Review: Basics of Hebrew Discourse

In Basics of Hebrew Discourse: A Guide to Working with Hebrew Prose and Poetry (Zondervan Academic, 2019), Matthew Patton, Frederic Clarke Putnam, and Miles Van Pelt attempt to create an intermediate Hebrew teaching grammar that focuses on discourse analysis. For Patton and Putnam, traditional Hebrew pedagogies have neglected macro-level relationships between paragraphs and discourses, focusing instead on micro-level relationships between words and sentences. Although useful and manageable for introductory courses, one cannot neglect more significant analysis in advanced courses. This book is divided into two sections: working with Hebrew prose (written by Patton) and working with Hebrew poetry (written by Putnam).

This is an excellent introduction to Hebrew syntax analysis, which is lacking in most language programs. It distills advanced scholarship into a clear, concise reference work. Examples from the Hebrew Bible are thorough, varied, and perceptive. Some of the glosses and transliterations do make it difficult to read at times; nonetheless, it is rare to find a dedicated text to discourse analysis at this high quality. For students in advanced Hebrew courses, this will be a necessary work to refer to.

(A complimentary review copy was given in exchange for an honest review.)

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