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Rating: 
Summary: A must for proper interpretation of the Hebrew Bible
Review: A very informative book describing, with clarity and detail, the mind of the Hebrews who wrote the Bible. As you read this book you quickly discover that the authors of the Bible do not think like we do. The Biblical text comes alive as you begin to understand the philosophy of the ancient Hebrews and how they perceived life, the world and God. If you read the Bible from our Modern Western view, your interpretation will be a Modern Western interpretation. But, if you can understand the mind of the Ancient Hebrews and read it from their perspective your interpretation will be very different and closer to what the author intended. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is seriously looking to understand the Tenach/Old Testament.
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Summary: To understand the Bible, you really need this book
Review: Boman writes from a narrow religious perspective. Caution should be exercised in following his views as he seems to suggest close parallels in Hebrew and Greek thought that other scholars would not support. He seems to say Hebrew thought is "dynamic" and Greek thought is "static" which is simplistic in the extreme.
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Summary: To understand the Bible, you really need this book
Review: Many people who think they are students of the Word content themselves with vernacular translations and/or Strong's Meanings for the OT and NT original languages. Big mistake. Get this book to find out why you have to really delve into the original languages to see why God chose those languages for His Infallible Word. I honestly can't praise this book enough. Wish I had the money to buy thousands of copies of it!
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Summary: Not recommended.
Review: Note: The arguments in this book are rejected by most. Please take that into consideration.
It is a shame that this argument is still being made today, given that it was disproven by James Barr in 1961! (cf. "The Semantics of Biblical Language")
The book by Barr is excellent. If you can get your hands on a copy, do so. It is mildly technical, but one will be able to understand the concepts without a knowledge of biblical languages.
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Summary: A very applicable work, excellently done.
Review: The author does an outstanding job of bringing to light many common misperceptions that can arise when interpreting the work of one culture from the framework of another. His insights are very applicable and add significant depth and understanding to ancient Hebrew literature. This is an essential book for anyone seeking to understand the context and meaning of ancient Hebrew works.
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Summary: Read James Barr's Semantics of Biblical Language
Review: This book assumes the peculiarity of the Hebrew language to make a theological point. Unfortunately, the author does not make a systematic analysis of either Hebrew or Greek. The arguments of the book were completely demolished by James Barr (Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford University) in his book, The Semantics of Biblical Language. While I would urge everyone to study Hebrew (and Greek) because it will open up new insights into the Scriptures, this facile treatment of Hebrew is not really worthwhile.
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