Software for Reading and Speaking Hebrew?

Hey everyone, I found this forum recently and thought it would be a good
place to ask a question. I'm a Christian who is very interested in
learning Hebrew and learning more about Israel and how the news there
affects Christians. I think I found some possible good ways to do so, but I'm not
sure... any help would be appreciated!

1. Is there any good software for learning to read and speak Hebrew? I found this Bible-software forum, so I naturally thought it would be a good place to ask.

2. Until now, I've been considering watching The Israeli Network, a cable/satellite
package that shows Israeli TV in Hebrew and English throughout the
world. But I'm not sure I'd be able to learn much...

3. Perhaps personal tutors? I'm on vacation in Israel right now myself, but I want to find a way to learn Hebrew when I come back to the States... any ideas, anyone?

I work on my computer a lot, so perhaps some software would be a good way to go...

Thanks for any help!

Sam

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Giovanni Baggio

Hey everyone, I found this forum recently and thought it would be a good
place to ask a question. I'm a Christian who is very interested in
learning Hebrew and learning more about Israel and how the news there
affects Christians.

Really? How the news there affect Xtians? LOL no offence, but the whole country of Israel could be bombed or go straight to hell and that would not affect Xtians one single bit! We're not Xtians because of Israel, we are Xtians because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross and because God wanted a new people for his own possession with emphasis on spiritual things not on physical, ethnic or national traits [In other words, there's a Spiritual Israel composed of people from every nation which has nothing to do with the Israel of the Old Testament]. Whoever believes that whatever happens in Israel can affect Xtians is a fool! with a big "F." These weird millennial and premillennial people still don't get it. As Jesus would say, "How long? How long?...." LOL Like learning Hebrew and turning the Israelite news channel is gonna affect your salvation. Oh boy! Oh boy! They randomly pop out of nowhere...HAHAHAHA!!!

Back from my kewl December vacation! Can you tell?

Giovanni!

Richard Wardman

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/322880#Comment_322880

Giovanni, shame on you. This is Samuel's first post on the forum, asking a genuine question about Logos products, and you have given him a sleuth of abuse. Honour the cross you mention in your reply, and treat your fellow brothers and sisters with love and respect. If you can't do that, get off the forum.

Richard Wardman

Samuel, welcome to Forum! Logos have produced a video-based teaching resource to be used alongside Logos Bible Software. You can find out more here - http://www.logos.com/product/5876/learn-to-use-biblical-greek-and-hebrew-with-logos-bible-software

I don't actually own the resource so I couldn't tell you anything about it.

Hope you find what you are looking for, and that Logos proves to be helpful software in Bible study.

Mitchell

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/322880#Comment_322880

Don't feed the troll.

In response to Samuel, Rosetta Stone has an offering for Hebrew, and I've known several people who've used their products and loved them. The software attempts to simulate the experience of total immersion in a language, so it will help a lot with vocabulary but it will take a while for you to pick up on the formal details of the language, so it would be helpful to have a Hebrew grammar to study alongside that.

Someone else with actual knowledge of Hebrew will have to speak to the similarities (or lack thereof) between modern and Biblical Hebrew, I really don't know.

Kevin Becker

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/322888#Comment_322888

Someone else with actual knowledge of Hebrew will have to speak to the similarities (or lack thereof) between modern and Biblical Hebrew, I really don't know.

I only have a smattering of Biblical Hebrew from school, but my understanding is that while Modern Hebrew is closer to Biblical Hebrew than other ancient/modern language splits there are still some significant differences. The resources in Logos are designed for exegesis of Biblical Hebrew, I have a hard time imagining they would be very helpful with modern spoken Hebrew.

I would suggest, Samuel, once you get home to see if there are any Jewish congregations close by. They probably have recommendations to make to converts or people like you who are interested. Who knows? There might even be a tutor in your area who could help you learn a lot better than a software package.

As to your question of what the news in Israel means to the Christian... that depends on whether your question is political or theological. I suspect that you intended it to be theological. Logos has a wide variety of theology texts that can help give you perspectives on the relationship between Israel and the church and how that all fits (or doesn't fit) into eschatological schemes.

