Fall 2004/Pasadena
LG502A
Adams

LG502A: BEGINNING HEBREW. Jim W. Adams.

DESCRIPTION:

: This course composes the first half of a two-quarter introduction to biblical Hebrew, with the second half of the course offered the next quarter. Students enrolling in this course are also expected to enroll in LG502B the following quarter with the same instructor (transferring between sections is not permitted). The goal of the combined quarters aims at the student becoming skilled in the basics of the phonology, morphology, and syntax of biblical Hebrew. The development of this skill will center on following the instructional arrangement of Pratico/Van Pelt's Basics of Biblical Hebrew grammar and workbook.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY:

: The study of biblical Hebrew provides the student with one of the essential and indispensable ways for her to become skilled at handling the word of God (2 Tim 3:15). Following the example of the great scribe Ezra (7:6-10), the student who sets his heart to acquire the fundamentals of biblical Hebrew will be able to study the Old Testament in its original language and thereby gain a clearer understanding of its message and demands for today (Neh 8:5-8).

COURSE FORMAT:

: The class meets twice weekly for two-hour sessions. Class time will consist of lecture, reading and translating from the Hebrew Bible, translation exercises, and daily quizzes. Attendance is of paramount importance for successfully completing this course and towards acquiring the skill of reading biblical Hebrew. Students should expect to spend at least two hours of outside preparation/homework for every hour of class time.

REQUIRED READING:

: Brown, F.; S. R. Driver; and C. A. Briggs. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, with an appendix, containing the Biblical Aramaic. Hendrickson, 1996 [original date, 1906].; Elliger, K. and W. Rudolph. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. 5th ed. Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1997.; Joüon, Paul and Takamitsu Muraoka. A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew. 2 vols. Subsidia Biblica 14. Translated and revised by T. Muraoka. Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblio, 1996.; Pratico, Gary Davis and Miles Van Pelt. Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar. Zondervan, 2001.; __________. Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar: Workbook. Zondervan, 2001.

: See the Biblical Division bibliography "Linguistic and Exegetical Books Required in the Master of Divinity Program" available in the SOT Academic Advising office.