Malachi

What's the use of studying a foreign language, especially one that's no longer spoken, if you can't translate it on paper? That's not a question you have to worry about when using Kim McKay's Biblical Hebrew products, because reading and translating Hebrew is the end goal of the courses offered from Alef Press.

Malachi: An Interlinear Hebrew Translation Workbook is designed to give beginners "a foothold in grammar, syntax, idiom and translation," and to allow advanced students to practice their newly acquired skills by actually translating the entire book. The book is consumable and can be completed at the student's own pace.

The layout is self-explanatory. Each word of the book of Malachi appears in a box; below that box is a blank one for students to write in; finally, a box below that provides the English translation. These boxes appear in rows on each page, and beginning students work on one word at a time, while advanced students work with whole rows.

Beginning students read the Hebrew word aloud, copy it in the blank box, and memorize the English translation. A space at the bottom of each page allows students to write their own translation when and if they can. Advanced students who have studied grammar should simply cover the English translation and work on translating the book of Malachi from start to finish.

Malachi presents more of a challenge than The Jonah Copybook, and is best used by students with some grounding in grammar. If you're using Biblical Hebrew: A Homeschool Primer, use Malachi after completing it or midway through Biblical Hebrew 2; once students have completed that, they should be able to translate directly from the Hebrew Bible. This worktext can be used as a supplement to another Hebrew program as well.

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.