Lesson 6 — People, Roles, and Calling

Hebrew 700 ranks 61–72 · sound contrasts · existence · Exodus 3:10
Tap any Hebrew text to hear it · Hebrew only · recommended time: 40–50 minutes

Today’s outcomes

Learn twelve more high-frequency items, distinguish similar-looking words by vowel and context, compare two kinds of negation, expand vocabulary for people and roles, and read God’s commission to Moses in Exodus 3:10.

1. Retrieval warm-up

Test before listening. These earlier words form useful contrasts with today’s vocabulary.

Prediction: How might Hebrew distinguish “name” from “there,” and “people” from “with”? Listen carefully in the contrast section.

2. New Hebrew 700 vocabulary — ranks 61–72

Listen, echo, cover, and recall. Produce the Hebrew from English before moving to the next card.

3. Minimal sound contrasts

שֵׁם · שָׁם

shem = name
sham = there

עַם · עִם

am = people
im = with

Tap each word separately for its recording.

אִישׁ · אִשָּׁה

ish = man/person
ishah = woman

Retrieval rule: Do not rely on consonant shape alone. Hear the vowel, retrieve the meaning, and place the word in a mental phrase.

4. לֹא and אַיִן

לֹא
not

Usually negates a statement or action.

אַיִן
there is not / there are not

Expresses absence or nonexistence and can take attached pronoun forms.

לֹא · אַיִן

Think: לֹא answers “Did it happen?”; אַיִן often answers “Does it exist or is it present?” This is a beginner’s guide, not a complete syntax rule.

5. People, roles, and life

עֶבֶד
servant / slave

Social status depends on context; avoid flattening every occurrence into one modern category.

כֹּהֵן
priest

A cultic or priestly office.

מֹשֶׁה
Moses

The central human figure in the Exodus and wilderness narratives.

נֶפֶשׁ
life / person / living being / self

It does not always mean a separable “soul.” Translate according to the whole phrase.

עֶבֶד · כֹּהֵן

6. Number and addition

אֶחָד
one, masculine

Reviewed from Lesson 5.

שְׁנַיִם
two, masculine

Hebrew number forms must be learned with gender and syntactic behavior.

גַּם
also / even / too

Adds or emphasizes another participant, action, or idea.

7. Torah reading ladder — Exodus 3:10

God commissions Moses to confront Pharaoh and bring Israel out of Egypt. Notice the root ש־ל־ח inside וְאֶשְׁלָחֲךָ.

1 וְעַתָּה לְכָה
və'atah ləkhah
And now, go
2 וְאֶשְׁלָחֲךָ אֶל־פַּרְעֹה
və'eshlachakha el-Par'oh
and I will send you to Pharaoh
3 וְהוֹצֵא אֶת־עַמִּי
vəhōtze et-ami
and bring out My people
4 בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרָיִם
vənei-Yisrael miMitzrayim
the children of Israel from Egypt

Build and complete

וְעַתָּה לְכָה וְאֶשְׁלָחֲךָ אֶל־פַּרְעֹה
וְעַתָּה לְכָה וְאֶשְׁלָחֲךָ אֶל־פַּרְעֹה וְהוֹצֵא אֶת־עַמִּי בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרָיִם׃

“And now, go, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and bring out My people, the children of Israel, from Egypt.”

8. Form discovery

שָׁלַח → וְאֶשְׁלָחֲךָ

The root ש־ל־ח remains visible. The form adds “and + I will + you.”

עַם → עַמִּי

The ending ־ִי means “my”: עַמִּי, “My people.”

בֵּן → בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל

The noun changes in the construct plural: “sons/children of Israel.”

9. Guided comprehension

  1. Who is being sent in the narrative context?
  2. To whom is he sent?
  3. Which new root means “send”?
  4. What does the suffix in עַמִּי add?
  5. From where are the children of Israel to be brought out?
1. מֹשֶׁה · 2. פַּרְעֹה · 3. ש־ל־ח · 4. “my” · 5. מִצְרָיִם, Egypt.

10. Active recall and production

  1. Complete 15–20 quiz questions.
  2. Say “name/there” and “people/with” as contrasts.
  3. Explain לֹא versus אַיִן in simple terms.
  4. Read Exodus 3:10 in four phrases and then continuously.
  5. Retrieve at least 10/12 new words and 8/12 from English.
Review: after 10 minutes, then 1, 3, 7, 14, and 30 days. Mix ranks 1–72 in delayed review.