This single volume introductory approach to the Hebrew and Aramaic languages is a welcome classroom addition. Each language is covered independently, following a similar format that includes morphology, syntax, and vocabulary. Each unit in the Hebrew and Aramaic sections also features translation and reading exercises. Appendices address noun formation and pronominal suffixes, verb paradigms (regular and irregular), glossaries, and indices. A workbook with additional exercises for both languages will be available late in 2004.

Applying the principles both of poetic (based on the work of D. N. Freedman) and rhetorical (based on the work of J. Muilenberg) analysis, Bartelt examines in detail the style and structure of Isaiah 2–12. He finds that the structure of this segment of Isaiah is based on 800 eight-syllable lines, with the core of the section the so-called “Book of Immanuel� (Isaiah 6–8). The latter is ringed by two concentric circles that share structural devices and thematic motifs.