A Dutch Grammar of Biblical Hebrew: J.P. Lettinga’s Grammatica van het Bijbels Hebreeuws and Its Revisions

Abstract

In 1936 J. Nat published a Dutch grammar of Biblical Hebrew entitled Hebreeuwsche grammatica. This book would prove to have a long and successful history. The third edition, published in 1945, was edited and updated by J.J. Koopmans. As of the sixth edition from 1962, the book appeared under the authorship of J.P. Lettinga. Whole generations of Dutch, Flemish and South-African hebraists were raised with this solid standard work, that offered not only a thorough and systematic overview of the phonology, morphology and syntax of Biblical Hebrew, but also aimed to introduce students to the historical development of the language. The present contribution, written by the editors of the twelfth edition (2012) describes the vicissitudes of this famous book against the background of the development of Hebrew studies, both in the Netherlands and elsewhere.