I took my first Biblical Greek in 1967 and my first Biblical Hebrew course in 1970. Since then my "Sunday go to meeting" Bible has been the Nestle/Aland NT Greek and the Biblia Hebraica. My wife bought me the combined volume Hebrew OT / Greek NT a few years ago. So I have been consistently "in the Greek and Hebrew" for over 50 years. Even with this background, I have found this volume and the companion "Keep Up Your Biblical Greek" have really been fun and inspiring to me. I keep them on my desk and at least once a day take a quick break and look at the daily entry. It is great to have this quick look at the Scriptures. One thing I like is that the passages used are not those we normally think of as "devotional" passages. So they are not that familiar. It exposes me to some linguistic components that are not that familiar so can be challenging. These two little books will soon become worn because I will use them frequently and for a long time! Highly recommend for you whether you are a first year Greek or Hebrew student or a long time "master" of the languages!

Talk to anyone who studied Biblical languages during their education and I guarantee they will attest to the difficulty of retention post-schooling. Whether at Bible College or Seminary, past or present, it is nigh-impossible to maintain the fundamentals and vocabulary without daily engagement. This becomes more difficult as time grows in scarcity, feeling like you have to relearn the language all over again. In the midst of this challenge comes a reasonable, affordable, and beneficial solution from editor/compiler Dr. Jonathan G. Kline and Hendrickson Publishing Keep Up Your Biblical Hebrew in Two Minutes a Day: vols. 1&2. A daily tool specifically designed to aid individuals in renewing the Hebrew vocabulary in just minutes a day!

Ive been immersed in the languages for the majority of my undergrad and seminary career. Ive had four years of Greek, two years of Hebrew, and am preparing for Aramaic in the fall. Between the paradigms, fundamentals of grammar, and vocabulary, maintaining the skills outside of the classroom is more than challenging. These two volumes for Biblical Hebrew were specifically designed to help students of the language with vocabulary and reading, making the proposed two minutes an easy commitment for all. Kline is very clear in the preface that the books do not do away with the need for a grammar; they are exclusively for vocabulary review.

Both books are identically structured in that they contain a word a day for each volume. The selections are organized by number of times used in the BHS. Volume 1 contains every word used more than 120 times, and volume 2 builds off of this by containing every word used between 49 and 120 times. Each day includes a verse from the BHS in which there is one new word to learn and two words to review that appear earlier. The verse is displayed in both English and Hebrew, accompanied by the transliteration, meaning, number of occurrences, and Strongs number. Additionally, each day includes the definition of each word in the verse for the day if one wanted to devote more than two minutes a day. The pages are dated and numbered with the week and day in case someone wants to start with January, but its currently May (i.e. May 21st | WEEK 21 | DAY 141).

This new series from Hendrickson gives language learners the upper hand in the challenge of retaining vocabulary previously acquired. In todays day and age, the solution to vocabulary retention is provided by some kind of app, but staring at a screen has been (for me at least) another reason to stay on my phone. Incorporating two minutes of reading in a daily routine is very doable, making one less reliable on their phone. This small hardcover book is compact like a journal, making it easy to carry with you whatever your storage preference and calls for such a minute amount of time that it can be incorporated into any level of busyness. While this book is certainly not for everyone, those who have any interest in engaging Hebrew vocabulary will find much to gain from this book and the first volume and will likely find it to be a frequently consulted aid. I would definitely recommend this, and any of the other volumes for those looking to rekindle or maintain their Hebrew vocabulary, as well as the other volumes for Greek and Aramaic.

Disclaimer: Thank you to Hendrickson for generously providing me with review copies in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts and opinions expressed above are my own and were not influenced by the gesture.

The most important practice for maintaining and increasing ones understanding of the biblical languages is daily engagement with the language itself. Thats right. Its as easy as daily use of the language. Still, for most students of the biblical languages (past or present), there are two common hurdles to overcometime and direction. It is for this reason, that I can think of no resource more essential to students of the biblical languages than The Two Minutes A Day Biblical Language Series compiled and edited by Jonathan G. Kline.

The Two Minutes A Day Biblical Language Series has been specially designed to help readers build upon a previous study of the biblical languages by facilitating daily engagement in an easy, manageable, and spiritually enriching way (p. vii). The series is comprised of five handsomely produced, durable imitation leather volumes: Keep Up Your Biblical Hebrew in Two Minutes a Day: Volume 1 & 2 (forthcoming), Keep Up Your Biblical Aramaic in Two Minutes a Day, and Keep Up Your Biblical Greek in Two Minutes a Day: Volume 1 & 2 (forthcoming).

