Dr. Walt highly recommends the ancient language learning resources shown below.
If you are a beginner student, these are the best resources to begin your journey.
If you are an intermediate or advanced-level student taking classes with another grammar, you can switch resources, but you don’t have to. Dr. Walt can still answer your Biblical Hebrew, Akkadian, and Middle Egyptian questions and provide supplementary materials to boost your progress.
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Biblical Hebrew Resources
Dr. Walt recommends the Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar and the corresponding Basics of Biblical Hebrew Workbook by Gary D. Pratico and Miles V. Van Pelt. Published by Zondervan in 2019, the most recent third edition is recommended due to significant updates.
The hardcover Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar retails for $59.99. The paperback Basics of Biblical Hebrew Workbook retails for $24.99. However, you can often pick both up on Amazon for around $50. You can read more about this leading textbook and workbook for universities and seminaries, including numerous reviews on Amazon, using the following links: Basics Grammar and Basics Workbook.
Akkadian Resources
Dr. Walt recommends A Grammar of Akkadian and the corresponding Key To A Grammar of Akkadian by John Huehnergard. Students may use either the second or third editions, as the updates in the third edition are minor.
Second-edition hardcover copies of A Grammar of Akkadian and Key can be challenging to find. Consequently, if you find a used copy at a reasonable price, we recommend snatching it up. Likewise, students can sometimes find inexpensive (or even free) digital copies of the second and third editions through local libraries or other online sites, so that may also be worth a search.
Otherwise, the third edition can always be purchased through Brill. The softcover and digital Grammar are around $80 each, and the softcover or digital Key averages $40 each.
Egyptian Hieroglyph Resoures
Dr. Walt recommends Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs by James P. Allen. Published by Cambridge University Press, the updated third edition was published in 2014 and is the edition used in Dr. Walt’s Middle Egyptian classes. This is not the textbook that Dr. Walt learned to read and write Middle Egyptian with. Yet, after a careful side-by-side comparison, Dr. Walt switched to Allen’s Middle Egyptian due to its concise, well-laid-out explanations and exercises.
The softcover Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs retails for $66.99. However, you can often pick up a new copy on Amazon for around $55. You can read more about this leading university textbook, including numerous reviews on Amazon, using the following link: Middle Egyptian Grammar.
