Linguistics expert and long-time educator Hackett offers a robust introduction to biblical Hebrew grammar and the Masoretic text. The graded exercises from Hebrew to English are intended to introduce the student to the many possibilities of biblical Hebrew prose. Later lessons include texts taken from the Masoretic text of the Old Testament with footnotes to explain unusual or advanced formations. Classroom tested and suitable for self-study as well, this quick-moving one-semester course (30 lessons) features clear, readable explanations, exercises, and examples that provide students with an effective foundation in original language usage. This textbook is also suitable for an entire first-year's study of Biblical Hebrew conducted at a slower pace.

Course work includes an overview of the history of the Hebrew Bible; deductive lessons on recognition, drawing, and pronunciation of consonants and vowels; memorization and recitation of the alphabet; and proper spelling of words; as well inductive experience in translating biblical passages.

The accompanying CD includes:
AUDIO FILES
- Vocabulary lists for each of the 30 chapters
- Hebrew-to-English portions of exercises for all chapters
- Major paradigms for the whole book (nouns, pronouns, verbs in all their various
stems)
- A reading of Genesis 22:1-19 (Appendix C)

TEXT FILES
- Vocabulary lists
- Printable Hebrew-to-English exercises
- Appendix A: Consonants of Biblical Hebrew
- Appendix B: Vowels of Biblical Hebrew
- Appendix C: Genesis 22:1-19 (conversationally paced reading)
- Appendix D: Chart and flow sheet for finding the root of weak verbs
- Verbal paradigms
- Complete answer key for English-to-Hebrew and Hebrew-to English exercises

Excellent textbook for students who wish to progress beyond using simple reference works and ideal for those who wish to read the Hebrew Bible deeply, widely, and accurately, as well as for any who wish to pursue advanced studies in the Hebrew Scriptures.

At the first meeting of his class in Northwest Semitic Epigraphy at Harvard, Frank Cross would inform students that one of the things each of them needed was an "eye for form." By this, he meant the ability to recognize typological or evolutionary change in letters and scripts. Frank, like his teacher William Foxwell Albright, was a master of typological method. In fact, typology was the dominant feature of his epigraphic work, from the origins of the alphabet to the development of the scripts of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Indeed, he has written about the importance of typology itself. Because Frank Cross has so dominated the study of the ancient Near East in the last 60 years, Aufrecht once asked him what he considered his primary field of study to be. Without hesitation, he said, "Epigraphy." It seems, therefore, that the field that he loved and to which he contributed so much is an appropriate subject for this Festschrift in his honor, which is being presented by his colleagues, friends, and former students. Included are an appreciation by Peter Machinist and a contribution by the late Pierre Bordreuil.