Abstract
There is a new trend in the study of biblical languages. It is concerned with the interface of the ancient language user and the modern language student. The present volume sits comfortably within this welcome trend. J. David Pleins and Jonathan Homrighausen have compiled what is essentially a Biblical Hebrew vocabulary list, but is perhaps the most helpful such list the present writer has seen to-date. As the title suggests, the arrangement of terms is by conceptual categories. Rather than listing lexemes by frequency of occurrence, alphabetic sequence, or even by order of appearance within a corpus, they instead attempt to group words by how Hebrew speakers would have conceived them. This is certainly more meaningful for today’s Hebrew student. The authors hold that ‘the mind constructs its mental space for language by making connections between words. Without these associations, vocabulary building is reduced to rote memorization that all too often becomes an exercise in futility’ (p. 16).
As the authors acknowledge, this is no comprehensive study of the words displayed therein, but is instead a vocabulary aid (i.e. only short glosses are provided). They provide a reasonably extensive bibliography for further study concerning the various conceptual categories. Interestingly, this book is also limited to nouns and excludes even many of the abstract nouns of the Hebrew Bible. While this is unfortunate, the decision aligns with the broader aim to provide lists of things that can be easily pictured in the mind of the student; ‘wisdom’, for example, is less easy to picture than ‘foot’.
The arrangement of the volume is hierarchical. In the uppermost position are the following: the created order, the human order, the social order, and the constructed order. These groups are less useful than the sub-groupings, the latter being more reflective of human conceptual categories. Under the created order is, among others, ‘Heavens and Earth’, under which is found the lower level groups ‘cosmology’, ‘sky/firmament’, ‘stars’, ‘earth’ (itself divided into many sections), etc. In addition to providing the conceptual groupings, appendix two provides lists of ‘cluster verses’ tagged to their groupings so that the student may learn the vocabulary in context rather than memorize more lists. This is a very welcome and insightful inclusion.
The information contained in this volume is not new, but is nevertheless refreshing. The arrangement by conceptual categories is crucial. In short, this volume deserves high praise.