Bibles Bible Studies Books

If you are not a Theology graduate student, but you are deeply interested in the basic aspects of the origin, composition, transmission and translation of the Bible, then this is just the book for you. It does not go too deep technically, but just enough to stimulate further and deeper study of the Scripture. In the presentation of the difficult aspects regarding the above named biblical characteristics, this book does a very good job - especially because the text is fluid and easy to understand, and there is no sign of undue partiality from the author, just the natural enthusiasm of a true believer in the God-inspired nature of the Bible.

This is a great book. I was looking for a book as an "Honors" extra, to read for The Theology Program at [...]. This is an easy and exciting book to read that follows right along with our 10 week semester on Bibliology and Hermeneutics. It has provided extra insight for understanding and discussion of "How do we know that we have the right Bible? How can my 1988 NIV Bible be the same as 400 BC Old Testament? 100 AD New Testament? I had little knowledge of this subject before this semester and this book was very helpful, yet not "Over my head."

I was excited to get this book - when it arrived, I liked it immediately. It is handsomely bound, with a beautiful glossy cover, in a comfortable size and weight, and with a very user-friendly typeface.

I've been searching for a good, modern, doctrinally neutral history of the Bible text from ancient manuscripts to compilation/recension to modern translation, and thought I might have finally found it. But I was mistaken.

After four chapters worth of heavy-handed doctrinal polemics, I decided to close the book and look elsewhere. I want a research thesis, not a Sunday School theology lesson! The author seems unable to set aside his desire to promote his own pet theological bias (and to denegrate all others), and just focus on the objective history of the Bible text. Which is fine for a church lesson-book, but inappropriate in a scholarly treatise in layman's language.

I bought the book based on the strength of several of the reviews I read here on amazon's site, as well as the praise from the back cover, all from sources I respect. But I just couldn't go with the crowd on this one, I have to call it as I see it. A real disappointment.

I got much more benefit from OUR AGELESS BIBLE by Thomas Leishman and THE MAKING OF THE ENGLISH NEW TESTAMENT by Edgar Goodspeed, both of which are basic introductory texts, but unfortunately out-of-print.

The Journey from Texts to Translations: The Origin and Development of the Bible is a highly detailed explanation of how the Bible that Christians use today came to be in its present form. Explaining how various books of the bible came to be collected into a single canon text, describing how the Bible was passed through generations, discussing how and why early versions were produced, exploring myriad subtle differences in English translations, and more. Black-and-white photographs illustrate this extensive and fascinating documentation, as informative and compelling for lay readers as for professional scholars.

God's promise to uphold and protect His Word is a precious and reassuring promise. To observe how God has accomplished this throughout the ages is edifying and faith strengthening. The Journey from Texts to Translations by Paul D. Wegner is a meticulously researched and richly illustrated treatment of the Bible's transmission and translation, from ancient manuscripts to popular English Bibles, showing us the practical means by which God has sovereignly guided the development of Scripture.

After covering some preliminary matters regarding the Bible--it's nature, it's purpose, and some brief introductions into each section of the Bible--Wegner begins the journey at the ground level, with a discussion of the earliest forms of writing and their subsequent development. After some investigation into the history of language, Wegner arrives at the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek dialect and examines some important factors regarding the languages of the Old and New Testaments.

Wegner continues the journey with a lengthly discussion of canonicity, covering such topics as the Old Testament canon, the New Testament canon, the apocrypha and the pseudepigrapha. In this section we learn how both the Old Testament and New Testament canons were formed and what factors determined why certain books were placed into the canon and why other books were left out.

Textual criticism is treated at length as well, as Wegner examines a host of sources for both Old Testament and New Testament, demonstrating the manifold manuscripts and textual witnesses that provide abundant evidence for the both testaments. Despite the fact that we do not possess the original manuscripts, we are able to construct, by the existing copies we do posses, an extremely accurate text for all the Scripture. God has protected His Word!

