Follow Us on Twitter!
Find us on Facebook and watch us on YouTube!
Biblical Hebrew Made Easy!
  • Home
  • Preview
  • Order TODAY!
  • Videos
  • Blog
  • About Us | Contact

Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary: How Much is Enough? The Law of Diminishing Returns

12/13/2012

7 Comments

 
Picture
Hebrew Words — Why Vocabulary is Important
When it comes to learning a language, mastery of vocabulary, obviously, is necessary. The joy of reading a language is killed when you have to look up every word in the text.  I believe this is why so many students simply give up or grind through Hebrew just to pass so they never have to look at the language again.

When I interviewed Rev. Dr. Walter Maier III, Professor of Hebrew at Concordia Theological Seminary,  he stated that vocabulary is essential for learning Hebrew.  It is the foundational building block of learning Hebrew. Of course I agree. Interestingly he also stated that Hebrew grammar will fall into place once a certain level of mastery is gained over the vocabulary of Biblical Hebrew. What was not discussed in our interview was how many vocabulary words in Hebrew should the student have mastery over.

The Law of Diminishing Returns and 8,679 Words
The law of Diminishing Return states, "The tendency for a continuing application of effort or skill toward a particular project or goal to decline in effectiveness after a certain level of result has been achieved." and this is true for learning Biblical Hebrew vocabulary as well.

There are 419, 687 words in the Hebrew Old Testament text. Of those 419,687 words 8,679 are unique that compose the total usage of 419,687 words total. So the question is: How many of the 8,679 words do I need to have absolute mastery over to have competency in Biblical Hebrew? 

Of course "competency" is subjective, but if you wanted to recognize nearly 90% of all word occurrences in the Hebrew text the answer would be: 22% of the 8,679 words — that means you would need to know a mere 1,903 Hebrew vocabulary words. That is not an unrealistic amount of vocabulary to master in a year or less with dedication. But for some, this will seem daunting or not worth the investment of time and effort. If this is you, keep reading for the good news...

80% Recognition — Less is More
Keep the "Law of Diminishing Returns" in mind. The more Hebrew vocabulary you learn, the better. But at some point the returns diminish after a certain number of vocabulary words are memorized.

In my opinion, that magic number is: 641.

That is FAR less than 1,903, isn't it? In fact, that number seems entirely possible ot memorize. And guess what? With mastery of a mere 641 Hebrew words you will have OVER 80% recognition of Hebrew vocabulary in the Old Testament text! After learning 641 of the highest frequency the "law of diminishing" returns kicks in. That is good news for Hebrew students.


Start Learning Hebrew Vocabulary FAST
With Biblical Hebrew: The Complete System you will quickly learn over 500 high frequency words. In addition you will learn how to conquer the Hebrew paradigms using ancient memory techniques modified for today's student.

Visit us at Biblical Hebrew Made Easy! to learn more, or visit Blair Kasfeldt's webpage Boost Your Memory.

Blessings to you as you learn Biblical Hebrew!

YES! I want to Learn Biblical Hebrew FAST!
No Thanks! I don't want to Learn Biblical Hebrew!
7 Comments
jeudy guzman link
9/14/2018 09:29:24 pm

in the last paragraph in the first sentence you have 'to' as 'ot'

Reply
Mike Hunt
1/10/2022 10:15:53 am

Sexual intercourse with men lol

Reply
jeudy guzman link
9/14/2018 09:32:08 pm

i mean in '80% Recognition — Less is More' in the last paragraph in the first sentence you have 'to' as 'ot'

Reply
Billy
3/11/2021 05:05:43 pm

haha sexual lol

Reply
James Schroe
1/11/2022 07:47:04 am

Thanks for this article. It really encourages the beginning student that even just a bit of vocabulary study in a language can go a long way.

I did notice that there was a grammatical error near the top of the article. Where it says, “Of course I agree”, it appears to be missing the word “fucking”. So then it should be read, “Of course I fucking agree”. It’s a minor grammatical error that most readers wont catch, but just wanted to make note of that for you.

Reply
Jacob Peters
12/26/2022 10:03:09 pm

don't worry, that father figure will appear soon. in the form of a judge and prison warden.

Reply
Dill Doe
1/13/2022 01:42:46 pm

I am a young, mid 20s transsexual male to female who is looking for men to fuck. I haven’t had transition surgery yet in the lower areas, so please understand that. I am looking for someone who is into the most vile and disgusting acts of lovemaking. Here’s a list of what I’m into:

- Mutual masturbation using old semen or feces as lubrication
- Footjob after stepping in feces
- Bagpiping with unshaven hair
- Farting after ejaculating inside anus for a semen volcano
- Fellatio with excessive gagging and vomit
- Frottage while laying in a pool of urine
- Docking with unwashed foreskin

If anyone’s interested, please reply to this comment. I look forward to seeing your responses!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Blair Kasfeldt

    Author of the "Biblical Hebrew Made Easy!" Series.

    Archives

    October 2013
    September 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.