Hebrew tutorial online...anyone have a suggestion?

squirrelyguy

Well-known member
I'm specifically looking for an online resource that explains every letter in every verse of the OT. For example, in Genesis 1:2, the word translated "was" (as in "And the earth was without form") is הָיְתָה , and I need a tutorial that explains why it differs from the root word הָיָה. Why is the tav there instead of the he, and what does the suffix mean? I have a guess, but I need something that explains this for every letter in every word. I have a hard time recognizing the root words when they have divergent letters, and the rules of grammar are still very hard for me to grasp (and I'm trying to teach myself). I use www.blueletterbible.org a lot and it's very helpful, but it doesn't actually explain every single letter...it gives you the root and the Strong's definition, but if the word in the text isn't spelled exactly like the root, it throws me.
 
I'm specifically looking for an online resource that explains every letter in every verse of the OT. For example, in Genesis 1:2, the word translated "was" (as in "And the earth was without form") is הָיְתָה , and I need a tutorial that explains why it differs from the root word הָיָה. Why is the tav there instead of the he, and what does the suffix mean? I have a guess, but I need something that explains this for every letter in every word. I have a hard time recognizing the root words when they have divergent letters, and the rules of grammar are still very hard for me to grasp (and I'm trying to teach myself). I use www.blueletterbible.org a lot and it's very helpful, but it doesn't actually explain every single letter...it gives you the root and the Strong's definition, but if the word in the text isn't spelled exactly like the root, it throws me.
Well, a resource like blueletter bible (which is pretty good, actually) is not going to give you an explanation of every letter. Textbooks and tutorials are going to give you general grammatical principles from which you can figure it out for yourself. You need a beginning grammar that systematically works through the language. There are plenty of online courses you can take, some for free, others you pay for. I will suggest Jason Hare's sight, The Hebrew Cafe, https://www.thehebrewcafe.com/main/about-us/.
 
I'm re-upping this post in hopes that someone might have a suggestion. I downloaded the free Olive Tree app on my phone and I just tried to find a software package I could buy that would explain what I mentioned in my OP, but their shop lists a wide variety of products available for download and I have no way of knowing if any of them would give me this particular information. I don't want to buy anything without knowing if it will give me more than what Blue Letter Bible gives me for free! So far that's the most helpful resource I've found since it at least gives me the root along with the word as written, but it doesn't tell me why words in the text are often spelled differently than the root.

For example, in Genesis 1:2 the first word is וְהָאָרֶץ (as written) which has the word אֶרֶץ as its root. I already know that the vav at the beginning means "and", and that the he qamatz that follows means "the", but if I didn't know this already I would want the software to explain this to me. When I see a word in the text that is spelled differently from its root in any way, I need to know why. My problem is that I'm a kinesthetic learner so I mainly learn things by doing them rather than by watching a lecture or demonstration. I need to do things to learn them, so I'm already at a disadvantage when it comes to learning biblical Hebrew! If I could just have something that explained the language while I'm reading it along with its English translation, I believe I could learn it much faster.
 
Over the weekend I discovered the Daily Dose of Hebrew app, and it's amazing! I've been watching the brief videos twice, while reviewing the interlinear from Blue Letter Bible in between the two viewings, and I feel like my grasp of Hebrew is expanding greatly! I think this is exactly the kind of app that someone who is a kinesthetic learner (such as myself) needs, because it creates the feeling that I'm somehow doing Hebrew while I'm learning it.
 
Over the weekend I discovered the Daily Dose of Hebrew app, and it's amazing! I've been watching the brief videos twice, while reviewing the interlinear from Blue Letter Bible in between the two viewings, and I feel like my grasp of Hebrew is expanding greatly! I think this is exactly the kind of app that someone who is a kinesthetic learner (such as myself) needs, because it creates the feeling that I'm somehow doing Hebrew while I'm learning it.

Thanks for that squirrel.
 
Back
Top