From here we are taken to the history of the English Bible. We are introduced great men like Wycliffe and Tyndale, and provided the opportunity to trace the legacy of the English Bible from its beginnings in 14th century England, to its prominence in modern day America. Some noteworthy English translations that are examined are the King James Version, New King James Version, American Standard Version, the Living Bible and the Message. Each translation is studied in terms of its historical development, specific qualities, translation approach and concluded with brief critique.

On the whole, this is an edifying and informative read. It is just over 400 pages, and is thick with charts, pictures, mini-biographies and a host of other helpful materials. It will benefit any student of the Bible who desires to better understand the history of the Bible, whether they read it from cover to cover, or only use it as a reference.

This book is a response to the recent barrage of anti-christian books by atheist evangelists. The book serves as an excellent primer to answer the most popular atheist arguments, all of which are old recycled arguments that have been answered time and time again. While the chapters on alleged Bible errors and biblical archeology are light and the book tries to skim by design/evolution, the book shines when it comes to topics I would consider cultural apologetics. For example, Hutchinson writes excellent chapters on what the Bible really states about slavery, homosexuality and government. There is also an excellent chapter on the origins of science in Christianity. While not meant to be an exhaustive book on any of these topics, and a little light on references, it is overall a valuable resource.

2 May 2008 - This is a is a useful antidote to faith-phobic propaganda currently disseminated by bestselling authors like Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris. Hutchinson outlines material from less accessible, heavily scholarly works that confirm the wisdom and truth of the Judeo-Christian tradition. I loved the way he, systematically refutes claims made in an episode of the television show "The West Wing" that deliberately misrepresented the Bible even though I am a fan of the show. Hutchinson also does a great job addressing several popular faith-phobic talking points: that Christianity has murdered billions of people; that the Bible is an absurd book; that there is an inevitable war between Christianity and science or Christianity and democracy; that Christians invented slavery, etc. In dismantling these faith-phobic canards, he calls on published experts in a variety of fields: archaeology, theology, sociology and history.

The book is mistitled. It is the most politically correct book I have ever seen. It completely misrepresents any interpetation of the bible other than the biblist idolotry of the modern evangelical christianist junta. It drips with contempt at healthy a Christian approach to scripture.

This book shoud be required reading, for both Christians, to remind them why we're RIGHT, and for Atheists, to let them know they're way out in LEFT FIELD, pun intended. Christianity offers hope, because God values each individual. Atheism offers only despair; nothing matters because people are only a mistake of biology, just a random result of evolution.
The premise of the book can be summed up as follows:
The Atheist needs a belief system that states that human beings are only animals; that way, the Atheist can behave like an animal. After all, evolution teaches that only the dominant deserve to survive, so go ahead and do whatever pleases and benefits oneself, all others be damned.
Fortunately, we all have the ability to make our own decisions. If Christianity isn't true, then it does not matter. If it is true, then it is the ONLY THING THAT MATTERS.

presented as factual research.

While book is chock full of various argumentative gimmicks used to limit cogent thought on the topics covered, I find the book's most significant shortcoming to be constant use of one-sided and partial research (carried out only to the depth required to support biased conjectures). For example, when touching on Nazism the book conveniently sidesteps Hitler's predilection for "Positive Christianity", etc.

The book is supposed to be about the bible itself, independent of a specific religion [...] but it completely fails to review its real cost to humanity, its legacy of divisiveness ("We are better than them") and the resulting bloodshed.

sad, very sad...

Brotzman does a good job of introducing one to the field of textual criticism (TC) and covering the essential issues and topics. It isn't an all-exhaustive work, but it is not intended to be one.

It's a good introduction and preparation for Tov's book, which should be the next logical step for someone seriously interested in the field of TC of the Hebrew Bible. However, a beginner would probably be overwhelmed by the host of technical terms and jargon used in Tov's book, unless he/she has some foundation to understand the basics, etc. I wouldn't recommend anyone to dive into Tov's book without the understanding of what TC is all about. Brotzman does a good job of that. He not only covers the basics of TC, but he also shows how to apply the principles in practice by providing a TC of the book of Ruth with a helpful commentary.

