In the Beginning
A Short History of the Hebrew Language
Dr. Joel M. Hoffman

Now available in paberpack! About the book: The entire history of Hebrew in one extraordinary volume: Accessible Informative Authoritative Fascinating Easy to read and packed with scholarly insights, In the Beginning is essential reading for anyone interested in Hebrew, history, language, or the Bible: In his monumental work, master raconteur Dr. Joel M. Hoffman follows and decodes the marvelous adventure that is the history of Hebrew. He starts with ancient writing and the invention of the alphabet itself, including why the Hebrews used their vowel letters (Y, H, and W) to create the four-letter name of God. He shows how the written Hebrew record has survived, along the way explaining the significance of the Dead Sea Scrolls and ancient translations, and analyzing clues about how the words of the Hebrew Bible actually sounded. Hoffman places 3,000 years of fascinating developments into historical context, and describes their continuing impact on the modern world. About the author: Dr. Joel M. Hoffman is a much-sought-after lecturer and visiting scholar who has presented on popular and scholarly topics in North and South America, Europe, and Israel. Dr. Hoffman has served on the faculties of Brandeis University and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City, where he currently teaches advanced Hebrew and translation classes. He has lectured at such popular gatherings as CAJE and Limmud. He is the head translator for Jewish Lights Publishing's multivolume prayerbook and commentary series, My People's Prayerbook, (Jewish Lights Publishing) and author of In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language He lives in the New York City area.

A "tour de force" (The Jewish Press) "Hoffman has a flair for explaining how languages work." (Times Literary Supplement) "Reads like an adventure novel." (Ridgefield Press) "A fascinating account of the evolution of Hebrew as a language. Those interested in language are in for a delightful surprise." (Record-Review) "Strikes the right balance between thoroughness and accessibility...." (Jewish Book World) "Joel Hoffman is equal parts sleuth, archaeologist, linguist, historian, and above all those, master raconteur.... On virtually every page, we are delighted by at least one surprising fact, amazing theory, or delicious metaphor." (Rabbi Larry Kushner) "A wonderful contribution.... This book really brings the study of Hebrew into the twenty-first century. Those interested in language and students of Hebrew at all levels will benefit from its insights." (Dr. Marc Brettler)

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