Typing Biblical Languages
Ready to start typing in Greek or Hebrew? You'll need to enable an appropriate keyboard layout that maps Greek or Hebrew characters to your keyboard.
Keyman
As an alternative to enabling additional hardware keyboard layouts on your computer as described below, you can instead use the Keyman web app or desktop app. The Keyman app by SIL presents an onscreen software keyboard with many different language and layout options, including ancient Greek and Hebrew. You can either point and click to type, or use it as a reminder of which keys on your keyboard to press. For occasional use, the Keyman web app may be the simplest, most straight-forward solution, and eliminates the learning curve of memorizing a different hardware keyboard layout.
Polytonic Greek (SIL) keyboard
Hebrew (SIL) keyboard
Keyboard Layouts
Get Keyboard Layouts
Greek
Mac/Windows: Both systems offer a Greek Polytonic keyboard layout that is sufficient.
Hebrew
Download and install the SBL Hebrew keyboard driver, SIL layout. The SIL layout maps Hebrew characters to their Latin phonetic equivalents on the standard English keyboard. (The Tiro layout is modeled on the modern Israeli Hebrew keyboard and will not make as much sense to English speakers.)
Enable Keyboard Layouts
Windows documentation: Manage the input and display language settings in Windows
Apple documentation: Write in another language on your Mac
SBL Biblical Fonts FAQ – Includes links to platform-specific guides for installing their fonts and enabling keyboard layouts.
Typing in Greek, Sarah Abowitz, Smith College Classics Department – A visual guide to enabling the Greek Polytonic keyboard layout on Windows and Mac. Similar steps can be used for the Hebrew layout.