DESCRIPTION: This is the second half of a two-quarter introduction to biblical Hebrew. Students enrolling in this course must have completed LG502A the previous quarter with the same instructor. No transferring between sections is permitted. The aim is to achieve, in two quarters, a command of the basic vocabulary, grammar, syntax and sounds of Hebrew. The course will be structured according to the Pratico/Van Pelt grammar and workbook and will combine deductive and inductive approaches to language acquisition.

COURSE OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of the second quarter the student will have the general proficiency in Hebrew to (1) have mastered the writing system sufficiently to be able to read aloud; (2) have a command of the most frequently occurring vocabulary items; (3) parse "regular" verb forms; (4) recognize the "irregular" verb forms of the language; (5) understand the grammar sufficiently to read narratives; (6) use lexicons and reference grammars to investigate grammatical and syntactical issues; (7) understand the exegetical, aesthetic, and devotional value of learning biblical Hebrew.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Hebrew literacy brings one closer to the social, cultural and theological world of the Old Testament, and, for that matter, of the New Testament. But the ministerial and leadership value of Biblical Hebrew is found not only in the exegetical tools it sharpens but also in the devotional habits it nourishes, such as those habits described of the blessed person in Psalm 1.

COURSE FORMAT: The class will meet for two-hour sessions twice a week. Class time regularly will be spent reading aloud, translating, covering the textbook's grammatical points, and taking quizzes on previous material. Occasionally cultural, historical, and theological topics relevant to the Hebrew of the assigned passages will be treated as time permits.

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. Trans. T. Muraoka. Rome: Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblio, 1996. (or comparable reference grammar)

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.

Feyerabend, Karl. Langenscheidt's Pocket Hebrew Dictionary to the Old Testament: Hebrew-English. Langenscheidt Pocket Dictionaries. Berlin: Langenscheidt, 1990.

Scott, William R. A Simplified Guide to BHS: Critical Apparatus, Masora, Accents, Unusual Letters & Other Markings. 3d ed. N. Richland Hills, TX: BIBAL Press, 1995.

Waltke, Bruce K. and Michael Patrick O'Connor. An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax. 7th, corrected ed. Winona Lake, Ind.: Eisenbrauns, 1999.

Williams, Ronald James. Hebrew Syntax : An Outline. 2d ed. Toronto: Buffalo, 1988.