Giovanni Baggio

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/322884#Comment_322884

Giovanni, shame on you. This is Samuel's first post on the forum, asking a genuine question about Logos products, and you have given him a sleuth of abuse. Honour the cross you mention in your reply, and treat your fellow brothers and sisters with love and respect. If you can't do that, get off the forum.

Actually, if you pay close attention he wasn't necessarily just asking a question he was feeding us another forum thread to promote his own beliefs concerning how...let me laugh first...HAHAHA...ok...concerning how the news in Israel affect us...THEN he asked about some resources, but orginally he was only sharing his new forum that he found.

No offense Richard, but since it seems you're a pluralist, would you call a JW your brother, a catholic your brother, a mormon your brother? Think this one very good before you answer and then we can talk about honoring the cross.

Lovingly!

Giovanni

Edit: He was also promoting the Israelite Network...who cares about the Israelite Network anyway. That won't save me nor the world!

George Somsel

Hey everyone, I found this forum recently and thought it would be a good place to ask a question. I'm a Christian who is very interested in learning Hebrew and learning more about Israel and how the news there affects Christians. I think I found some possible good ways to do so, but I'm not sure... any help would be appreciated!

1. Is there any good software for learning to read and speak Hebrew? I found this Bible-software forum, so I naturally thought it would be a good place to ask.

2. Until now, I've been considering watching The Israeli Network, a cable/satellite package that shows Israeli TV in Hebrew and English throughout the world. But I'm not sure I'd be able to learn much...

3. Perhaps personal tutors? I'm on vacation in Israel right now myself, but I want to find a way to learn Hebrew when I come back to the States... any ideas, anyone?

I work on my computer a lot, so perhaps some software would be a good way to go...

Thanks for any help!

Sam

If you want to learn to read Hebrew, there are some resources in Logos which can help with that. I happen to think that Futato's Beginning Biblical Hebrew is so simple that one almost doesn't need an instructor. They also have Learn to use Biblical Greek and Hebrew with Logos Bible Software. They also have a pronunciation guide for those who want to sprinkle a little Hebrew into sermons so that they can pretend to be knowledgeable without really knowing a thing. In addition they have a number of grammars. One of these is the Davidson's Introductory Hebrew Grammar which was what we used when I was in seminary (except that it has been completely revised) which has useful tables of paradigms at the back. When you have learned some and have had a chance to do some reading in the Hebrew Bible, there are also more advanced grammars, but if you don't already know Hebrew it will be a while before you are ready for those.

If you really want to learn to speak Hebrew, I suggest that you buy a ticket on El Al Airlines and go to an Ulpan in Israel. Most of what you hear here is pretty sad. You will definitely never learn to actually communicate in Hebrew from that. Of course, there are also the CD based courses such as Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur, but I think the actual interaction with living humans is important (It doesn't help to try to converse with the dead [:D]).

As for how news in Israel affects us, "Ask not for whom the bell tolls … it tolls for us" Read the parable of the Prodigal Son again. I think there is something there that gets sadly overlooked in most considerations. The younger son who leaves represents the gentiles who estrange themselves from the Father. Similarly, the elder brother who remains represents Israel who remains with the Father so that the Father can say (Paraphrasing) "You are always with me, and all that I have is yours." Don't write off the Jewish people. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Matthew C Jones

Is there any good software for learning to read and speak Hebrew?

I can not recommend which of the Modern Hebrew language instruction programs is best. I do recommend the subscription TV channel from Israel (satellite or cable.) Getting immersed into the language will speed your learning.

(edited)

Philana Crouch

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/322921#Comment_322921

Is there any good software for learning to read and speak Hebrew?

I can not recommend which of the Modern Hebrew language instruction programs is best. I do recommend you check for a subscription TV channel from Israel (satellite or cable.) Getting immersed into the language will speed your learning.

I find it interesting to note that several Greek scholars will use Modern Greek pronunciations in their audio materials. I believe Spiros Zodhiates did this as well as others. The rationale being having the modern pronunciation is a standard whereas Koine Greek pronunciation is debatable. I don't know if Hebrew is any different.