After reading his book, one can decide whether TC is something they are really interested in after all. If so, Tov is the next logical step. For the people new to the field, Brotzman's book is an inexpensive way to find out what it's all about.

This book is well organized and speaks in a language that the novice can understand. Unfortunately, I have often been left with the impression that more information could have been added to the book so as to spare me a few trips to the library. I bought Brotzman's book when I was living in Germany at the same time I also bought "Textkritik der Hebräischen Bibel", the German translation of a Hebrew work by Emmanual Tov, also, I believe, translated into English as "Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible". I have to say that I prefer Tov's work. Tov provides more information on the various non-Hebrew versions, with Saadia ben Yusuf's Arabic translation being completely absent from Brotzman's book. Also, Tov's book has much more material on the Dead Dea Scrolls. Actually, Tov's book, being considerably larger, has more material on just about everything. Also, Tov's bibliographic information is more extensive and accessible, being listed with every chapter.

Brotzman's book is easier to understand (at least for me, as I was working with Tov in German), and perhaps this is why it is more commonly found in seminary bookstores than Tov's book. I would have to recommend Tov's book on account of the content, however. If you think you are too stupid to handle Tov's book, then this one is for you, but if that is the case, you'd best not meddle in Old Testament textual criticism.

I gave this book three stars because it is a complete introduction and provides all the basic information that a beginner needs to know. Beyond this, however, the book is really disappointing. I already knew pretty much everything in Brotzman's book before I read it and have never found any reason to refer back to it. Tov's book, on the other hand, though also an introduction, was a valuable reference to me long after I bought it and read it for the first time. Unfortunately, I lost that book during my move from Germany and have occasionally picked up Brotzman's book in hopes that it might answer some question that I had, only to be disappointed every time. Three stars is a generous award for this work.

is concise enough to be understood and does lend something to the neat field of OT Text Criticism. it isnt exactly written for the expert in the field of hebrew knowledge (this is only my 4th semester of it), but the title says it all, "a practical introduction".

How did the Old Testament get to us in such good shape and what are the apologetics for such a claim? Can someone who is not a student of Hebrew get some basic information on this subject? The answer is `Yes', with some effort, since the book is geared to an intermediate student of Hebrew, as stated near the end of the book.

Author Ellis Brotzman says that it is a "miracle" that Old Testament even exists, and a "double miracle" that it is highly accurate after its transmission from ancient times! I am very impressed with the care of the Old Testament by the Jewish custodians of the scriptures for such a long period of time. We have them to thank (through God's Providence) for what we have today. To explain how, Brotzman stayed fairly high-level, taking us from the creation of the original manuscripts to the present day, through different text styles, different language translations, and through the different gyrations of textual criticisms. Textual criticism, I found out, is a very organized, scholarly methodology of condensing the various texts into one that is as accurate as possible for our use today. To this end, Brotzman patiently goes through enough of the Hebrew language characteristics to allow us to understand what textual criticism is about. For example, I found that for hundreds of years early on, the Hebrew text was originally entirely consonantal, with the vowels being transmitted only through oral tradition. Later, the oral tradition was changed to written, and the vowels were indicated by adding the appropriate number of dots below the appropriate consonants. He lets us know in a general way how that works and the affect it has on the transmission accuracy of the text. He also gives examples of standard BHS texts with the margin notes on the sides and bottoms and what they mean, and the references they point to (other manuscripts, frequency of different types of errors, etc.). He also talks about the Dead Sea Scrolls and the great roll they play in validating the accuracy of the textual transmission. He then gives us some actual case studies from the book of Ruth and how the scholars settled the variant readings through textual criticism, applying the methodologies he describes earlier in the book.

The book took some work for me to understand, but it was worth it.

This is a great book--full of real-life disciple-making from someone who is doing it. I'm amazed every time I go to Xenos. Denis McCallum, the founder and one of the two senior pastors at Xenos Christian Fellowship, is making active disciples from among non-Christian people. He's actually practicing what he writes about in this book. I've been in the McCallum home on two different occassions and each time, the home was filled with young people who they are discipling--jsut like he writes about in this book. Buy it, read it, and do what it says.

