DESCRIPTION: This is the first half of a two-quarter introduction to biblical
Hebrew; the second half of the course will be offered in the Spring quarter.
Students enrolling in the Winter quarter are expected to complete their study
in the Spring quarter with the same instructor. No transferring between
sections is permitted. The course will seek to develop the mastery of
elementary Hebrew grammar and vocabulary through translation of exercises from
Van Pelt's Basics of Biblical Hebrew, as well as provide an introduction
to the use of reference material for the reading and translation of Hebrew.
COURSE OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES: The students will (1) memorize basic
vocabulary for prose readings of the Hebrew Bible; (2) understand and recognize
the different grammatical categories present in Hebrew: nouns, adjectives,
adverbs, prepositions, verbs, and verbal forms; (3) learn to read aloud
biblical sections of the Hebrew Bible according to the Sephardite tradition;
(4) translate Hebrew texts and interact with reference books and
commentaries for biblical exegesis; (5) understand a basic introduction to
exegesis of Old Testament texts.
RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: The study of biblical Hebrew will help students to
better handle the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). Almost two-thirds of the
Scriptures were written in Hebrew. Learning this language will open a window
into the culture and history of the biblical text, enabling us to deal with
Scripture more correctly. In this introductory course the students will lay the
linguistic foundations for future exegetical courses.
COURSE FORMAT: This course will meet twice a week for two-hour sessions. We
will introduce two new lessons from the textbook in each class by means of
class presentations. Each lesson will be followed by selected exercises, which
will be examples for students' homework.
REQUIRED READING: