For any pastors or others who have gone to seminary, taken Hebrew, but forgotten most of it: this is for you.
I’m in the category of those who took Hebrew and have forgotten almost everything they learned. Learning Hebrew was truly a miserable experience (though not nearly as bad as writing the book!). Most days we would have “board time,” which meant going to various rooms in the building to do Hebrew drills on the white board. One day, I started walking to the room where my white board was…and just kept right on walking back to my apartment because the drills seemed so futile!
BUT, I do think it is very important to be familiar with the original languages (and, I like Greek much better than Hebrew). For those who, like me, want to do what they can to stay connected with the original language of most of the OT, the ESV Hebrew-English Old Testament is a great way to do it. You have the English on one page, which you can actually understand; and then the Hebrew on the other page, where you can make out what you can with the help of the English and, as you do this, recover some of the things you had learned and slowly grow just a bit.
More significantly, of course, for those who do still remember their Hebrew and can read it straight, a Hebrew-English Bible is the best resource of all, and this is the one I would recommend.
Here’s the summary from Crossway’s website:
Using the standard Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS) text, the Hebrew-English Old Testamentdisplays the ESV Old Testament alongside the original Hebrew. On each spread, one page shows the English rendering of a passage while the other shows the Hebrew, enabling readers to work through either language undistracted and uninterrupted. A durable hardcover and Smyth-sewn binding ensure this volume will last for many years. Anyone learning or proficient in Hebrew will find this a resource for everyday reading and study, as well as a comparison tool to see how the ESV translates Old Testament passages.