Originally written as a textbook for university students, A. Sáenz-Badillos's Historia de la lengua hebrea turned out to be the most comprehensive extant history of Hebrew. The need for such a book has been felt not only among students and scholars but also among readers who, although not Hebraists, are, nonetheless, interested in the cultural history of the Jewish people. The translation of the book into English should, therefore, be welcomed – a wider circle of readers will now have access to the abundant mines of information it has to offer.

No history of the Hebrew language can be complete, not only because of the total length of the periods it has to cover – over 3,000 years – but also, and mainly, because the available sources do not provide all the data necessary for a continuous description. In tracing the history of Hebrew since its inception as a Canaanite dialect to present-day idiom, the author has exhaustively investigated the results of research carried out on the major chapters of this history. The rich bibliography the book includes – an asset in itself – bears evidence of the studies used in its preparation. It should be added that the author has made a point of presenting the conflicting views on a number of important topics. Thus the book is also, to a considerable extent, a history of the scholarly study of Hebrew.