Review: The Story of Hebrew

There are (perhaps unsurprisingly) very few books on the history of the Hebrew language. Angel Sanez-Badillo's A History of the Hebrew Language was a seminal work in this area, but there remains little scholarship in Hebraic linguistics. But now, Lewis Gilnert's The Story of Hebrew (Princeton, 2017) fills this void and provides an accessible yet rich history of Hebrew. He probes a sweeping account of the language, from its origins in Genesis (in which he claims the first Hebrew words were spoken) to its revival in modern Israel.

From Aleph to Tav

Yet this book is more than a dry history of one language; rather, it examines the significance of the language to the people who spoke it. Gilnert, a respected Jewish scholar, traces its usage in Judaism and Christianity, how it served as a scholarly language in the Middle Ages, and how it was preserved carefully only to be revived by Zionists in the modern age. He explains how Hebrew was used in ancient prayer, and how it connects to modern worship.

This unique work of scholarship draws from the Hebrew Bible, archaeological sources (such as the Gezer Calendar and the Dead Sea Scrolls), and rabbinical texts to weave a narrative of how a tongue has shaped those who spoke it. Indeed, Hebrew is an inseparable part of Israel's heritage. For those interested in learning the fascinating history of this "living language," look no further. While some texts on linguistics are either oversimplified or too complex, Gilnert's book gracefully balances both rigor and readability. All of the Hebrew has been transliterated into English, so there is no need for learning Hebrew letters to learn about the language. It combines linguistics, history, sociology, and religious studies to create a truly magnificent and captivating testimony of a language. While this book may be written from a Israeli/Zionist perspective, it has little political charge and would be a welcome addition to the library of Jewish, Christian, and non-religious learners alike.

(My thanks is given to Princeton for providing a complimentary review copy in exchange for an honest review.)

Comments

Review: Trinity Without Hierarchy

Some recent evangelical trends have insisted that the Son is subordinate to the Father. It is in response to such complementarian theologians that the contributors to Trinity Without Hierarchy: Reclaiming Nicene Orthodoxy in Evangelical Theology (Kregel Academic, 2019) write. Edited by Mike Bird and Scott Harrower, sixteen respected theologians from around the world have come together to rescue the doctrine of the Trinity and reclaim the Nicene position, that all persons of the Trinity are co-eternal and co-equal.

The first essays introduce the doctrine of the Trinity from a New Testament standpoint, followed by a set of essays that trace Nicene Trinitarianism through church history, from Athanasius to the Reformers to Pannenberg. Although written with varying levels of difficulty—from introductory surveys to advanced theological treatments—each essay is short and digestible. The implications of the doctrine of the Trinity meet the challenges of modern evangelicalism, particularly su…

Review: Practicing the Preaching Life

Most preachers burn out. So claims celebrated homiletician and preaching professor David Ward. Ward contends that, while preaching is a life-giving activity, most practices of it lead to exhaustion and life waste. In his new book, Practicing the Preaching Life (Abingdon, 2019), Ward sets out to paint a practical theology of preaching that spiritually forms preachers and brings renewal, not only to preachers, but to their listeners as well.

Ward, as a student in the New Homiletic, draws heavily on Augustine and Aristotle, who view preaching as a means to embed virtues within the preacher. He begins by establishing a correct theology of preaching: what makes good preaching "good"? What are the offices of the preacher? From there, he moves toward practical applications, including weekly sermon preparation routines and sermon forms. Ward's approach to preaching practice, however, diverges from traditional books that either offer homiletical theory with little application, o…

Review: The Significance of Singleness

In this much-needed book, theologian Christian Hitchcock develops a vision for singleness and the church. Recent evangelical tendencies, argues Hitchcock, view singleness as a problem rather than an asset, a curse rather than a blessing. Drawing from her own experiences as a single Christian woman, Hitchcock skillfully combines personal reflection, historical evidence, and biblical-theological support to claim that single persons are themselves a theologically significant group.

Hitchcock begins by tackling the problem of singleness head-on. She describes the perception of the “problem of singleness,” from pop culture to the Marriage Mandate Movement. In her view, American evangelicalism views marriage as the most desired social institution, under which nothing can compare. Most of her examples come from her experience as a student and professor at small Christian colleges, which have a notorious tendency to inflate issues of marriage. Hitchcock then turns to three figures from churc…

Leitourgia

Search This Blog