Journal: Journal of Ministry and Theology
Volume: JMAT 25:2 (Fall 2021)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Anonymous

JMAT 25:2 (Fall 2021) p. 144

Book Reviews

Advances in the Study of Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic: New Insights for Reading the Old Testament. By Benjamin J. Noonan. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2020. 336 pp. Softcover $26.77.

Benjamin Noonan is an emerging scholar in the field of OT Hebrew studies. He teaches Hebrew and Old Testament courses at Columbia International University (SC), having received his training from Wheaton College (B.S., M.A.) and Hebrew Union College (M.Phil., Ph.D.). At Hebrew Union, he studied under the able guidance of leading Semiticist Stephen A. Kaufman of the Comparative Philology mold who is a leading contributor to the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project. Noonan has also worked closely with Hélène Dallaire, Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages at Denver Seminary, who penned the foreword for this book. Noonan is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society (he serves on the Pentateuch Program Unit Steering Committee), Institute for Biblical Research, Society of Biblical Literature, and National Association of Hebrew Professors. He has previously published two other works via Eisenbrauns, a scholarly branch of Pennsylvania State University Press that specializes in Ancient Near East studies, biblical studies, and archaeology, Assyriology, linguistics, and related fields. This resume more than qualifies Noonan to write his latest work, titled Advances in the Study of Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic: New Insights for Reading the Old Testament. Though also academic in nature, Advances marks Noonan’s first foray into mainstream publication and provides a much-needed survey of current, noteworthy developments, questions, and trends in biblical Hebrew and Aramaic scholarship. Endorsements by reputable scholars like Robert Chisholm, Jr., Peter Gentry, and Miles Van Pelt authenticate its value, and it serves as the complementary volume to Advances in the Study of Greek by Constantine Campbell with a foreword by D. A. Carson (2015).

In the front matter, Noonan’s concise introduction explains the purpose and rationale for the book, including his desired outcomes. He then presents 10 informative chapters that average 21 pages in length and address the following topics:

JMAT 25:2 (Fall 2021) p. 145

• Linguistics and linguistic theories
• History of biblical Hebrew and Aramaic studies
• Lexicology and lexicography (the study of word meaning and the formation of dictionaries)
• Verbal stems
• Tense, aspect, and mood
• Discourse analysis
• Word order
• Register, dialect, style-shifting, and code-switching
• Dating biblical Hebrew and Aramaic texts
• Teaching and learning Hebrew and Aramaic

Though he gives each subject t...