Biblical Studies

See "Reference Sources" on this guide for dictionaries and lexica

See my colleagues' research guides for working in Greek and Latin

How do I find Hebrew titles in the catalog?

The UChicago catalog uses the Hebrew romanization system developed by the ALA and the Library of Congress. The catalog allows for searching with Hebrew characters but most titles are cataloged in transliteration only.

Searching WorldCat in Hebrew is the best method for locating titles held by the University of Chicago. Click the "Find It" button to see the catalog record.

Here are a few rules to help in searching:

• The definite article in Hebrew ה is separated from a word by a dash, as in הכלב ha-kelev. The same is true for the conjunction ו, as in וכלב ve-kelev.
• If the word begins with “-וה”, it is romanized as veha-, as in והכלב veha-kelev.
• Conjunctions such as ל, מ, כ, ב are almost always separated by a dash, as in לכלב la-kelev.
• Vocal schwas (shva na) are always transcribed as “e” regardless of pronunciation, as in תשובה, teshuvah.
• Semihut forms ends in “e,” as in בני ישראל, bene Yisra'el.
• Aleph and ayin may or may not be represented in romanization, as in עם 'im or im.

Windows 11

1. Search for "language settings" in the left corner search box

2. Under Language Settings, click "Add Language"

3. Search for and select the language you need and click "next." 

4. Choose the package you wish to download and click "Install"

5. Once the language is installed, you can switch between languages by selecting a language from the right corner toolbar or pressing Windows Key + SPACE

You can write Hebrew vowels using the MS Word via the Insert symbol. Position the cursor after the letter that requires a vowel. Click the Insert tab > Symbol > More Symbols... Change the Subset dropdown menu (upper right corner of box) to Hebrew. Select the vowel you need. Follow the same process for Greek diacritics.

Public PCs in the campus libraries can be set up in this way. If you are using a public PC, you may have to adjust the settings at the start of every new session.

Mac OS X Yosemite and Office 2016 for Mac are the first to support right-to-left languages. The links provided here explain how to enable this feature.

Many faculty and students in the Bible program choose to use separate software

• Pages (Version 5 or later)
• Nisus (for Hebrew on a Mac)
• Mellel (for Hebrew on a Mac)
• Davka Writer (designed for Hebrew composition on Mac or PC)
• Open Office

Most citation managers have difficulty importing non-Roman scripts. I recommend using Zotero if you are working with Hebrew.

Find It!
When searching databases, the button, when present, can be used to locate an item in the Library Catalog, to gain access to the full-text of an article, or to send an interlibrary loan order..

Proxy It!
Get access to library resources from off campus with ⇒ ProxyIt! ⇐. For Chrome, Firefox or Safari, drag the link to your bookmarks tool bar. For Internet Explorer, right-click on the link and select "Add to Favorites...".

Purchase Request
The Library welcomes suggestions for the acquisition of materials which support the University's teaching and research programs. Use this form to submit a request.  It will be routed to the appropriate subject specialist for consideration.