This book is addressed to the beginner, not the scholar. It is a non-technical introduction, non-technical in the sense that when words or terms in the biblical Hebrew are used, they are invariably explained, and an introduction in the sense that it assumes little or no previous knowledge on the part of the reader. Yet I have tried not to write down, nor to set before the reader, a mere array of superficialities. Perhaps the aim of the book might be put in this way: to acquaint the reader who goes on to become a biblical scholar in the fullest technical sense with basic material that he will not have to unlearn. - Preface.