When I learned Biblical Hebrew there were two types of pronounciation, Sephardic and Ashkenazi. I learned to use a the Sephardic, but I have had teachers who use the Ashkenazi pronounciation. Usings the name David is a example: Sephardic would be Dahveed and Ashkenazi would be Dahweeed. I learned the middle letter as vav but Ashkenazi calls is waw.

The difference isn't huge (just a few letters). I had purchased a audio recording for my vocabulary...it had tracks of words by frequency. It used Ashkenazi...but it was pretty easy to tell. I only found a few times where it was a big difference.

Hope this helps in choosing stuff.

Blessings,

Philana

William

I will add my 2 cents here....

I have 2 or three of the grammars in LBS. I personally have found that "The first Hebrew primer" is best. I do know that is the textbook which is used at the University of Arizona campus. This is the book that I am using 1 day per week learning biblical through a local temple.

That video series that was mentioned is fine but it is not intended to teach the language. It will help you use the resources even if your language skills are not terribly high.

Number one (best) is likely a college or university where you live. 2nd is likely rosetta stone....3rd would be a jewish community center or a temple......we have one here in Tucson.

Keep Smiling 4 Jesus :)

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/322901#Comment_322901

1. Is there any good software for learning to read and speak Hebrew? I found this Bible-software forum, so I naturally thought it would be a good place to ask.

If you want to learn to read Hebrew, there are some resources in Logos which can help with that. I happen to think that Futato's Beginning Biblical Hebrew is so simple that one almost doesn't need an instructor. They also have Learn to use Biblical Greek and Hebrew with Logos Bible Software.

Welcome Samuel [:D]

Looking at Logos base package comparison chart => http://www.logos.com/comparison noticed Beginning Biblical Hebrew is included in Original Languages along with Scholar's Gold and above; same packages also include => Lexham Hebrew-English Interlinear Bible (LHI)

Thankful for beginning Hebrew complementary web site by Logos employee Dr. Michael Heiser => http://michaelsheiser.com/HWH.htm who teamed with Johnny Cisneros for Logos DVD's => Learn to Use Biblical Greek and Hebrew with Logos Bible Software and => Learn to Do Word Studies with Logos Bible Software

They also have a pronunciation guide for those who want to sprinkle a little Hebrew into sermons so that they can pretend to be knowledgeable without really knowing a thing.

LHI has display option in Logos 4 to show Hebrew words and lemmas with transliteration into English characters, which can be helpful to check your language learning. Do your own transliteration with resource showing Hebrew words, then display transliteration to compare. Also transliteration can be helpful for pronunciation.

Observation: Hebrew is not English. While learning language, recommend avoiding interlinear display of Hebrew and English. Proper names tend to have a one to one correspondence between languages, but many words often have a different range of meaning and nuances.

By the way, the first 8 verses of Psalms 119 begin with the first Hebrew alphabet letter: Alef א

One of these is the Davidson's Introductory Hebrew Grammar which was what we used when I was in seminary (except that it has been completely revised) which has useful tables of paradigms at the back.

Davidson's Introductory Hebrew Grammar was included in some Christmas 2011 collection specials.

Keep Smiling [:)]

George Somsel

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/322959#Comment_322959

Number one (best) is likely a college or university where you live. 2nd is likely rosetta stone....3rd would be a jewish community center or a temple......we have one here in Tucson.

I couldn't help responding off topic regarding this. I remember when I was in school and they still used film strips with subtitles to be read. One day in a history class I was designated to read the captions to a film strip about the old west. Up came one on Tucson, and since I wasn't familiar with it I pronounced it "Tuck son." [:$] Naturally, the class howled.

William

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/322984#Comment_322984

Up came one on Tucson, and since I wasn't familiar with it I pronounced it "Tuck son." Naturally, the class howled.

I will laugh with you on this one. I have heard some odd things in my time here....We have a walgreens at pratically every 4th corner in town.....Well within 10 min drive....I have 5 stores. Anyway we have one street here ....La Canada..... It is supposed to be a spanish n...La Caannaada.. but walgreens (only store to do this) gets the country to the north of the USA...

Matthew C Jones

Is there any good software for learning to read and speak Hebrew? I found this Bible-software forum, so I naturally thought it would be a good place to ask.

Samuel,

Are you interested in learning Biblical Hebrew or Modern Hebrew? I was just assuming you wanted to learn Modern Hebrew from the context of your post.

