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Supplement to J. Seixas’ Hebrew Grammar

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Supplement to J. Seixas’ Hebrew Grammar

Source Note

Supplement to J. Seixas’ Manual Hebrew Grammar, for the Kirtland, Ohio, Theological Institution, New York: “Printed by West & Trow, for J. Smith, Jun., S. Rigdon, O. Cowdery,” 1836; two preliminary leaves, [5]–32 pp.; includes typeset signature marks. The copy used for transcription is held at CHL. Includes archival marking.

Historical Introduction

In January 1836, JS and other members in , Ohio, began a formal study of Hebrew under the tutelage of Hebraist . For a textbook, the Hebrew school used Seixas’s Manual Hebrew Grammar for the Use of Beginners, a 120-page book arranged into lessons with examples and student exercises. It was designed “to give an easy and rapid insight into the general formation of the language.” Because there were more students in the Kirtland class than available grammar books, Seixas arranged simplified lessons, which then gathered together into a 32-page pamphlet. This Supplement to J. Seixas’ Manual Hebrew Grammar, reproduced here, also included the Hebrew text of the first part of Genesis.
In addition, this supplement was used to create worksheets for students. Presumably printed in , these worksheets reproduced the text from the supplement with blank spaces left for students to fill in the Hebrew characters and words. A full set of these worksheets belonging to is included on this website. Lyman also made additional notes on the back of the final sheet.
The Joseph Smith Papers website also includes a single completed worksheet that apparently belonged to JS. This worksheet was folded and placed into JS’s Hebrew Bible. The sheet was signed by JS but also appears to have been used by . Three handwritten English words on the worksheet (two instances of “from” and one instance of “not”) are in Cowdery’s handwriting. It is difficult to determine who inscribed the Hebrew characters. The ink flow of the English words seems consistent with the surrounding Hebrew characters, so it is likely that at least some of the Hebrew characters are in Cowdery’s handwriting.

Footnotes

  1. For more information about the Hebrew School in Kirtland and Joshua Seixas, see Historical Introduction to Letter to Henrietta Raphael Seixas, between 6 and 13 Feb. 1836; Historical Introduction to Certificate from Joshua Seixas, 30 Mar. 1836; JS, Journal, 3 and 20–21 Nov. 1835; 4–6, 8, 14, 18–20, and 26–30 Jan. 1836; 1–5, 8–13, 15–17, 19–20, 22–27, and 29 Feb. 1836; 1–5, 7–11, 14–19, 21–25, and 28–29 Mar. 1836; and Grey, “Joseph Smith’s Study of Hebrew,” 262–272.

    Grey, Matthew J. “‘The Word of the Lord in the Original’: Joseph Smith’s Study of Hebrew in Kirtland.” In Approaching Antiquity: Joseph Smith and the Ancient World, edited by Lincoln H. Blumell, Matthew J. Grey, and Andrew H. Hedges, 249–302. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2015.

  2. Seixas, Hebrew Grammar, iii.

    Seixas, Joshua. Manual Hebrew Grammar for the Use of Beginners. 2nd ed., enl. and impr. Andover, MA: Gould and Newman, 1834.

  3. Seixas, Supplement to J. Seixas’ Manual Hebrew Grammar, [7].

    Seixas, Joshua. Supplement to J. Seixas’ Manual Hebrew Grammar, for the Kirtland, Ohio, Theological Institution. New York: West and Trow, 1836.

  4. Hebrew Grammar Worksheets, 1836, Amasa Lyman Copy.

  5. Hebrew Grammar Worksheets, 1836, JS Copy.

  6. Grey, “Joseph Smith’s Study of Hebrew,” 295n110.

    Grey, Matthew J. “‘The Word of the Lord in the Original’: Joseph Smith’s Study of Hebrew in Kirtland.” In Approaching Antiquity: Joseph Smith and the Ancient World, edited by Lincoln H. Blumell, Matthew J. Grey, and Andrew H. Hedges, 249–302. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2015.

HEBREW ALPHABET.
 
names of the letters and vowels.
א (auleph) not heard in reading; if it have a vowel, sound the vowel; as אָ au, אִ e, אֹ o, אוּ oo, etc.
בּ b baith
ג g geemel
דּ d dauleth
ה h ha
ו v vauv
ז z zayin
ח kh khaith
ט t tait
Final letters י y yode
ךְ כּ k kaf
ל l laumed
ם מ m maim
ן נ n noon
ס s saumekh
ע gn gnayn
ף פּ p pa
פ f fa
ץ צ ts tsauda
ק k kofe
ר r raish
שׁ sh sheen
שׂ s seen
תּ t tauv
 
Vowels.
Long.
ָ Kaumets au in cause.
ֵ Tsaree a in ale.
וֹ or ֹ– Kholem o in bone.
וּ Shoorek oo in boot.
ִי– Kheerek ee in meet.
Short.
ַ Pattakh a in father.
ֶ Segole e in met.
ָ Kaumets (short) o in note.
ֻ Kibboots u in full.
ִ Kheerek (short) i in bit.
 
Composite Shevau.
Very Short Vowels.
By means of these two dots ( ְ ), called Simple Shevau (see § 7), three composite Shevaus are made; viz.
ֲ Shevau Pattakh a in hat.
ֱ " [Shevau] Segole e in met.
ֳ " [Shevau] Kaumets o in not.
Note, Shevau, when sounded, is a very short e; as פְּנֵי pena, or p’na. See § 7. [p. [5]]
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Document Information

Related Case Documents
Editorial Title
Supplement to J. Seixas’ Hebrew Grammar
ID #
18194
Total Pages
32
Print Volume Location
Handwriting on This Page
  • Printed text

Footnotes

  1. TEXT: The printer incorrectly placed the dot for the o vowel before the auleph (right side) instead of after.

  2. TEXT: “§ 7” refers to a longer discussion of Shevau in Joshua Seixas’s Manual Hebrew Grammar for the Use of Beginners; that section is not reproduced in this supplement.

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