Houston Graduate School of Theology BH 551 Elementary Biblical Hebrew Fall 2016, Monday 6:00-8:30 pm Chuck Pitts, PhD, Adjunct Professor of Old Testament cpitts@hgst.edu or chuckpittsphd@gmail.com (713) 703-7625 Houston Graduate School of Theology equips women and men to be ministers and messengers of God s mission of reconciliation through academic excellence, personal transformation, and leadership development I. Course Description The fundamental elements of Hebrew Grammar are studied with attention to the alphabet and writing system, basic vocabulary and syntax, and special attention to the strong verb in its main conjugation. (The second semester continuation of the course is BH 552 Intermediate Biblical Hebrew.) II. Student Learning Outcomes Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to: A. Translate simple texts from the Hebrew Bible with assistance from a lexicon and assistance with weak verb forms through textbook exercises (MDiv-6; MTS-4); B. Identify and translate basic vocabulary words through textbook study and quizzes (MDiv- 6; MTS-4); C. Identify and translate the roots or stems of Hebrew words, thus displaying recognition of the changes in and additions to the roots found in various forms through textbook study, quizzes, and exercises (MDiv-6; MTS-4); and D. Correctly translate selected sentences and sentence fragments, thereby demonstrating understanding of the syntactic use of the various elements of Hebrew grammar through textbook exercises (MDiv-6; MTS-4). III. Textbooks Required Textbooks: DeClaissé-Walford, Nancy L. Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Textbook. Rev. ed. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2002. ISBN 9780827202313, $39.99. Recommended Texts: (Each of these resources will help the student. A Lexicon will be required for the second semester of Hebrew Grammar.) Van Pelt, Miles V. Old Testament Hebrew Vocabulary Cards (ZONDERVAN VOCABULARY BUILDER SERIES). Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004. ISBN 031025986X. $17.95. This resource would aid the student in learning vocabulary. Ellinger, K, and W. Rudolph, ed. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS). Fifth Rev. Ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelstiftung Stuttgart, 1969, 1977, 1997. ISBN 3-438-05222-9, $29.95. (The student may choose to purchase the larger version of BHS, but it is more expensive, 978-3438052193. This text will be required for the second semester.) 1
2 Brown, Francis, C. Briggs, S. Driver. The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1996. (This is the standard Hebrew- English lexicon. This will be required in the second semester.) IV. Course Requirements A. Attendance and class participation based on weekly assignments (see policies below). B. Readings and weekly assignments from declaisse-walford as assigned in the schedule below. The student will find an answer key for most assignments at the Chalice Press website (http://www.chalicepress.com/biblical-hebrew-p8.aspx). The answer key should only be used after completion of the assignments from the grammar. The students should make corrections based upon the answer keys in a different color ink, or in some other identifiable way. NOTE: Using the answer keys to complete the assigned exercises for daily work is cheating. If the instructor believes that a student is not doing the work, but is using the answer key to provide the answers, he will discuss the matter with the student, and remedial action will be taken as warranted. The student s work should be apparent. If an incorrect answer is given, the student should correct the answer using the key, including searching to understand why the question was answered incorrectly. Daily work is the key to learning Hebrew. The student must work daily on the material. Falling behind can, and usually will, be fatal to the learning process! C. Weekly Quizzes These will be given at each class meeting during the semester. The lowest quiz grade of the semester will be dropped when computing the final average. All missed quizzes must be made up within two weeks of an absence, unless the student chooses to drop the grade from the missed quiz. Vocabulary quiz assignments are found in each chapter of the grammar. Other quiz assignments are found in the schedule in this syllabus. Selected quizzes will be collected into the portfolio of student work for the purpose of ongoing curricular assessment. D. Workload Expectations 135 total hours Class time 45 hours Reading 20 hours Exercises 42 hours (14 exercises, 3 hours each, plus Thanksgiving extra work) Quizzes 28 hours (14 quizzes, 2 hours per quiz) V. Course Schedule (Unless otherwise noted, the student will complete all exercises for each chapter and be prepared for a quiz on vocabulary words.) Aug. 15 Class Introduction Aug. 22 Chapter 1 QUIZ: Write alphabet; write each vowel with a consonant. Aug. 29 Chapter 2 QUIZ: List begad kepat and guttural letters; define dagesh lene and forte
