A History of the Hebrew Language (review)

Hebrew Studies 37 (1996) 131 Reviews English-Hebrew dictionary, but that to my mind is an advantage; they're better off not making heavy use of an English-Hebrew dictionary. The Multi Dictionary further provides many pages of topical lists of words and expressions which are extremely useful. It is more expensive, but it has many more uses. While the Zilkha dictionary reinforces a bad habit: memorizing a one-word equivalent for each vocabulary item, the Multi Dictionary instills good habits: examining context and looking to Hebrew for information. I now require my intermediate and advanced classes to purchase the Multi Dictionary, and we use some of the appendices actively in class. It is a very useful and interesting educational tool. Robert D. Hoberman State University ofNew York at Stony Brook Stony Brook, N.Y. //794-3355 A HISTORY OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE. By Angel SaenzBadillos . John Elwolde, trans. Pp. xii + 371. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. Cloth, $39.95. Angel Saenz-Badillos' A History of the Hebrew Language is a translation from the original Spanish HislOria de la lengua hebrea. Shelomo Morag has written a foreword to the English translation, which best summarizes my feelings. He writes that this book is the most comprehensive history of Hebrew to date. Like Morag, I feel that there has been a need for such a book for students as well as scholars, teachers, and Hebraists as well as historians. Although he does not articulate his intentions, the author attempts to provide a useful handbook for Hebraists. It is evident that he has achieved the goals of presenting an overview of the Hebrew language in a concise and portable book, at the same time providing helpful detailed discussions. Saenz-Badillos provides a full survey of the history of the Hebrew language , tracing its origins in the Canaanite period, through a span of 3,000 years, including its modem use in Israel. He manages to cover all the periods of the language, without compromising the clarity and the important details. The survey he provides is not a mere overview; it discusses the phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics relevant to each period. Furthermore, if the subject in question happens to be controversial, he discusses different approaches. For instance. the verbal system in biblical Hebrew Studies 37 (1996) 132 Reviews Hebrew is often controversial: whether it indicates tenses or aspects, whether it should be analyzed synchronically or within the framework of the historical comparative approach, and so forth. The author discusses this problematic topic in light of the approach he follows (the aspectual approach ), but he also provides a brief summary of the other views. In this and other topics, disagreements and arguments are all given exact detailed references by which the interested reader can find more details. As an overview of all Hebrew periods accompanied by discussions and comprehensive lists of bibliography, this survey provides a handy book for Hebraists, especially teachers. For example, a teacher who wants to teach mishnaic Hebrew would find a necessary and comprehensive discussion on rabbinic Hebrew in general and mishnaic Hebrew in particular, including the controversy over whether it is a development of biblical Hebrew or a different dialect. This discussion provides a framework as well as details of the period the teacher is interested in. However, for the scholar who wants to investigate a subject concerning the Hebrew language in more depth, the discussions in this book are insufficient. Yet these scholars, too, might find the book helpful when searching for bibliography or trying to access general ideas of related subjects. The fact that the author exhaustively discusses all periods of the Hebrew language yet does not exhaust the reader is very impressive. The organization , editing, and language are smooth, and the points he makes are easily followed. At this point I want to comment on the good work of the translator , John Elwolde. A good text could be ruined by its translation, and this is certainly not the case with this book; the English text is clear and smooth. I could not find many flaws in this book. I can recall only one or two minor problems. One is the author's treatment of the Hebrew language...