Genesis Reading Practice Course Contents
Overview
NOTE: These Courses are only fully available to Subscribers. If you have not yet Subscribed, some of the lesson links will not be available. To take full advantage of these Courses, you therefore need to Subscribe.
Welcome to this Genesis Reading Practice Course. If your primary interest is Biblical Hebrew, completing this Course is an essential next step after completing the Hebrew/Aramaic Alphabet Course, because it will take you from the stage where you can read words individually, to the stage where you can read verses and passages reasonably confidently.
Once you know the Hebrew/Aramaic Alphabet, it takes some time before you can read competently, at a normal speed. This is the aim of this Course. As you read the Hebrew text of the first few chapters of Genesis over and over again many times, your reading speed will naturally improve, and as the days go by you will feel more confident in your ability to read Hebrew words.
Do not be tempted to skip this Course. It may take time, but by the end of this Course you will be able to read confidently, and every Course you do after that will become much easier. Besides, reading through the Hebrew text of Genesis is fun!
Stage 1 - Read the Chapters Slowly
Before you can confidently move on to look at actual Bible passages or learn vocabulary, you need to get to the stage where you can read Biblical Hebrew words and verses confidently. Even if you don't fully understand what you are reading at this stage, you need to be able to read confidently, because that opens the door to everything else.
- Below we have provided some downloads where the whole of Genesis chapters 1, 2 and 3 are being read at normal speed, and at an artificially slow speed. Follow these along in your Hebrew Bible, and get to the stage where you can read these chapters and follow along with the reading.
- Spend at least a week or two, perhaps 10-15 minutes several times per day, listening to these Genesis recordings, while you also read the Hebrew text. The goal here is simply to be able to read the text, slowly at first, until you can eventually read it at approximately normal speed, even if you do not understand it (at this stage!).
NOTE: If you do not already have a Hebrew Bible or a way to follow along, you can download a free copy of Genesis chapters 1 to 5 below.
- For Stage 1, download the above PDF of the first few chapters of Genesis in Hebrew, and follow along in the Hebrew text as you listen to the above chapters read slowly. You can stop and start the audio any time you need to, in order to follow along. At first this may be slow, but that's why you need this stage! You will get faster, I promise!
Stage 2 - Read At Normal Speed
For Stage 2, once you can follow along slowly, try to follow along at normal reading speed. As well as having the entire chapters of Genesis narrated in the download links above, you can also use the download links below, which contain Genesis chapter 1 broken down into individual verses (if you find that easier).
Practice with each verse individually, one at a time, until you feel more confident, and no longer struggle to follow along with the readings.
This will be a struggle at first, but I promise you, it will be worth it! This is the step that almost everyone leaves out when they first try to learn Hebrew, and it is the reason why hardly anyone gets past the Alphabet stage. It is because you are trying to run (understand whole passage plus grammar) before you can walk (read words confidently)!
| Title |
Type |
Author |
Date |
Size |
Tags |
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Gen1v1
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.mp3 |
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July 08, 2016
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93.88 KB |
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Download |
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Gen1v2
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.mp3 |
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July 08, 2016
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181.22 KB |
|
Download |
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Gen1v3
|
.mp3 |
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July 08, 2016
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91.02 KB |
|
Download |
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Gen1v4
|
.mp3 |
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July 08, 2016
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131.43 KB |
|
Download |
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Gen1v5
|
.mp3 |
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July 08, 2016
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170.20 KB |
|
Download |
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Gen1v6
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.mp3 |
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July 08, 2016
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144.08 KB |
|
Download |
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Gen1v7
|
.mp3 |
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July 08, 2016
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219.18 KB |
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Download |
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Gen1v8
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.mp3 |
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July 08, 2016
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126.94 KB |
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Download |
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Gen1v9
|
.mp3 |
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July 08, 2016
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187.75 KB |
|
Download |
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Gen1v10
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.mp3 |
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July 08, 2016
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162.45 KB |
|
Download |
Stage 3 - Course Completion
You complete this Course when you can read through the first few chapters of Genesis yourself (even if still somewhat slowly), and when you can follow along the narration of these chapters while you read the Hebrew text. Once you can do that, you have truly made spectacular progress, and you will be well on your way to being able to complete other Courses on this website!
For extra credits, write out Genesis chapter 1 in your own handwriting, and send it to Ewan.