3 Sept. 5 No Class Labor Day Sept. 12 Chapter 3 QUIZ: Vocabulary; Write forms of article Sept. 19 Chapter 4 שׁ נ ה דּ ב ר ע ם QUIZ: Vocabulary; Write absolute and construct forms of Sept. 26 Chapter 5 QUIZ: Vocabulary; Write personal pronouns Oct. 3 Chapter 6 QUIZ: Vocabulary including prepositions on p. 50 EXERCISES: Include the examples on pp. 54-55 Oct. 10 Chapter 7 QUIZ: Vocabulary including cardinal numbers 1-10 Oct. 17 Chapter 8 ק ט ל QUIZ: Vocabulary; Reproduce Perfect and Imperfect of Oct. 24 Chapter 9 QUIZ: Vocabulary; List meanings of the stems Oct. 31 Chapter 10 QUIZ: Vocabulary; List normal word order for Hebrew sentences EXERCISES: 1-10, see below for additional exercise Nov. 7 Chapter 11 QUIZ: Vocabulary; reproduce msa of ק ט ל in all stems. Nov. 14 Chapter 12 Complete exercises QUIZ: Vocabulary; reproduce 2ms of ק ט ל in all stems. Nov. 21 HOLIDAY Thanksgiving Complete additional exercise for Chapter 10. Nov. 28 Chapter 13 QUIZ: Vocabulary for ch. 12 and 13; reproduce infinitives in all stems Dec. 2 Chapter 14 work due for graduates (Quiz will be waived for graduates) Dec. 5 Chapter 14 QUIZ: Vocabulary, including interrogative pronouns; reproduce column one on p. 223 (both charts)
4 VI. Grading System Final grades will be calculating according to the following system. Participation/Attendance 5% Daily Assignments 50% (averaged) Quizzes 45% (averaged) The following grading system will be used for this class. A = 95-100% C+ = 85 D- = 70 A- = 94 C = 79-84 F = 69 and below B+ = 93 C- = 78 B = 87-92 D+ = 77 B- = 86 D = 71-76 VII. Policies A. Regular attendance and submission of assignments on due dates in syllabus is expected. Each student must talk to the instructor about circumstances affecting his or her ability to attend class and complete assignments. Attendance is required at scheduled classes and at the scheduled start time. Each absence after the first will cause a one percent reduction in the class participation grade. More than four absences will result in failure of the course. Excessive tardies will also impact the student s grade. B. Work is expected on the due date. Quiz grades will be reduced one letter grade each week the quiz is late. The final exam will be penalized one letter grade if not turned in on the last day of the course. C. Turnitin.com 1. All written assignments are subject to required submission to www.turnitin.com to check for originality and style. The assignments that are required for submission will be described in the syllabus. 2. Students will create an account at www.turnitin.com. After doing so, the student will join the course page with the code and password supplied by the instructor. A list of assignments and due dates will be available on the course page. 3. Students will submit assignments by the due date and time and may be required to submit the assignments in a hard copy format. D. Electronic Equipment Usage in Classrooms It is expected that students will use technology (cell phones, laptop computers, ipads, etc.) during classes only for the purposes of class work. Therefore, students should turn off cell phones and refrain from texting and using laptop computers during classes except for the purposes of taking notes or doing research specifically authorized by the course instructor. Students who have emergency needs not covered by this policy must ask for an exception from the course instructor. E. Please review the Academic Catalog for requirements regarding Incompletes and Plagiarism issues. For more information on Library Services, please download the Library Handbook from the HGST website.
5 Bibliography Grammars Anderson, F. I., and Dean Forbes. Biblical Hebrew Grammar Visualized. American Oriental Society, 2012. Brettler, Marc Zvi. Biblical Hebrew for Students of Modern Israeli Hebrew. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2002. Cowley, A. E., and E. Kautzsch (eds.). Gesenius Hebrew Grammar. 2d Eng. edition. Oxford, 1910. Traditionally the best of the reference grammars. Later editions are available. Declaisse-Walford, Nancy L. Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Textbook. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2002. Fuller, Russell T., and Kyoungwon Choi. Invitation to Biblical Hebrew DVDs. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2006. Garrett, Duane. A Modern Grammar for Biblical Hebrew. Nashville: Broadman Holman, 2002. Jouon, Paul. A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew. Translated and revised by T. Muraoka. Rome: Editrice Pontificio Instituto Biblico, 1991. Kelley, Page. Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar. Eerdmans, 1992. Continues and updates the Weingreen approach to learning Hebrew. Kittle, Bonnie, Vicki Hoffer, and Rebecca Abts Wright. Biblical Hebrew: A Text and Workbook. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1989. Lambdin, Thomas O. Introduction to Biblical Hebrew. New York: Charles Scribner s Sons, 1971. Pratico, Gary D., and Miles V. Van Pelt. Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001. Putman, Frederic. A New Grammar of Biblical Hebrew. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2010. Ross, Allen. Introducing Biblical Hebrew. Grand Rapids: Baker/Revell, 2001. Seow, C. L. A Grammar for Biblical Hebrew. Revised edition. Abingdon, 1995. Continues and updates the Lambdin approach to learning Hebrew.
