Many of you may be familiar with this resource, but I know some people are still unaware of it, so I am posting about it again (and will add it to my Hebrew Resources page). Charles Grebe, (Briercrest Seminary, Saskatchewan, Canada) has created an “animated” comic of the book of Jonah. The book of Jonah is often taught in first year Biblical Hebrew classes, so this is an especially relevant resource.
Here’s his own description:
Every word of the Hebrew text is included in this Jonah comic in multiple scripts (square, cursive, paleo-Hebrew) and multiple forms (consonantal, pointed, cantillated). You can also listen to my slow, deliberate read of the Hebrew text, and pause or repeat at any time. At the bottom of the screen you’ll find ancient and modern translations that you can compare with the Hebrew text (Aramaic, Syriac, Greek, Latin, German, French, and 3 English translations). This comic is a great way to learn or practice your biblical Hebrew. It will help you develop an ear for the language and wean your dependence on pointed texts. For an extra challenge, use the ‘no text’ option to try memorizing the whole book. 🙂
You’ll need to install Shockwave in order to play the Jonah Comic. You can also download a zipped file of the pages (color or b/w) to make a comic or coloring book of your own.
His website animatedhebrew.com offers quite a few other helpful resources: an aleph-bet song, flashcards, and audio lectures for Introducing Biblical Hebrew by Allen D. Ross, and additional audio files.
Charles, I’d love to see you do some other texts–perhaps Ruth?
It would be great to make a Ruth comic, but the first thing I would need (aside from a chunk of time to dedicate to the project) would be a digital version of the artwork for a Ruth comic. Philip Williams let me use his Jonah comic (http://www.staircasestudio.com/jonah/index.html) which fit the bill nicely, but I suspect a Ruth comic would pretty much have to be custom made. At least I haven’t found one yet that would be detailed enough to use.
Charles
Hi Charles. Thanks for the link to Philip’s website–I like his new Elijah comic book (it’s in English folks)! If I come across an illustrator looking for a project, I will send them your way.
Karyn
I didn’t see the pointed color version – when I dowloaded it I only had blank, Hebrew (unpointed) and paleo. Where’s the pointed version?
Thanks,
Cathy Beckerleg
The pointed version is really one of the translation options. You don’t get the pointed text in the comic “balloons,” instead, you see it at the bottom of the page. You can choose to view the pointed vowels only, or the pointed vowels and cantillation.