From the announcement by the editor to the Nerdy Biblical Language Majors group on Facepost:
I heartily endorse and recommend this project by my good friend and colleague Pierre Maignial. This is a useful extension to his Biblia Mirecurensia materials. For some years now, he has worked to promote the reading of the Bible in the original languages in a more interactive and communicative manner. To that end, he produced an edition of the Hebrew Tanakh with an unpointed text, with topical or thematic headings and divisions to accompany the traditional chapter divisions. He then produced a set of audio recordings from a vocalized text to accompany this edition. He also has produced similar editions for the Septuagint and Greek New Testament.I am pleased to announce that the audio recordings of the entire Delitzsch Hebrew New Testament are now available online at
https://biblia-mirecurensia.com
The translation of the New Testament into Hebrew from the Greek by F. Delitzsch at the end of the 19th century is an interesting tool for self-learning or teaching. Many of those who study Hebrew are dedicated readers of the New Testament in English. As such, they have already internalised the NT texts, which makes it much easier to read entire passages of them in Hebrew. This means that, with the same level of difficulty as texts of Genesis for example, extensive reading/listening will be easier in the Gospels. So - even if it may seem counter-intuitive - the NT in Hebrew is a useful training ground for the acquisition of OT Hebrew.
In addition to this advantage of familiarity with the NT, there is also the fact that these texts are intrinsically easy to read/listen to: the Johannine writings, in particular, with their somewhat minimalist vocabulary and uncomplicated grammar, allow a gratifying approach to biblical Hebrew.
Furthermore reading/listening to the New Testament in Hebrew is an excellent way to taste the Semitic flavour of many of its texts, particularly in the gospels, the letter to the Hebrews and Revelation.
Download for free and enjoy! Feedback welcome
Besides the sound reasons Pierre has outlined above, there are some others i would note for using his editions of the Delitzsch New Testament. First, he has formatted the text with an unvocalized text, which can be used with his audio. Also, he uses thematic headings and divisions to help analyze and follow the flow of thought. Second, the vocabulary is very similar to Biblical Hebrew, and so very easy to get used to, particularly in the Gospels. In fact, many key terms are identical. Third, he has improved on the original version by consulting and using better manuscript readings where there are important textual variants in the Greek original. Delitzsch did his work in the late 1800s, when the work of Westcott and Hort and the discovery of the Codex Sinaiticus had changed the field. He wanted to take advantage of the superior Greek texts, but his publisher did not allow him to use them. So he used the traditional but inferior Textus Receptus instead.
I have read the text of the first two chapters of Matthew in Pierre’s edition while listening to the audio, and also listened to the audio by itself of the first 13 chapters of Matthew. The layout and fonts make the text easy to follow in both formats. And, his narration is easy to follow and in a conversational style. His pronunciation is excellent, using the Israeli accent.
I hope you will check them out. They will really be a useful and enjoyable adjunct to your Biblical Hebrew learning. Both the text edition and the audio are completely free to download and use.