6 Van der Merwe, C. H. J. A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar. New York: Continuum, 1999. Webster, Brian. The Cambridge Introduction to Biblical Hebrew. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009. Weingreen, J. A Practical Grammar for Classical Hebrew. 2d ed. Oxford: Clarendon, 1959. Editions of the Hebrew Bible Biblia Hebraica Quinta. This is the most recent and complete edition of the critical Hebrew Bible. It is being published in fascicles. Brown, Philip, and Bryan Smith. A Reader's Hebrew Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008. Hebrew Bible with lexical helps. Brown, Philip, Bryan Smith, Richard Goodrich, and Albert Lukaszewski. A Reader's Hebrew and Greek Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010. Elliger, K., and W. Rudolph, eds. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS). Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1983. This is the standard critical text of the Hebrew Bible. Goshen-Gottstein, Moshe, ed. Hebrew University Bible. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1965-. Kelley, Page. The Masorah of Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia: Introduction and Annotated Glossary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998. This type of work is helpful for understanding the Masoretic notes in the Hebrew text. Kittel, R. Biblia Hebraica, 3rd ed. Stuttgart: Privileg Wurtt Bibelanstalt, 1937. Lexicons Brown, F., S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs. Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Hendrickson, 1979. The best of the older lexicons, still considered the standard Hebrew lexicon in English. Often abbreviated BDB. Clines, David J. A. (ed.). The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew. 8 vols. Sheffield Academic Press, 1993-. Four volumes have appeared. Designed for a contextual and usage approach to understanding the meaning of words. Davidson, Benjamin. The Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1981. Every word in the Hebrew Bible is parsed alphabetically. Einspahr, Bruce. Index to Brown, Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon. Chicago: Moody Press, 1976. This text assists the reader to overcome some of the difficulties of BDB, particularly ascertaining the root of difficult forms.
7 Holladay, W. L. A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971. Useful, quick reference, especially for newer students of Hebrew. Kohler, L., and W. Baumgartner et al. (eds.). The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. 3rd ed. 2 vols. Brill, 2002. A translation of the most complete Hebrew German lexicon. This resource is the most complete Biblical Hebrew lexicon available. Syntax and Advanced Helps Arnold, Bill T., and John H. Choi. A Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Even-Shoshan, E. A New Concordance of the Old Testament Using the Hebrew and Aramaic Text. 2nd edition. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1989. The best concordance for the Hebrew text of the Old Testament. Lisowsky, Gerhard. Konkordanz zum hebraischen Alten Testament. Stuttgart: Wurttembergische Bibelanstalt, 1958. Waltke, B. K., and M. O Connor. An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1990. An integration of modern linguistic approaches. Williams, Ronald J. Williams Hebrew Syntax. Third edition. Rev. by John Beckman. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007. Textual Criticism Brotzman, E. Old Testament Textual Criticism: A Practical Introduction. Baker, 1994. Good Evangelical introduction for the beginner. Special guides for using BHS. Klein, Ralph W. Textual Criticism of the Old Testament: From the Septuagint to Qumran. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1974. Excellent brief introduction to the topic out of print. McCarter, P. Kyle. Textual Criticism: Recovering the Text of the Hebrew Bible. In Guides to Biblical Scholarship, ed. Gene M. Tucker. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1986, 2001. Tov, Emmanuel. The Text-Critical Use of the Septuagint in Biblical Research. Revised edition. Jerusalem Biblical Studies volume 8. Jerusalem: Simor, 1997.. Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible. Third Edition. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2011. The best introduction to the subject. Wegner, Paul D. Textual Criticism of the Bible. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2004. Würthwein, Ernst, and Alexander Achilles Fischer. The Text of the Old Testament: An Introduction to the Biblia Hebraica. Third revised edition. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2014. Classic discussion of the Hebrew texts and the versions.