Biblical Languages

Metathesis in the Hebrew Bible begins by briefly discussing linguistic metathesis, in which letters or sounds are unintentionally inverted during the historical development of a language, and textual metathesis, in which the letters of a word are accidentally inverted during the transmission of a text. This sets the stage for the heart of the book, which focuses on the widespread use of literary-stylistic metathesis in the Hebrew Bible, in which two or more words that use the same letters in opposite orders are deliberately juxtaposed within a sentence.

The book also demonstrates that literary metathesis is not limited to the Hebrew Bible, but that it also appears in postbiblical Jewish Hebrew compositions, such as The Wisdom of Ben Sira and the rabbinic literature. This leads to the conclusion that the use of this literary tool by the Rabbis in the midrashic literature is not a late, artificial approach to Scripture, but rather one that has deep roots in the biblical texts themselves and that continued to develop in the writings of the Second Temple period and in later Jewish writings.

Fully integrated with the bestselling language grammars, each video based lecture series provides easy-to-follow lessons introducing the grammar and language of the Hebrew Bible and Greek New Testament, respectively. Over 36 sessions students learn all the basic aspects of the language from the alphabet to the verbal system, from syntax to nouns. Each video lecture series is an ideal resource for traditional students in need of additional instruction; for professors who can now maximize classroom interaction by having students watch lectures at home; for ministers who need to refresh their Greek; for self-learners or homeschoolers with an interest in learning Greek on their own.

Study the original languages of the Bible and gain a greater depth of understanding of the text, context, and special nuances lost in translation.