Are you interested in repatriating to Israel? I would love to have a front row seat for what I believe will transpire there some day.

George Somsel

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/322991#Comment_322991

I will laugh with you on this one. I have heard some odd things in my time here....We have a walgreens at pratically every 4th corner in town.....Well within 10 min drive....I have 5 stores. Anyway we have one street here ....La Canada..... It is supposed to be a spanish n...La Caannaada.. but walgreens (only store to do this) gets the country to the north of the USA...

That is actually La Cañada meaning "ravine" and doesn't refer to the country Canada.

George Somsel

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/323008#Comment_323008

The avatar of the month?

Fabrice

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/323013#Comment_323013

Hey, does anybody actually detains the Logos Software for Learning Greek and Hebrew ? I'm about to get it because it seems really well done. I just wanted to get more info (I mean more than what they say about it on the Logos software official presentation here on the website.

By the way I'm beginner to both Greek and Hebrew.

Thanks, that could confirm my purchase.

JAIN THOMAS

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/323015#Comment_323015

Dear Giovanni as per Christian teaching you are supposed to pray for the goodness of your enemy. I think you need to read New testament more and more. If you realise that he is propogating something, you can advise in a very good manner. Anyways God bless you all.

Samuel, The Logos Bible software will be teaching you Biblical Hebrew not the modern Hebrew.

Bohuslav Wojnar

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/322901#Comment_322901

Read the parable of the Prodigal Son again. I think there is something there that gets sadly overlooked in most considerations. The younger son who leaves represents the gentiles who estrange themselves from the Father. Similarly, the elder brother who remains represents Israel who remains with the Father so that the Father can say (Paraphrasing) "You are always with me, and all that I have is yours." Don't write off the Jewish people. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Thank you George for those words. You blessed my day by that. [Y]

Samuel Bachman

Hello everyone! Wow -- I had no idea my question would inspire so many helpful replies and suggestions after I checked back in a few days! Thanks, everyone! I don't want to waste everyone's time my replying to each and every post, but I just wanted to say that I'm exploring all of the ideas everyone posted. Thanks -- I'm so touched!

David Lloyd-Jones

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/322880#Comment_322880

Giovanni,

I think your post is not so much offensive as ignorant. Most people who share your sectarian beliefs about the source of your religion would disagree with your claim "... the whole country of Israel could be bombed or go straight to hell and that would not affect Xtians one single bit! " Most of your fellow-cultists would hail that bombing as at minimum one more sign of End Times, and quite possibly as the opening shot in tyour Battle of Armageddon.

If you're going to lecture us all on millenialism, salvation, and all that other junk that you incorrectly call "Christian," you should at least get your story straight.

My own opinion is that large numbers of Christians would suffer from the fall-out. How do you feel about Jerusalem being part of the state of Israel, friend?

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/322924#Comment_322924

When I learned Biblical Hebrew there were two types of pronounciation, Sephardic and Ashkenazi. I learned to use a the Sephardic, but I have had teachers who use the Ashkenazi pronounciation. Usings the name David is a example: Sephardic would be Dahveed and Ashkenazi would be Dahweeed. I learned the middle letter as vav but Ashkenazi calls is waw.

The difference isn't huge (just a few letters). I had purchased a audio recording for my vocabulary...it had tracks of words by frequency. It used Ashkenazi...but it was pretty easy to tell. I only found a few times where it was a big difference.

Hope this helps in choosing stuff.

Blessings,

Philana

Granted 6 years ago. And Giovanni might be slaying dragons somewhere else. Maybe learning to speak King David hebrew (they kept the tapes in a cave).

But, I didn't know Philana knew hebrew. These older exciting threads are interesting.

DAL

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/981749#Comment_981749

As for Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ great grand son David goes, it might help reading the date of a post before posting. Giovanni hasn’t posted in years, so he might indeed be slaying dragons 🐉 elsewhere.

And as far as Philana goes, she now works for Faithlife! Way to go!

Time sure flies!

DAL

Ps. David, you got a cool last name. This is the first time I see it not being attached to the good old Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Imagine if you were actually related to him...we’d have (almost) a celebrity posting among us. 👍😁👌