We purchased twenty copies which we used as a text book for a 13 week class at church, mixed men and women. The thrust of the class was to help the students know what is involved in finding, mentoring, teaching, and releasing a disciple in a one-on-one long term committed relationship. The book made a good back drop for the course in so far as it gave us a track to run on, since none of us had taught this subject before. As the teacher, I found several of the chapters to be spot on target and I used them pretty much exclusively for about half the course. Other chapters however were either weaker in content or just didn't cut to the specific deliverable I wanted to get across, so I supplemented with independent material. Several of my students had gone to the church website (Xenos) to check it out and were a little worried about the "casual" approach to ministering. Our church takes a more conservative approach and some behaviors that are considered culturally permissible, like smoking, course language, etc. we tend to frown on and believe the Holy Spirit through the process of Sanctification will cleanse the mature believer of. We therefore don't condone or model those behaviors in an attempt to woo the non or immature believer into sticking with us. Fortunately almost none of this came out in the book. Moreover, the book (and Xenos fellowship) rely heavily on "cell churches" which we also do not subscribe to. This method did come out in the book and so I had to customize the content for my class when it did. This was not a problem though. All in all, I'm glad I chose the book because it lived up to its "organic" name. That is, it got right to the heart of mentoring one on one, as opposed to many books I've seen that are more "clinical" or targeted to my own discipleship and walk with the Lord. This book definitely got us into the messy "human-ness" of one man pouring his life into another man, or woman to woman.

I really liked the book. It had the right theological framework necessary to grow God's people and care for the flock as well as providing very practical advise for helping those that want to engage in discipleship at different levels.

I found the section on professional counseling rather difficult. I lean toward Biblical counseling which empowers God's people to counsel at different levels. I cringe at the advise most people get when they see psychiatrists. The problem is real, however. You were brave enough to speak about it. I would think something not so sophisticated speaking about this might be more appropriate for the readers of this book.

Your section on quality conversation and friendship making will surely be helpful to some.

It is a good basic book that helps people trying to make discipleship work in their cell groups.
I already started talking about your book and will pass it on to some of our pastors

For a number of years now I've been working on a practical how-to book on discipleship. Dennis McCallum has beaten me to the punch with Organic Disciple Making. He's written the most practical book on how to disciple people I've ever read.

Time and time again I find myself saying, "Yup, he nailed that one; that's how it works." For example, early on the book covers the subject of modeling and its key role in making disciples. Later it delves into the practical questions of how you counsel and disciple through various issues or how you deal with blocks in their development.

For example McCallum distinguishes the difference between weakness and resistance and the appropriate response of a disciple maker. A disciple struggling with weakness generally needs encouragement, whereas a disciple who is resistant often needs confrontation and possibly discipline.

I loved that the book had a whole section on coaching and I loved that its counsel is both biblically grounded and rooted in the everyday experience of someone who leads 250 home churches. I've read so many books on discipleship and few drill down to address the questions ordinary people have as they struggle to help their disciples grow.

All of us who have committed ourselves to following Jesus and representing his name need to learn how to make disciples. It was the last thing he asked us to do before leaving the earth. If you as a Jesus-follower feel like you need help in learning how to do this in a way that feels natural, do yourself a favor and get Organic Disciple Making.

In the long tradition of The Lost Art of Disciple Making, Multiplying Disciples, and Disciples Are Made, Not Born, Organic Disciplemaking: How to promote Christian leadership development through personal relationships, biblical discipleship, mentoring, and Christian community is designed to do more than tell about the need for making disciples of Jesus. This is a book that painstakingly provides a path from start to finish.

This book has the potential to be used by small group coaches to disciple and develop small group leaders. With today's small group ministries launching groups with leaders just a step ahead of their members, this could be a very helpful resource providing a pathway for mentoring.

In its pages you will find more than stories of how it's working at Xenos. You'll also find the practical steps needed to begin a disciplemaking ministry in your own church. More importantly, you may find the inspiration to look for one life to pour into. After all, that is the point.

