Study Tools

Choosing a Hebrew Dictonary
Prepared by Dr. Roberta Barkan

In choosing a dictionary, it is important to decide what your interests and needs are both long and short range. The following discussion addresses some of the questions you may ask yourself:

1. Am I interested in a dictionary that will help me with prayer book and biblical Hebrew as well as modern Hebrew (including modern Israeli literature)?
2. Am I interested in a dictionary that essentially stresses modern spoken Hebrew?
3. Do I want a dictionary that is light and portable?
4. Is print size and typeface important to me?
5. Since Hebrew dictionaries follow either the traditional vocalized spelling or the newer unvocalized spelling system - known as the plene spelling , which system do I prefer?
   

The following is not a comprehensive list of dictionaries that are available. The descriptions may serve as guide of what to look for in a Hebrew-English dictionary.

• English-Hebrew Dictionary
• A Treasury of Hebrew Word Books
• Dictionaries Using Masoretic Vocalization
• Dictionaries Using Plene Spelling
• Hebrew-Hebrew Dictionaries

Dr Ghil`ad Zuckermann's Concise Review of the
Oxford English-Hebrew Dictionary

Nakdimon Shabbethay Doniach and Ahuvia Kahane (eds). The Oxford English-Hebrew Dictionary. Oxford √ New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. xxiii+1,091 pages. ISBN 0-19-860172-7. £19.99.

• Concise review of Oxford English-Hebrew Dictionary
• Detailed review of Oxford English-Hebrew Dictionary

A Treasury of Hebrew Word Books

This book is based on Ma'ariv columnist Rosenthal's belief that the language spoken by Israelis is not Hebrew at all. Rather, he says, "It is us." For Rosenthal, then, Hebrew paints a portrait of modern-day Israelis. It is for this reason that Rosenthal divides his book, based on his column of the same name in Ma'ariv, into four sections: the multi-cultural arena, the lexical arena, the political arena, and the literary-mass communication arena. These four arenas are further divided into some fifty chapters, dealing with a wide array of fascinating and unexpected language topics, for example: army slang; Yiddish in Hebrew; code words that come from Arabic; the omnipresent expression, "zeh ma yesh"; the language of Ehud Barak, Benjamin Netanyahu and Arik Sharon; and translating from American English. As if this selection were not spicy enough, Rosenthal seasons his book further with some 80 alphabetical entries of the "real meaning" of words he considers crucial to understanding Israeli culture today. 

Ruth Almagor-Ramon. A Moment of Hebrew (Rega shel Ivrit). Tzivonim Publishing. Jerusalem , 2001

Everyone who listens to the radio in Israel recognizes the dulcet tones of Menahem Peri, the fellow who comes on for one minute a day to tell us about words newly sanctioned by the Hebrew Language Academy , older words whose meanings may be lost on us, and words and expressions that have tickled the fancy of Ruth Almagor-Ramon, the editor of Kol Yisrael's program Rega shel Ivrit. If you've ever longed for a copy of the script of these pieces, then you're in luck. Slightly edited for the printed page, this new book contains the text of 300 of these programs. The selections are brief enough to be read when you have only a moment to spare. They are meaty enough to stay with you the whole day. By the way, as Almagor-Ramon reminds us, that one minute a day is, as they say, "not exactly." At times it means, "the blink of an eye"; at others it means "as long as it takes to say the word "rega." On the radio it means "as long as it takes to perform a segment of Rega shel Ivrit. And then there's Sallah Shabbati, the fictional character who made famous the expression for "Hold it a second," Rega, hoshvim.

Edna Lauden and Liora Weinbach, with English translations by Miriam Shani. Multi Dictionary: Bilingual Learners Dictionary. (Rav-Milon). AD Publishing. Tel-Aviv, 1998

This is an excellent dictionary for students at the intermediate and advanced levels who are interested specifically in modern spoken Hebrew. Each entry is given first with its "full" spelling, that is, without vowels but with all the letters needed to permit word recognition, the way it is usually found in books and newspapers. This is followed, to facilitate correct pronunciation, by the spelling with the vowels. Each definition of a Hebrew word is given in English as well as in simple Hebrew. To enable the learner of Hebrew to understand the nuance of a word, and to show how a word is used in an authentic setting, a simple Hebrew sentence is given as well. Among the more useful sections of the dictionary are the tables of verbs and prepositions and the many word lists by topic, such as shopping, the restaurant, the family, and more. Particularly helpful are charts of phrases useful in conversation--arranged by topic. There are some fifteen of these, including: how to begin and end a conversation; how to ask for something and invite someone; how to complain or make a suggestion; how to agree, disagree, and apologize; how to thank and compliment, and many more. There are also two very useful lists of medical terms and expressions that have to do with Jewish religious tradition.

