A Hebrew Reader for the Psalms

Book excerpt: A Hebrew Reader for the Psalms 40 Beloved TextsCompiled and edited by Pete Myers and Jonathan G. Kline A Hebrew Reader for the Psalms is a unique devotional and language-reference work that will help readers better understand the psalms of the Hebrew Bible as they were originally written. This book constitutes a carefully curated collection of forty Hebrew psalms, organized by genre and, within each genre, by difficulty. The psalms are presented in a unique and innovative format designed to help readers understand not only the meaning of the individual words but also how these words fit together to create clauses and sentences. Like A Proverb a Day in Biblical Hebrew, this book is designed to be enjoyed by people of varying levels of Hebrew ability--ranging from those who have studied the language for a year to those who have a PhD in Hebrew Bible. The book functions as a language-learning tool and a devotional, and is therefore a resource that readers will want to use repeatedly (rather than simply reading through it once). The book's strengths include the timeless draw of its contents, its accessibility, its simplicity of use, its minimalist aesthetic design, and its affordability. About the Authors Pete Myers (PhD, University of Cambridge) is Lecturer in Old Testament and Biblical Languages at the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology, in Addis Ababa. He has published on linguistics and text criticism in various academic journals and edited volumes, and he serves as editor-in-chief of The Ethiopian Journal of Theology. Myers is an ordained presbyter (priest) in the Church of England and has ministered in a variety of capacities in England and in Ethiopia. Jonathan G. Kline (PhD, Harvard University) is the author of A Proverb a Day in Biblical Hebrew, Allusive Soundplay in the Hebrew Bible, and the five volumes of the Two Minutes a Day Biblical Language Series, as well as co-author of Biblical Aramaic: A Reader & Handbook. He currently serves as senior editor at Hendrickson Publishers. May-