I am really enjoying this bible. It's great! It includes a time-line of different events and gives a daily reading that is easily achieved. Because of its short daily readings, it's easy to read a weeks worth.

It's great to have the events in chronological order, too. I'm looking forward to reading the chronological histories of 1 & 2 Samuel, 1-2 Chronicles, and 1-2 Kings. I'm really enjoying its layout.

It includes an explanation of its translation in the front of the book as well, for those who are skeptical of other translations.

I've been a student of the Bible for many years and own numerous versions and study guides, including the Dakes. They're wonderful, but to be able to just sit down with this easy-reading Bible (NIV) that puts everything in chronological order has been a total pleasure.

I've given some for gifts already and just got through ordering some more to give.

I am Catholic and as you may know Catholics don't read or study the Bible. Of course, the readings for each Mass are from both the Old and the New Testiments but there is no continuity or chronological flow. This book rearranges some of the books of the Bible based on when they were actually written. Has a section detailing when each book occurred in time,and a descriptions of weights and measurement (actually tells the size of the famous "cubit"). The language of the verses has been modernized almost to the extent that you appear to be reading a novel instead of the old text of the Bible. I have compared the theme of the verse with the actual Bible version and the meanings are exactly the same only this book makes it understandable.
The daily selections take about 15 minutes but it becomes so interesting I tend to read ahead.

The Bible is "relatively" chronological. It's difficult to put everything (especially the Gospels) in an exact order, I suppose, so the passages follow the "traditional" historical outline as most people understand it. However, I haven't read the whole thing yet.

This bible is a great choice if you would like to read the bible as a student and follow the events in the order that they happened. I learned several new facts just in the first two weeks.

They only have the Gideon Bibles in the state pen
I sent this one and he likes it

This Living Bible is such a blessed book of God. It is so understandable that most grade school children would understand reading it. I am so glad that I purchased this Bible. What I like to do is first read the King James version and then read this Living Bible. You'd be amazed how it breaks words down to where it in all understandable. I give a 10 thumbs up for this Living Bible. GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really enjoy reading my Living Bible. It is written in today's language. It is very easy to understand.

While I certainly wouldn't use this translation as my primary Bible, it is a nice introduction to the Bible. It is a highly readable translation, in part because it is a paraphrase, which some say makes it less reliable. I think though that it is only a problem if you are a biblical scholar. Otherwise, I don't see why this translation wouldn't work for you.

I love this translation. It is paraphrased, so being aware of that is essential. So is having the living word in your heart, that is where this translation is very sucessful.

Kelley has made this grammar perfect for the beginning student - it combines clarity, no doubt from his vast experience as a Hebrew teacher, with a depth, aiming at telling the student not only 'How?' but also 'Why?'. The verbs are dealt with traditionally - but with an initial overview of all the stems and then devoting a chapter each to the irregulars. Clear verb tables and glossary. Reader friendly format. Good exercises with real Bible examples.

First, let me say that I've been studying Hebrew for around 4 years. So far, I've seen most of the books on the market, and this introductory grammar is the best I've seen.

With that having been said, a few points need to be made.

1. Do not purchase this book if you are an absolute beginner to Hebrew, and have no experience with the Hebrew langauge what so ever. This book is NOT a primer, and should not be considered such. I know some universities and colleges use books like this for first year Hebrew, however, that is in a classroom setting with fellow students and a teacher to help you out if you get stuck with something. Not to mention the teachers always have their "input" which helps explain some terms and grammar which might seem cumbersome.

For the absoulte beginner, I recommend reading some of Jeff Benners free lessons for introductory Hebrew on the internet at the Ancient Hebrew Research center. He even has sound clips to accompany the letters and vowels. Just do a web search, and you'll see what I'm talking about.

2. If you buy this book, be sure to buy companion handbook that goes with this grammar. It will supply you with all the answers to all the questions that are presented in this grammar.

