A Hebrew Reader for Ruth (review)

Hebrew Studies 47 (2006) 452 Reviews Isaiah’s own earlier prophecies found especially in chapters 10 and 30–31. If one is looking for a commentary on Isaiah that is brief, readable, and affirms faith, Goldingay’s is among the best, because he makes wise use of the critical, scholarly tools and tries to listen to the text on its own terms. Craig C. Broyles Trinity Western University Langley, British Columbia, Canada broyles@twu.ca A HEBREW READER FOR RUTH. By Donald R. Vance. Pp. x + 85. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2003. Paper, $12.95. In this book the author’s goal is to help “beginning students make the transition from completing exercises in an introductory grammar to reading the biblical text on their own” (p. v). Ruth is a wise choice for beginning students both for its length, as well as its grammar. “The book uses for the most part standard morphology, syntax, and vocabulary. Ruth also has an abundance of feminine forms” (p. vi). This book gathers up many fine discussions in one book, saving the learner time and providing a greater sense of coherence for further study of Hebrew. In addition, the author and the publisher have done a service in creating a workbook in pdf form that is available online (http://www.hendrickson .com/pdf/1565637402-workbook.pdf). The student is able to write out their answers in the workbook and then check them in the Reader. As one who has taught Hebrew for many years, I would gladly recommend this as a fruitful way for a student to follow up an introductory course, perhaps during the subsequent summer. The author presents Ruth verse-by-verse. Each verse is shown in its full accented form from Dothan’s Biblia Hebraica Leningradensia. Then Vance supplies his English translation. Finally each word is listed in order with parsing and grammatical comments. These comments are based largely on Hebrew reference grammars. While this work supplies parsing information and glosses (as do several other well-known tools), it differs in providing grammatical discussions of the phonology, morphology, grammar, syntax, and semantics. Also, references are given to the various Hebrew grammars listed in the bibliography (pp. ix–x). In terms of textual issues, Vance deals only with the Kethib-Qere variants. Other textual issues could have been illustrated using Ellis R. Brotzman’s Old Testament Textual Criticism: A Practical Introduction (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1994) as a resource. Hebrew Studies 47 (2006) 453 Reviews There are concerns that need to be addressed. Vance makes the assumption that students are familiar with his terminology, but not every beginning student has encountered it. Vance uses G as the abbreviation for Qal (along with D for Piel, Dp for Pual, etc.). Many students have been introduced to one set of terms, and if they have not learned the ones that Vance is using, it would be a great help for them to know how the two sets of terms relate to one another and what they mean. Vance often uses words that beginning Hebrew students may not be familiar with. For instance, not every beginning Hebrew student will have already encountered a grammatical term like “indicative” (2:3) and certainly not an unexpected term like “optative” (2:4). He also uses other necessary technical terms, such as nomen rectum (p. 28) and paragogic nun (p. 33), without defining them. Since this book is for beginners, it would have been helpful for this to be addressed in the preface. The book would also be improved by the addition of a glossary or a recommendation of a book such as Todd J. Murphy’s Pocket Dictionary for the Study of Biblical Hebrew (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2003). In terms of referring to other grammars, there are two concerns. First, while I appreciate his references to Hebrew grammars, I am mystified as to why he uses ones written in German when his book is for beginning students. It makes sense when he supplies the information in English to the student, but he regularly cites grammars such as Bergsträsser (p. 8), Brockelmann (p. 32), or Bauer (p. 79) without any discussion. Most beginning learners will neither own nor...