, and now I know! This book will open a window to the Hebrew Language that will "turn you on" to how the language works, and how it affects the Jewish Faith. Their earliest beliefs about G-d will become very clear...just by studying the letters they used to spell his name.
GREAT BOOK.
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3.9 out of 5 stars
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