HSC Classical Hebrew Continuers (NSW) cheat sheet

Prescribed texts are studied in their full Hebrew form; exam questions may supply a vocalised or unvocalised extract and require close reading of that passage only.

Identify speaker, addressee and narrative frame before answering an interpretation question: Hebrew omits the copula and shifts person without warning, so who-is-speaking errors cascade.

Quotation questions require the exact Hebrew words in transliteration or script plus a line reference; paraphrase alone earns limited credit.

Distinguish questions asking what the text says (content) from what it means (significance): the second demands a claim about theme, character or authorial purpose supported by textual detail.

Track repeated keywords (e.g. a root recurring within a passage) as evidence for theme; word repetition in Biblical Hebrew prose is a deliberate structural device, not redundancy.

When a passage is poetry, note parallelism: the second colon restates, contrasts or completes the first, so meaning must be read across both halves.

Answers about character should cite an action or speech and then state the trait it reveals; unsupported adjectives score poorly.

For 'how does the text position the reader' questions, point to narrative comment, evaluative vocabulary or irony rather than plot summary.

Translate clause by clause following Hebrew word order first, then restructure into natural English; do not reorder before you have identified subject, verb and object.

The waw-consecutive imperfect (וַיִּקְטֹל) normally carries past narrative meaning; translate as simple past unless context forces otherwise.

The construct chain (סְמִיכוּת) is read backwards: the last noun is absolute and governs, so 'דְּבַר יְהוָה' = 'the word of the LORD'.

The definite article on a construct noun does not make the absolute noun definite in form; English supplies 'the' to the whole chain.

Hebrew tense is aspectual: perfect often = completed action, imperfect = incomplete or habitual; English tense must be chosen from context, not form alone.

The inseparable prepositions בְּ, לְ, כְּ and מִן attach to the following word; מִן assimilates its nun before a labial or guttural (מִפְּנֵי, מִלִּפְנֵי).

The direct-object marker אֶת (אֵת) is untranslated; do not render it as 'with' when it precedes a definite object.

Render the divine name יְהוָה as 'the LORD' in the standard convention, and note that אֲדֹנָי is 'Lord/master'.

Idioms translate as units: 'נָשָׂא פָנִים' = 'show favour', 'חָרָה אַף' = 'become angry', 'מָצָא חֵן בְּעֵינֵי' = 'find favour in the eyes of'.

Seven verb stems: Qal (simple), Niphal (passive/reflexive of Qal), Piel (intensive/factitive), Pual (passive of Piel), Hiphil (causative), Hophal (passive of Hiphil), Hithpael (reflexive/reciprocal).

Recognise the stem from the prefix pattern: Piel has dagesh forte in the second radical; Hiphil begins הִ/הַ/הֵ and often has yod or waw as the middle radical; Hophal begins הָ/הֻ.

Weak-root classes: I-guttural, III-guttural, I-yod/waw, III-he, hollow (middle yod/waw), and geminate; each class causes predictable vowel changes rather than new forms.

The vav-consecutive reverses aspect: perfect + waw (וְקָטַל) in narrative usually continues a future or modal sense; imperfect + waw (וַיִּקְטֹל) continues past.

Pronominal suffixes attach to nouns (possession), prepositions (object) and verbs (direct object); identify person, gender and number before translating.

The construct state is marked by vowel reduction, not by a separate word; a noun before a genitive is construct even when its form looks absolute.

Hebrew word order is normally verb–subject–object in narrative; a fronted element (e.g. a prepositional phrase before the verb) signals emphasis or topic shift.

Vocabulary lists are organised by frequency and root; learn the root and its attested stems together, since meaning shifts across stems (שָׁלַח 'send' Qal vs Hiphil 'stretch out').

Before translating an unseen passage, scan for proper nouns, the waw-consecutive chain and repeated roots; these fix the narrative spine.

Use parallel structure in poetry to infer unknown vocabulary: if colon A and colon B are synonymous, an unknown word can be glossed from its partner.

Glosses supplied in the margin apply only to that occurrence; check whether the same root appears elsewhere in the passage with a different stem and therefore a different sense.

Distinguish narrative prose (waw-consecutive, wayyiqtol chain) from direct speech (imperatives, cohortatives, vocatives); the shift marks a change of speaker or stance.

Infer setting and relationship from kinship terms, place names and honorifics rather than from plot guesswork.

Questions on 'tone' require evidence: imperative clusters, rhetorical questions and repetition of a key word indicate urgency, rebuke or appeal.

When a passage is ambiguous, state the two possible readings and choose one with a reason drawn from grammar or context.

Do not import knowledge from a parallel version (e.g. a known translation) that the Hebrew does not support; answer from the words on the page.

Biblical Hebrew is a Canaanite dialect of the Northwest Semitic family, sharing vocabulary and grammar with Ugaritic, Phoenician and Moabite (e.g. the Mesha Stele).

The Masoretic Text was vocalised and annotated by Tiberian Masoretes (notably Ben Asher) roughly 7th–10th centuries CE; the consonantal text is far older.

The Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran, from c. 3rd century BCE) preserve Hebrew biblical manuscripts about a millennium older than the great medieval codices and show textual variants.

Key medieval codices: Aleppo Codex (c. 930 CE) and Leningrad Codex (c. 1008 CE), the base of most critical editions.

Genesis–2 Kings follows a narrative arc from creation to exile; the Deuteronomistic framing evaluates kings by fidelity to the covenant.

Prophecy collections combine oracles of judgement and restoration; the call narrative (e.g. Isaiah 6, Jeremiah 1) is a recurring literary form.

Wisdom literature (Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes) uses parallelism and aphorism rather than covenant-historical narrative.

Psalm types include lament, thanksgiving, hymn and royal psalm; form is signalled by opening address, petition, complaint and vow of praise.

