Jonah Copybook

This slim workbook is designed to accompany Biblical Hebrew: A Homeschool Primer. It can be used by beginning students and more advanced students alike, though in different ways—beginners use it as a copybook, copying down the text of the book of Jonah little by little and reading it out loud, while more advanced students use the same space to make their own translation.

After the introduction, all the pages are printed upside down. This isn't a mistake, but rather reflects the fact that Hebrew is read right to left rather than left to right. The layout is simple—each word of Jonah appears in a box in Hebrew, with a blank box below it, and a box containing the literal English translation below that one.

These boxes appear in four rows on each page, and beginning students work word-by-word, writing the Hebrew word in the blank box, reading it out loud, and memorizing the English translation. A space at the bottom of each page allows students to write their own translation. More advanced students will simply cover the English translation boxes and work on translating Jonah.

Two charts at the back of the book show the Hebrew vowel points and letters respectively, including how to write them in script and block form, and how to pronounce them. These charts are to be used as reference, particularly for beginning students (more advanced students should have the alphabet memorized if they're doing translation).

Learning a language that today is primarily read rather than spoken would be pretty much worthless if you couldn't translate it. Kim McKay's The Jonah Copybook: An Interlinear Hebrew Translation Workbook is a great way to get beginners thinking in terms of translation, and a great place for more advanced students to hone their skills in a guided format.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.