(For a more elaborate review of this dictionary, and others, from which this summary is adapted, see the article by Dr. Roberta Barkan in www.ivrit.org.)

Mordekhay Rosen. Millah be-Rega. A Moment about Word Etymology. 1999. 607 pp. List price at Gozlan's Sefer Yisrael (212-725-5890), $41.95. Mention the NCHL and get it for $36.95 + shipping.

This book contains the stories of some 2,000 words that have made their way into Hebrew from 80 other languages. Many of the entries were first presented to the Israeli public on the author's radio spot, Millah be-Rega. The book is based on the concept that words are the building blocks of culture. Whether you're looking for a word from Aramaic or Akkadian, Greek or Latin, Persian or Arabic, English or French, Russian or German, you'll find it listed in one of the Indexes at the back of the book. A word of warning: this book is not made for people with weak arms or weak eyes. It requires some heavy lifting and, because it is so dense, some readers may find the font a little bit too small to handle. For those who enjoy digging--and squinting--for treasures, this is an etymological dictionary for you.

Joseph Lowin.  Hebrewspeak.  Jason Aronson Publishers.  Northvale, New Jersey, 1995.  List price $30.  Order from NCHL: 633 Third Avenue, 21^st Floor, New York, NY  10017.  Special price $25, includes shipping and handling.

The title of this book, Hebrewspeak, is intended to convey the idea that there are two linguistic ways to arrive at an understanding of the Jewish national thought process: by speaking the language and by speaking about the language; by having it constantly in mind and trippingly on the tongue, even when speaking English.  How does this book work?  Author Joseph Lowin, sometimes inspired by the weekly Torah portion, other times inspired by a dinner-table discussion with his wife and children, will chose a Hebrew shoreshroot and delve into the various ways the Jewish people have used a myriad of words derived from this root.  Dr. Lowin examines texts from the Bible, the Talmud, and the Midrash, among others, while also paying close attention to the use of language made from these roots orally, dating back to the Yishuv in Palestine and following through to modern-day Hebrew slang.  Indeed, this book is premised on the idea that the Hebrew language, and its development throughout the ages, is the surest indicator of the ways Jews think and have thought about their religion, history, values, and their physical and metaphysical lives.  Hebrewspeak is both educational and entertaining a revised, enhanced, and jam-packed collection of Joseph Lowin's "About Hebrew" columns, featured monthly in Hadassah Magazine.  Rabbis, speakers, teachers, historians, and anyone who enjoys playing with the mystical words that make up the Hebrew language will find Hebrewspeak a valuable addition to his or her library.

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Dictionaries Using Masoretic Vocalization

This is a comprehensive three volume dictionary (one volume Hebrew; two volumes English), particularly useful to all students, and is highly recommended as an important reference work for students and homes where a long-range study of Hebrew is projected. This dictionary is of particular value to students who are interested in biblical and rabbinic as well as modern Hebrew and includes numerous technical and professional terms. Verbs are listed under the root which affords the student and opportunity to become familiar with the various usages of a particular root. For many verbs with weak letters for which students may not easily decipher the root, the entry will be both under the root spelling and according to the particular binyan (cross-referenced to the root entry). Noun entries include the plural and construct forms. The dictionary includes biblical usages for words that have maintained the ancient nuances, as well as proverbs and common idioms that have come down from Aramaic expressions. For words, where the modern plene spelling has become widely accepted, even in vocalized texts, the plene spelling is the main entry and the masoretic spelling is given as an alternative listing, e.g. for . Abbreviated words are listed according to their spelling throughout the dictionary. The print size and type face are good.

This dictionary for students of Hebrew as a second language is nicely presented, the entries are well spaced and not cluttered. In addition to the English translation and usages, entries are usually accompanied by a Hebrew sentence or a simple Hebrew explanation. Verbs are listed under the binyan rather than the root and where appropriate are accompanied by the prepositions used with that verb as well as some of the conjugated forms. Different uses of a verb are cited, particularly when they are essential to spoken Hebrew. The plural of nouns which are irregular or unusual are given. Prepositions that are used specifically with certain nouns are cited. The information provided is useful for intermediate and advanced students.

This is handy pocket book dictionary for those who want a small dictionary with the masoretic spelling. Verbs are listed in the qal (if they exist in that binyan) with reference to the other common uses in other binyanim, or according to a specific binyan if that is the form to be included in the dictionary. It contains over 30,000 entries as well as useful charts of numbers and verb conjugations.

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This handy paper back dictionary stresses modern Hebrew, conversational and scientific and technological words. It follows the plene spelling with the added help of precise pointing (vowels) so the correct pronunciation of each word is ensured. Hebrew verbs are in their alphabetical order, not under the root. Verb conjugation charts are included.  

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