Prescribed texts are studied in their full Hebrew form; exam questions may supply a vocalised or unvocalised extract and require close reading of that passage only.

Identify speaker, addressee and narrative frame before answering an interpretation question: Hebrew omits the copula and shifts person without warning, so who-is-speaking errors cascade.

Quotation questions require the exact Hebrew words in transliteration or script plus a line reference; paraphrase alone earns limited credit.

Distinguish questions asking what the text says (content) from what it means (significance): the second demands a claim about theme, character or authorial purpose supported by textual detail.

Track repeated keywords (e.g. a root recurring within a passage) as evidence for theme; word repetition in Biblical Hebrew prose is a deliberate structural device, not redundancy.

When a passage is poetry, note parallelism: the second colon restates, contrasts or completes the first, so meaning must be read across both halves.

Answers about character should cite an action or speech and then state the trait it reveals; unsupported adjectives score poorly.

For 'how does the text position the reader' questions, point to narrative comment, evaluative vocabulary or irony rather than plot summary.

Translate clause by clause following Hebrew word order first, then restructure into natural English; do not reorder before you have identified subject, verb and object.

The waw-consecutive imperfect (וַיִּקְטֹל) normally carries past narrative meaning; translate as simple past unless context forces otherwise.

The construct chain (סְמִיכוּת) is read backwards: the last noun is absolute and governs, so 'דְּבַר יְהוָה' = 'the word of the LORD'.

The definite article on a construct noun does not make the absolute noun definite in form; English supplies 'the' to the whole chain.

Hebrew tense is aspectual: perfect often = completed action, imperfect = incomplete or habitual; English tense must be chosen from context, not form alone.

The inseparable prepositions בְּ, לְ, כְּ and מִן attach to the following word; מִן assimilates its nun before a labial or guttural (מִפְּנֵי, מִלִּפְנֵי).

The direct-object marker אֶת (אֵת) is untranslated; do not render it as 'with' when it precedes a definite object.

Render the divine name יְהוָה as 'the LORD' in the standard convention, and note that אֲדֹנָי is 'Lord/master'.

Idioms translate as units: 'נָשָׂא פָנִים' = 'show favour', 'חָרָה אַף' = 'become angry', 'מָצָא חֵן בְּעֵינֵי' = 'find favour in the eyes of'.

Seven verb stems: Qal (simple), Niphal (passive/reflexive of Qal), Piel (intensive/factitive), Pual (passive of Piel), Hiphil (causative), Hophal (passive of Hiphil), Hithpael (reflexive/reciprocal).

Recognise the stem from the prefix pattern: Piel has dagesh forte in the second radical; Hiphil begins הִ/הַ/הֵ and often has yod or waw as the middle radical; Hophal begins הָ/הֻ.

Weak-root classes: I-guttural, III-guttural, I-yod/waw, III-he, hollow (middle yod/waw), and geminate; each class causes predictable vowel changes rather than new forms.

The vav-consecutive reverses aspect: perfect + waw (וְקָטַל) in narrative usually continues a future or modal sense; imperfect + waw (וַיִּקְטֹל) continues past.

Pronominal suffixes attach to nouns (possession), prepositions (object) and verbs (direct object); identify person, gender and number before translating.

The construct state is marked by vowel reduction, not by a separate word; a noun before a genitive is construct even when its form looks absolute.

Hebrew word order is normally verb–subject–object in narrative; a fronted element (e.g. a prepositional phrase before the verb) signals emphasis or topic shift.

Vocabulary lists are organised by frequency and root; learn the root and its attested stems together, since meaning shifts across stems (שָׁלַח 'send' Qal vs Hiphil 'stretch out').

Before translating an unseen passage, scan for proper nouns, the waw-consecutive chain and repeated roots; these fix the narrative spine.

Use parallel structure in poetry to infer unknown vocabulary: if colon A and colon B are synonymous, an unknown word can be glossed from its partner.

Glosses supplied in the margin apply only to that occurrence; check whether the same root appears elsewhere in the passage with a different stem and therefore a different sense.

Distinguish narrative prose (waw-consecutive, wayyiqtol chain) from direct speech (imperatives, cohortatives, vocatives); the shift marks a change of speaker or stance.

Infer setting and relationship from kinship terms, place names and honorifics rather than from plot guesswork.

Questions on 'tone' require evidence: imperative clusters, rhetorical questions and repetition of a key word indicate urgency, rebuke or appeal.

When a passage is ambiguous, state the two possible readings and choose one with a reason drawn from grammar or context.

Do not import knowledge from a parallel version (e.g. a known translation) that the Hebrew does not support; answer from the words on the page.

Biblical Hebrew is a Canaanite dialect of the Northwest Semitic family, sharing vocabulary and grammar with Ugaritic, Phoenician and Moabite (e.g. the Mesha Stele).

The Masoretic Text was vocalised and annotated by Tiberian Masoretes (notably Ben Asher) roughly 7th–10th centuries CE; the consonantal text is far older.

The Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran, from c. 3rd century BCE) preserve Hebrew biblical manuscripts about a millennium older than the great medieval codices and show textual variants.

Key medieval codices: Aleppo Codex (c. 930 CE) and Leningrad Codex (c. 1008 CE), the base of most critical editions.

Genesis–2 Kings follows a narrative arc from creation to exile; the Deuteronomistic framing evaluates kings by fidelity to the covenant.

Prophecy collections combine oracles of judgement and restoration; the call narrative (e.g. Isaiah 6, Jeremiah 1) is a recurring literary form.

Wisdom literature (Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes) uses parallelism and aphorism rather than covenant-historical narrative.

Psalm types include lament, thanksgiving, hymn and royal psalm; form is signalled by opening address, petition, complaint and vow of praise.