The organizational structure of each volume in the series is identical. Each volume contains 365 sections for review in a single-page devotional style format. To encourage the readers to spend regular time with the biblical languages, each page includes a day number (from 1 to 365), a date (from January 1 to December 31), and a week number (from Week 1 to Week 52). The format of the content for each entry includes an English translation of the passage (NRSV, ESV, NASB, NIV, CSB, and MLB) with vocabulary words bolded for contextual recognition, new vocabulary words with both transliterations and definitions, a biblical language presentation of the passage, and a side-by-side breakdown of the passage with both biblical language and translation.

Keep Up Your Biblical Hebrew in Two Minutes a Day: Volume 1 was created with consideration of the main frequency list of vocabulary found in The Vocabulary Guide to Biblical Hebrew by Miles V. Van Pelt and Gary D. Pratico. Kline has taken the 365 most frequently occurring words in the Hebrew Bible and curated a list of passages for readers to engage each day. Thus, not only are readers engaging biblical Hebrew, but theyre effectively learning vocabulary that will afford them greater efficiency when using Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia: A Readers Edition. For ease of reading, Kline has removed the Masoretic accents and Ketiv forms, including only the Qere forms. Lastly, it should be mentioned that the Hebrew text referenced in this volume is taken from the Michigan-Claremont-Westminster Electronic Hebrew Bible, which is a public domain text that is based on the BHS and compared with the Leningrad Codex.

Keep Up Your Biblical Aramaic in Two Minutes a Day offers readers, in order of descending frequency, every word in biblical Aramaic. The volume is shaped in conjunction with the lexical forms, glosses, and frequencies of the incredibly useful Biblical Aramaic: A Reader & Handbook by Donald R. Vance, George Athas, Yael Avrahami, and Jonathan G. Kline. Students of biblical Aramaic would do well to purchase this volume if they havent already. The Aramaic text used is likewise from the Michigan-Claremont-Westminster Electronic Hebrew Bible, and, for ease of reading, Kline has likewise removed the Masoretic accents and Ketiv forms. The approach that Kline took concerning the descending nature of the volume is especially helpful considering the number of hapax Legomenon present in the Aramaic passages of the Hebrew Bible (more than one-third of words in biblical Aramaic).

Keep Up Your Biblical Greek in Two Minutes a Day: Volume 1 was created with consideration of the main frequency list of vocabulary found in Complete Vocabulary Guide to the Greek New Testament by Warren C. Trenchard. Kline has taken the 365 most frequently occurring words in the Greek New Testamentall words that occur 42 times or more, plus about half of this that occurs 41 timesand curated a list of passages for readers to engage each day. Mastery of these 365 words will not only allow readers to engage biblical Greek with more proficiency but afford them knowledge of nearly every lexical form assumed by The Greek New Testament: A Readers Edition. The glosses are abridged entries of Hendricksons Compact Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament by Mark House, with occasional contextual modifications from Kline. The Greek text quoted in this volume is The Greek New Testament prepared by B. F. Westcott and F. J. A. Hort, which is a critical edition of the Greek New Testament published in 1881.

There is much to be praised about this series and the two forthcoming volumes. Ive already voiced the necessity of these volumes for readers looking to remain in contact with a study of the biblical languages. There is absolutely nothing like them on the market and Kline is to be commended in the highest regard for his work here. The format is both easy-to-use and inviting. Thus, not only has Kline created a space for readers to enter their needed engagement with the biblical languages, but he has made it both exciting and immediately rewarding. Additionally, these volumes are the quality construction that many have come to expect from Hendrickson Publishers. The cover is a supple imitation leather over board, which provides both the functionality and durability that will withstand daily use for years to come. The paper is also thick and opaque, and the text is easy to read. Lastly, the inclusion of two ribbon bookmarkers per volume compliments the overall approach of the series and offers added usefulness that readers are certain to appreciate.

The Two Minutes A Day Biblical Language Series compiled and edited by Jonathan G. Kline is certain to become a new classroom standard for both teachers and students looking for quick and easy ways to remain engaged with the biblical languages. If you are a past or present student of Hebrew, Aramaic, and/or Greek, then the volumes in this series should be a no-brainer purchase. They wont replace grammars nor the necessity of such for learning the biblical languages, but they will most certainly transform how you engage them. I couldnt recommend this series more strongly!