All previous Biblical Hebrew lexicons have provided a modern western definition and perspective to Hebrew roots and words. This prevents the reader of the Bible from seeing the ancient authors original intent of the passages. This is the first Biblical Hebrew lexicon that defines each Hebrew word within its original Ancient Hebrew cultural meaning. One of the major differences between the Modern Western mind and the Ancient Hebrew's is that their mind related all words and their meanings to a concrete concept. For instance, the Hebrew word "chai" is normally translated as "life", a western abstract meaning, but the original Hebrew concrete meaning of this word is the "stomach". In the Ancient Hebrew mind, a full stomach is a sign of a full "life". The Hebrew language is a root system oriented language and the lexicon is divided into sections reflecting this root system. Each word of the Hebrew Bible is grouped within its roots and is defined according to its original ancient cultural meaning. Also included in each word entry is its alternative spellings, King James translations of the word and Strong's number. Indexes are included to assist with finding a word within the lexicon according to its spelling, definition, King James translation or Strong's number.
Lexicon Features; - An introduction to the Ancient Hebrew alphabet, language and thought. - The history of the Hebrew script from ancient to modern times. - Reconstruction of the original Hebrew alphabet and root system of roots and words. - Alphabetical ordering of Parent, Child and Adopted Roots with each root listing the Hebrew nouns and verbs derived from the root. - Ancient Hebrew, Modern Hebrew and English transliteration of roots and words. - The action, concrete and abstract meaning of each Hebrew root. - Ancient Hebrew Cultural definition of Hebrew roots and words. - Root origins of Hebrew words and their relationship to other roots and words. - Frequency each word is used in the Hebrew Bible. - Listing of foreign words found in the Hebrew Bible. - Index to English translations of Hebrew words, King James Translations of Hebrew words, Strong's numbers and alternate Hebrew spellings of Hebrew words.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Great Study Resource:
Jeff Benner's book is a valuable tool in studying the essence of Hebrew parent/
child root words and how they work. The illustrations bring the concepts of the words to life. Some of his aleph-bet definitions are considerably different from Frank Seekins' definitions in his book, "Hebrew Word Pictures", but that actually helps to refine some of the pictographic explanations. I would've liked more information on how Mr. Benner arrived at the definitions of some of the Hebrew pictographs, but overall,... more info
New Concrete Understanding:
Excellent book! It took me a while, but I finally understand the concept. Now when I read the Tanakh, it's almost like watching a movie. I can see the action of the words come alive. This is one of the most used books in my collection. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to study. This book has brought a renewed zeal to our weekly Torah study group.
Kudos to Jeff Benner:
Thank you Jeff for tackling such an enormous project and doing an excellent job. I have been in the ministry for nearly 30, and have been using this book Ancient Hebrew Lexicon for over a year now. It has been a valuable resource in expanding my understanding of the Old Testament. Having used other references, such as Wilson's O.T. Word Studies, I have often found some generic confirmation, in Wilson's et al, concerning the explanations given by Jeff. In fact one friend, who was raised in Orthodox... more info
An unfortunate result of non-scholarship:
I had started to write a much harsher review of this book when I decided to find out what I could about the author. It turns out that he is an engineer who became fascinated with Hebrew. I now been moved by pity more than outrage to write a general statement about this book and others of its ilk. Mr. Benner states on his website that he has no formal training in Hebrew, though lots of self study. I must recognize that his motives in preparing his many books on the subject are sincere, but his utter... more info
