DESCRIPTION: This course provides an introduction to the grammar and syntax of
Biblical Hebrew. The mastery of the basics of Hebrew will form a foundation on
which to build and develop skills which can be applied to study in a Hebrew
exegetical class, to further exploration of Semitic languages, or to growth in
personal Bible study.
COURSE OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will (1) read aloud in the
language; (2) generally identify the varied nouns and pronouns of the
language; (3) generally parse the "regular" verb forms in the language; (4)
generally recognize the "irregular" verb forms in the language;
(5) understand enough grammar to read a basic narrative text in the
language; (6) generally identify subjects, adjectives, direct and indirect
objects, prepositional phrases, and adverbs when reading a text; (7) use a
lexicon to amplify their understanding of words and to find unknown words; (8)
use a reference grammar to investigate grammatical and syntactical issues they
do not understand; (9) understand the challenges, purposes, and value of
learning this language.
RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Anyone who has taught from the Bible will be aware
that different versions of the Bible often give radically different
translations for the same verse and that consulting commentaries can sometimes
increase the confusion. A knowledge of Hebrew can equip a person to make
intelligent choices among the array of options presented by commentators and
translators.
COURSE FORMAT: The class will meet twice weekly for four-hour sessions. The
course will be based on the material in the required texts for the class.
Classes will consist of lecture, reading from the Hebrew Bible, translation
exercises, and daily quizzes. Because of the structure of this class,
attendance at every class session is extremely important.
REQUIRED READING: