Bible Reader (Hebrew, Greek, French, & English)

Welcome to the Bible Reader.

The History

This is an update of a Hebrew Audio Reader that I made back in 2004 to help beginning students listen to the Hebrew Bible. [Truth be told, I was and continue to be the primary student, but you get to listen too!]

Listening is a particularly neglected aspect of language learning in many Biblical Hebrew courses. Unfortunately natural speed recordings of the Hebrew Bible are usually too fast for most of us, which is why I made this tool.

The primary function of the Hebrew Reader was/is to allow you to step through the audio in small chunks. You can advance phrase by phrase or verse by verse. You can also pause at any time.

The audio recording isn't slowed down (which is probably a good thing - better to listen to a language spoken naturally), but this Reader allows you to easily pause and repeat a phrase to let the mind catch up with what the ear has just heard.

I also added keyboard shortcuts to make the process even easier and to allow you to keep your eyes on a Bible text rather than on the Reader buttons.

The New Version

The New Version is a total rewrite using new technology (HTML5). I added multiple languages, Biblical text, an English 'cheat sheet', and a hide text option.

HTML5

This means no plugins needed and it should run on any modern browser.

It should also run on phones and tablets.

More Languages

There are Hebrew, Greek and French Readers for most chapters.

Many chapters have two Hebrew readers and two French readers.

Biblical Text

The Biblical text is included for each language so you can easily follow along without having to open a book.

I've phrased the Hebrew text to try and make the syntax and discourse structure more apparent.

Each language recording also has the other language texts available for quick comparison, which can be used as another learning strategy.

There is a hide text option for when you really want to train your ear.

English Text

An English translation is included in every Reader.

This is not meant to function as an interlinear, but as a quick check. It's more effective to try and learn Hebrew words from the context of the verse itself, rather than by constantly referring to an interlinear, which can actually stunt your learning.

Work in Progress

This is a work in progress. If you have particular chapters you'd like me to prioritize, let me know and I'll see what I can do.