Contents

1. Course Description
2. Course Objectives
3. Required Texts
4. Supplementary Texts
5. Course Evaluation
6. Course Outline & Schedule of Readings
7. Bibliography

Course Description

A more detailed study of Hebrew grammar and syntax through the reading of selected portions of the Hebrew Old Testament. Prerequisite: HEBR 201. Exclusion: HEBR 102.

Course Objectives

The basic goal of this course is to become proficient in the rudiments of Biblical Hebrew. The course and its textbook are designed for two semesters of study, and it is presumed that students will take the course for the entire year. In the first semester students will learn everything from the alphabet to the basics of Hebrew nouns and verbs. In the second semester the focus will turn to less regular paradigms and more complicated syntax. The steady acquisition of vocabulary will be emphasized across both semesters.

Language learning is work, but it can also be fun and gratifying. To aid in the enjoyment, we will sing songs together, memorize and recite passages of scripture, and assist one another in a variety of ways as we undertake the necessary drills and repetitions.

Required Texts

The following texts will be used in both HEBR 201 and 202:

• Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Paperback/Student ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1997. [ISBN: 3438052229]

• Bonnie Pedrotti Kittel, Victoria Hoffer, and Rebecca Abts Wright, Biblical Hebrew, Second Ed [SET]. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004). [ISBN 978–0300101034]

  The set has three parts, all of which are required.

  1. Biblical Hebrew, 2nd Ed.: Text and Workbook – Abbrev.: BH

  2. Biblical Hebrew, 2nd Ed.: Supplement for Enhanced Comprehension – Abbrev.: Sup

  3. Biblical Hebrew, 2nd Ed.: 3-CD Audio Program – Abbrev.: CD

Before the second semester you will also need to acquire the Hebrew-English dictionary widely referred to as the BDB. Though a little dated, it is economical and still worth learning how to use. Our other texts, too, will refer to it.

• F. Brown, S. Driver, C. Briggs, Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson, 2004; repr. of Boston: Houghton and Mifflin, 1906).

Supplementary Texts

There are many fine Hebrew grammars and resources. Below are some of the ones to which I may refer, or which I judge to be especially helpful to beginning students.

• Guides

  • Van Pelt, Miles, English Grammar to Ace Biblical Hebrew (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010). Call no.: PE 1130 .H5 V35 2010
  • Scott, W. R., and H. P. Rüger, A Simplified Guide to BHS: Critical Apparatus, Masora, Accents, Unusual Letters & Other Markings (3rd ed.; N. Richland Hills, TX: BIBAL, 1995). Call no. (1987 ed.): Ref BS 715 1984

• Grammars

  • Pratico, Gary and Miles Van Pelt, Basics of Biblical Hebrew (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001). Call no.: PJ 4567 .3 .P73 2001
  • Seow, C. L., A Grammar for Biblical Hebrew (Nashville: Abingdon, 1995). Call no.: PJ 4567 .S424 1995
  • Weingreen, J., A Practical Grammar for Classical Hebrew (Oxford: Clarendon, 1959). Call no.: PJ 4567 .W4 1939
  • Martin, J. D., Davidson’s Introductory Hebrew Grammar (27th edition; Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1993). This is the grammar I was assigned in St Andrews, Scotland. Our library has copies of some older editions of Davidson, including the 26th. Call no.: PJ 4567 .D3 1966
  • Gesenius, Wilhelm, E. Kautsch and A. E. Cowley, Hebrew Grammar (Oxford: Clarendon, 1910). GKC remains the gold standard of Hebrew reference grammars in English, even though Cowley’s translation – of the 28th german edition – is now over 100 years old. Call no.: Ref PJ 4567 .G46 1910

• Lexicons

  • Einspahr, Bruce, Index to Brown, Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (Chicago: Moody, 1976). Call no.: Ref PJ 4833 .B6 E35 1976
  • Köhler, Ludwig, and Walter Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: Brill, 1994–2000). Call no.: Ref PJ 4833 .K61813
  • Clines, David J. A., ed., The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993–2011). Call no.: Ref PJ 4833 .D53

Course Evaluation

1. We will follow the design of the main Biblical Hebrew Text and Workbook, which lists parallel written and audio exercises in Sup and on the CDs. Students are expected to complete all BH exercises, to do most of Sup in addition, and to listen to the relevant parts of the CDs many times over. You just have to put in the time to master the material. Decide to make a new habit of Hebrew in the first month, and keep it up.
   • Periodically I might check your workbooks for completeness, but your success is in your hands.
   • This year we are fortunate to have a TA. Among other things he will host tutorial sessions once a week, from 5:00 to 6:00 on Wednesdays (Room 1001). This is a place to review, get extra guidance, and cover the additional exercises such as the ones in the Supplement for Enhanced Comprehension.
   • Attendance is not mandatory but being at at least 10 sessions automatically earns you 10% of the final grade. If you cannot or do not wish to attend the sessions, you can make up the participation component by submitting written translations of the first ten sentences of each week’s translation exercises from BH.

2. About once a week, usually on Thursdays, I will distribute short quizzes. These will mostly come from the assigned vocab and the first ten translation exercises in BH. Think of it as an incentive to keep current with flash cards and to work through every lesson in full.

3. A midterm exam will be given in class on 1 March 2012.

4. At some point in the semester you will need to schedule office hours to recite Psalm 1. You can substitute another set of six contiguous verses if you want. In this case, when it comes time to recite your passage please present me with a clean copy of it from the BHS.

5. Because we are pushing for more fluency in reading Biblical Hebrew, at the middle and end of the semester you need to submit your translation and translation notes for the assigned passages. Note the “Glosses to the Readings” in that being on page 249 of BH.

6. The final exam will be held during exam week, 11–18 April 2012, as scheduled by the Registrar.

7. The semester’s work will be weighted as follows, though the instructor reserves the right to adjust the balance as necessary:

My attendance policy follows the one set forth in the Academic Calendar (cf. “Classroom Expectations and Guidelines”). Missing more two weeks of class (two sessions of a once-per-week course, or four sessions of a twice-per-week course) results in an automatic reduction of the final grade by one letter. Missing more than four weeks of class results in an automatic F for the course. Students are permitted up to two weeks’ absences for any reason. If you simply miss a class or two, you do not need to email me to tell me about why. Should you find yourself in extenuating circumstances, be prepared to document your case formally for the Academic Standards Committee.

Finally, students are responsible to keep a backup print copy of all assignments.

Course Outline & Schedule of Readings

Please note that this is a tentative schedule. The instructor reserves the right to adjust it as necessary.

Bibliography

In addition to the many print resources for Biblical Hebrew (browse PJ 4564–PJ4567 in the library), here are three web resources worth exploring. The first two have quite a few links to still more online helps.

1. Codex (esp. the Kittel Resources page): http://biblical-studies.ca/hebrew/kittel.html. Tyler Williams at The King’s University College in Edmonton, Alberta, uses the same Biblical Hebrew text we do, and he has developed a companion webpage. Note the vocabulary flashcard database, terminology help, and annotated guide to other language tools.

2. The Hebrew 2 Hub: http://blakleycreative.com/jtb/Hebrew2Hub.htm. The focus of this site by J. Ted Blakely (a friend of mine from St Andrews) is more for the second semester, but there are some verb charts and audio files that will be useful early on as well. Also be sure to take a look at the carpets (the name for the pages beautifully decorated in Hebrew script) from the Leningrad Codex.

3. BH Answer Key: http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/pdf/BiblicalHebrewKey.pdf. I hardly need to tell you that the answer key won’t help you if you don’t try the questions on your own first, but you should download or print this file and use of it appropriately.