Hacks I Use to Improve My Hebrew

I almost gave up on Hebrew vowels last summer. I took two semesters of Hebrew in college and two in seminary. I still didn't understand vowels and vowel changes. I just took them by faith and where possible memorized them by force. Then I went to the Greek and Hebrew for Life Conference at my alma mater last year, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

I went to a breakout session by Dr. T.J. Betts where he explained in 30 minutes what I had never learned about the vowel system and why words change the way that they do. I had taken Hebrew at Southern from a teacher using a different method than Dr. Betts and Dr. Adam Howell use. I also picked up a new Hebrew grammar by Howell (Dr. Betts' student) and have been working through it. 

There are so many language learning apps that promise to help you learn a language (even biblical language apps). I've tried a bunch of them. Here are some hacks better than any app that I'm using to help as I work on my Hebrew (and Greek a little bit).

First hack: I use the recorder app on my phone to record my own vocabulary lists. I don't know why this had never occurred to me before. In my 1980's edition of How to Learn Any Language, Barry Farber recommends using cassette recorders to make the exact vocab lists that you need to learn your language. I realized that I could do it even better with my Android phone, but there would be something fun about using a cassette recorder. 

I've been going through frequency lists in Hebrew and a Greek, and now I have the exact lists that I need. I also learn while making the recording. Each list takes about 4 minutes. I read the word in English, pause, and then repeat the word in Hebrew or Greek 3 times. The pause helps me turn it into a quiz for myself.

I listen to these when I might otherwise listen to podcasts. Today, I listened to two lists while I was donating blood.

Second hack: I have been memorizing Scripture in Hebrew and Greek. I use notecards with my prayer journal to help me practice. I often go to the verse in an audio Hebrew Bible (https://haktuvim.co.il/en/study/) so I can hear someone read it aloud. I usually slow the voice down to .75x so I can understand it more clearly. 

I choose verses that I can use as prayers such as 1 Cor. 1:3 and Exodus 34:6-7 or verses that are meaningful to me like Isaiah 31:10. When I took my kids to see the David movie a few months ago, I realized that Samuel prays Psalm 106:1 in Hebrew. That was a verse that I had memorized in Hebrew.

Third, I use stories and other memory tricks to help me memorize lists and vocabulary. I spent months in 2025 trying to memorize the pronominal ending in Hebrews by brute force. I practiced it every morning. I struggled so much and got nowhere.

Barry Farber recommends turning those difficult charts and lists into stories. Now, I can learn most lists in two attempts with this trick. I've learned the classes of vowels, basic qatal endings, absolute and construct noun endings, etc. with so much less effort.

If you try any of these ideas, let me know. 

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