FINALLY, A BOOK FOR THOSE WHO THINK THEY CAN NEVER LEARN HEBREW!

 

Written in very simple English, this book is also useful for youth groups. You may pre-order before January 1, 2020. The deadline is set so as to reduce administrative work for us. If more than 10 copies, you get a special offer price of RM20 (regular price: around RM26) and delivery will be arranged. Please add RM10 for the cost of postage or delivery. Help us to sell the book within your circle of friends. We will let you know the retail price once it has been firmed up. Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to a next book project.

The idea of this book on Hebrew was conceived in the early months when I was still learning Hebrew.
     
You may not believe this but that was what I told Rev Aaron Decker who conducted a one-day workshop on Biblical Hebrew.

I had earlier suggested to him that we should write a book together to help beginners to kickstart the journey. The co-authorship did not happen, but he was happy to write a Foreword for me.

The first draft of this book was completed in around August or September. It was checked by a long-time friend of mine, Bro Yeoh Oon Chuan.

I added new things as I learnt them, knowing that beginners in Hebrew will be able to benefit from this book. It took some time for the book to be checked through to ensure accuracy. Thank God, the  book is now almost completed and waiting to be printed once the ISBN is issued! We are still trusting God for the funds (or, at least the pre-orders) to help with the cost of printing.

Challenges

We faced a lot of challenges even when the layout was being done by the designer. For example, I had all the Hebrew words in Accordance font; but, when the text was copied onto the Indesign software, the fonts changed. Some letters were not recognisable and appeared only as boxes.

The designer had to change the font of the words one by one. When I did the first round of proofreading, I found some words were all jumbled up. One by one, we had to correct them.

To make sure that the book will help beginners to learn Hebrew so that they do not give up midway, I had to rewrite a lot of the text to make the book more interesting and easy to read.

The decision to choose between digital or offset printing had to be made as well. Digital printing is too expensive although the quantity is more manageable, but it will mean that the price of the book may be too high. Of course, everything works on volume but for a book like this, I cannot expect to sell more than 500 books a year!

Thankfully, I have one brother-in-Christ who agreed to subsidize partially the book so that the cost can be lower. Bro Ang gave me some copies of his book to sell, and proceeds from the sale of the books also contribute to the cost of production. Many were willing to buy the books, and some just gave out of the generosity of their hearts. Several others also agreed to pay in advance for their book orders. This has helped me defray part of the costs in producing the book.

Blurbs 

When I sent my first draft to several people including seminary heads and my church pastor, I am delighted to receive their words of commendation:

“I have taught Hebrew for many years, but this book brings you the basics that you need to even begin somewhere." -     Rev Dr Philip Siew, Principal, Seminari Theoloji Malaysia

“Here in this book, the author has meticulously laid out step by step how we can master this biblical language.” -     Dr Chew Weng Chee, Senior Pastor, SIB Kuala Lumpur

“I have no reservations to recommend this book to every Christian who wants to understand the rudiments of the language of the Old Testament.” -     Rev. Ron Hee, Principal, Tung Ling Seminary

“The work the author has put into this text, and the creativity that can be found on every page, reveals the considerable skill he has developed with Hebrew in an extremely short period of time.” -     Rev. Aaron Decker, Visiting Lecturer in Old Testament, Seminari Theoloji Malaysia

My Plans Ahead 

Godwilling, with this book designed for beginners, I will be able to promote the learning of Biblical Hebrew from 2020 onwards.

I have generated a powerpoint which I have made available free to people who want to learn Hebrew, but it is nothing like attending a half-day or one-day workshop which I am willing to conduct.

Perhaps, I can package the workshops along with this book so that people who attend the workshops can get a copy of this book at RM20 a copy. If interested, please email LearnHebrew5780@gmail.com

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