This project began as part of my own personal study but has over the years, developed into something that can be used by other students of Biblical Hebrew. You are welcome to download, print, and distribute copies of these documents. My goal here is to provide you with helpful tools in your study of Biblical Hebrew.
NEW! Click to Download Ross’ Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary Book
Are you working on your Hebrew Vocabulary? This simple guide contains the Hebrew Bible’s most commonly used words. They are arranged in a series of sections grouped according to grammatical category and frequency of occurrence as indicated in the Table of Contents.
This guide began as a personal study project in the early nineties as I was first attempting to build my Hebrew Vocabulary. I intend to publish a revised edition of this work in the near future but am offering it in its present form at this time to allow for feedback. You are free to download it, print it, and even share it with others as it is. All I ask is that you provide me with any feedback on how to make it better. While I made every effort to accurately type the Hebrew there may be typos or misspellings. The English definitions are derived from various sources that I utilized to arrive at the basic meaning of the words. Input is welcomed on these as well.
The Hebrew Sounds (Letters & Vowels)
These charts will provide you with the basic characters and signs for expressing sounds in Biblical Hebrew. There are two charts (AlefBet and Vowel Sounds Chart). Click to download.
AlefBeth Chart
Vowel Sounds Chart
Vocabulary Lists
Here are some vocabulary lists based upon the frequency of occurrence of words in the Hebrew Bible. The list of words was taken directly from my set of Vis-Ed, Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary Cards. These cards are an excellent help in learning Hebrew vocabulary. I did not elect to use the definition supplied on the cards at all times, though the definitions are usually very good and accurate. Instead, I looked every word up using the Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, Francis Brown, S.R. Driver, C.A. Briggs (Oxford edition), and determined the most basic definition of each word in question. I then looked up every occurrence of these words using The Englishman’s Hebrew Concordance of the Old Testament to check them in context. These two methods were then combined to produce what is found in the definition. The lists are compiled in order of frequency of occurrence, so that for instance the file named Hebrew Verbs 500-5000, contains all verbs occurring 500-5,000 times in the Hebrew Bible. I propose that one master them in order as I have them on this page. Learn all words occurring more than 500 times and then move to the next list. In no time at all, you will have a workable vocabulary. Click on the name of the list to download, print, and STUDY!