Page Kelley's "Biblical Hebrew" is loaded with lots of Hebrew scriptures to illustrate his grammatical points. If you like learning with Biblical examples, this is for you. There are exercises in each grammar chapter, plus separate Heb to Eng Vocabulary, verb tables, and glossary.

I was looking for a bridge from my good commandment of modern Hebrew to Biblical language and found this particular book kind of disappointing.
First, its grammar explanations are not always satisfying even its own examples, let alone other Biblical verses
Second, exercises are very dull and are just the same for each lesson and very basic and not challenging enough
Third, I find it very confusing to learn the verb system by stem patterns ( which are hard to recognize in text sometimes ), instead of going over 7 stem patterns and showing how different verbs behave themselves in different stem patterns ( well, it might be helpful perspective nevertheless)
Fourth, the list of words at the end of each lesson very poorly reflect the vocabulary of the lesson and vice versa - many words never show up in the main text( the same for the hebrew-english dictionary in the end )
Fifth, I just couldn't manage some grammatical concepts, even reading it over and over again, like for example dividing the word into syllables, all in all he says you can tell the new syllable if it starts with vocal sh'va and... you can tell the vocal sh'va if it starts a new syllable ( brrrr.. )
But I'd say it gave me some basic tools for Bible reading, some reference point. The book could be improved very easily and its print and format I found very nice and handy

It's a nice book for beginner to learn Hebrew.The grammer and the structure are easy. The exercise of each lesson is quite helpful.The disadvantage is that you have to take a long time to finish it...

As one who had a 'wounded soul,' I cannot tell you how much this book changed and turned around my life. I received it as a gift many years ago and I have now bought my 4th copy of the book, as the ones I have loaned out never 'come home', which speaks of how powerfully this book also speaks to others. In this book, Max tells of characters of the Bible as if they are actually people you know in real life; perhaps an aunt or uncle, sister or brother, friend or neighbor. His narrative is so possitive that no one can read it and not be affected. I consider it a must for any library!.

I read this book several years ago. It's one of the author's finest, in my opinion. I remembered it being so moving and convicting that I purchased a half dozen of them to use in a bible study group I'm now hosting. The book has scripture reference and discussion questions for each story in the back of the book. It's proving to be wonderful for promoting introspection, group discussion and sharing. Our group loves it.

I enjoy much of Max Lucado's writings, but this has always been my favorite. I have found much in this book that speaks to my life, and to many others. This was the first book I read of his, and one of the first I read as a new Christian. Its easy to follow and great to inspire.

Our Wednesday morning bible group read this over the summer and met weekly to discuss it. We all have had years of extensive bible study and, consequently, felt this book wasn't as "meaty" as we would've liked. We did have some lively and inspiring conversations about some of the chapters. An area of concern was the wording of some of the questions in the back of the book: we couldn't understand them! We had to take a best guess as to what Max was talking about.

I've read most of Max Lucado's books and this is not only my favorite by him but my favorite book of all time. (Well, except for the Bible.)

This book is helpful in some way for anyone who reads it. I have given this book as a gift for so many people going through a tough time and it has helped each one.

No one tells a story in quite the way Lucado does. It is hard to put his books down and this is one book that I read continually until I finished it. It is a book you keep and read again and again.

God has blessed Max Lucado with a gift of story telling and finding scripture that might be obscure or a special verse that God shows him and then opens his heart to a whole new and unique way of looking at and explaining its meaning in a way that is easy to understand. He brings about such deep emotions with his writing.

God has given Max Lucado a special gift and in turn God, through Lucado, will bless each person who read his books. This book is a must read for everyone. On a scale of 1-5 I really give this book a 10.

Why You Can Have Confidence in the Bible is a treasure! I wish I had this book 30 years ago. The title seems a bit academic and boring, but the book IS NOT! What a gift! Dr. Sala's engaging style of story-telling combined with factual research material is so refreshing. This book should be required reading in every seminary, if not in every church. If you have ever had any doubts about the authenticity or accuracy of the Bible, this book will encourage you immensely. I highly recommend it. It's a fun read and great resource!

Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for [...] 05/08
The Bible is the bestselling book in history. You probably own one, but have you read it? Do you believe in its authenticity? Do you know you can trust the ancient words?
Harold J. Sala discusses this and many other questions in his book Why You Can Have Confidence in the Bible. I found this book very interesting, inspiring, and insightful. Sala explains the history of the written text. He discusses the Dead Sea Scrolls, The Da Vinci Code, The Gospel of Judas, and biblical prophecy. Sala does not stop there. He tackles the subject of evolution. Chapter seven proves the Bible does change lives. Sala offers examples and testimonies. With a style that is simple enough for the layperson to understand, Harold J. Sala reaches out to all people in an effort to show the authenticity, relevance, and divinity of the Bible.

Why You Can Have Confidence in the Bible by Harold J. Sala is a wonderfully written apologetic for the accuracy and authenticity of the Bible. Sala goes over familiar territory in several cases restating the archaeological discoveries that have proved many of the Biblical stories, but he writes in a matter of fact fashion that makes them both easy to understand and fresh in the reading. I was pleasantly surprised in one chapter to come across a short biography of John Cecil Trever, the first photographer of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Trever is my maiden name, and I've always felt an attachment to the documents because their discovery was aided by my second cousin (three times removed). But even Trever's biography is told in a way to aid in the understanding of how God works. He was in the right place at the right time with the right education and equipment to understand the magnificence of the discover and capture it on film. With each chapter Sala lays his case that the Bible is solid and believable. The most powerful part of the book is one of the last chapters that recounts several stories about the power of the Bible in specific individuals lives (you have to get this book just to read the story of the man who smoked his way through Matthew, Mark, and Luke). Ultimately, Sala acknowledges that belief in the Bible is a faith issue, and no amount of evidence, no matter how sound, is going to sway someone who doesn't want to believe. But for those of us who do, he makes it easier and meaningful.

This is a good book for the money. It has good transliteration, and it gives a short definition of the word. You will not find every word in the Bible in this book because of its size, but the book is well worth the money. It is a little tricky trying using the index if you are not familiar with the Hebrew alphabet.

As others have said, this is a terrific vocabulary builder, containing both Hebrew and Aramaic words. The back contains an index which I have found wonderfully helpful as an aid to finding the root in drop-letter or hollow verbs. Sometimes BDB gives far too much information. The one minor flaw is that feminine nouns aren't identified as such

This book is a great list for those students who wish to build their vocabulary in order to gain a greater understanding to the bible. This book is not a dictionary and don't try to use it as such. The words are broken into sections according to the frequency in which they occur in the bible. The more frequent a word occurs the closer to the front they will appear. The words are not in alphabetic order. However, if you wish to improve your vocabulary quickly by learning the most useful words than this book is for you.

Life is triage. We all must choose how to do the most in a short amount of time. A Student's Vocabulary for Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic helps by presenting the words used most frequently in the Hebrew Bible. Using this book, students of Biblical Hebrew can learn first the words that they most need to learn. If only other tasks in life came so splendidly prioritized!

If you are interested in a similarly prioritized audio vocabulary builder for Biblical Hebrew, consider Old Testament Hebrew Vocabulary: Learn on the Go. Learning by reading differs from learning by hearing, so you may find it most productive to use both products concurrently. For a somewhat prioritized audio vocabulary for Modern Hebrew, consider Vocabulearn Hebrew: Level 1 (Language Power), Hebrew/English: Level 1: VocabuLearn: Original Format, Vocabulearn Hebrew Level 1 (VocabuLearn), or VocabuLearn: Hebrew, Level 1 (all four different formats of the same basic product).

All these products are variations on flashcards. For more conventional paper flashcards (also prioritized), consider Old Testament Hebrew Vocabulary Cards (ZONDERVAN VOCABULARY BUILDER SERIES) or Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary Cards or Modern Hebrew Vocabulary Cards: Academic Study Card Set.

This is a good little book, if used the right way. I put it to use the best way I could -- which is to say that I typed in the text into a neat little program called Vocab and used it to drill myself to death. Behold me, well nigh translated to death!