Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar

Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar

The famous exposition of Hebrew linguistics by Wilhelm Gesenius - who was one of the most lauded Biblical scholars of his era - is reprinted here in the popular translation by Arthur Ernest Cowley.

As a Bible tutor and Lutheran scholar, Gesenius depended on a reliable knowledge of Hebrew to effectively teach the Old Testament. A voracious reader and a gifted speaker, Gesenius amassed audiences when giving lectures owing to his ability to make subjects vivid and interesting - it is this aversion to dryness that the author applies with vigor to his explanations of Hebrew grammar and syntax.

Chapters are devoted to the sentence structure and grammatic qualities of Hebrew, with the language's peculiarities duly noted. How words are composed is another topic treated with detail, while the Hebraic system of numeracy receives extensive discussion. How the language expresses verbs and adjectives, and how gender is expressed, is revealed with ample demonstration.

The edition which is presented here went through several iterations and revisions; the first lexicon and principle studies were finished in 1806, but it would not be until 1812 that a final, enlarged and definitive copy would arrive with the public. This translation to English emerged almost a century later in 1910, and was complimented for its accuracy and faithfulness to Gesenius's original work.