North Park Theological Seminary

BIBL 6100 BIBLICAL HEBREW 1North Park T heological SeminaryFall 2018, Mondays & Wednesdays, 9:30 – 10:45 am3 credit hoursINST RUCT OR INFORMAT IONJ. Nathan Clayton, PhD, Old Testament Teaching FellowE-mail: jnclayton@northpark.eduOffice (in Nyvall Hall) and Office phone : TBACell phone: (847) 971-4544COURSE DESCRIPT IONThis course is survey of the essentials of biblical Hebrew including basic grammar concepts andthe strong verb. A special emphasis is placed on building vocabulary. Course is only gradedpass/fail.COURSE OBJECT IVESBiblical Hebrew I represents the first semester of study in your Hebrew language and exegesissequence. The main objectives of the course are:1. To begin developing your core intellectual abilities in Old Testament Hebrew: by takingup careful and serious study of the principal aspects of fundamental Biblical Hebrewgrammar—its morphology, phonology, vocabulary, and syntax.2. To begin developing your abilities in critically interacting with and evaluating exegetica land theological studies rooted in Biblical Hebrew.3. To help you grow in your ability to handle the biblical text of the Old Testament withclarity, conviction, and competence—towards the crucial tasks of teaching and preachingHoly Scripture in the church.4. To help you develop spiritually in your ability to study, hear, and meditate on the OldTestament—by bringing you closer to the original Hebrew text.Learning Hebrew well is a great adventure, a worthy challenge, and a central pillar to yourfundamental development as a teacher and preacher of Scripture. Be committed to regular, dailystudy throughout the semester and begin your lifelong journey in learning and using the languageof the Old Testament—for the glory of God, for the enrichment of your walk with Him and yourservice to Him, and for the edification of His church!REQUIRED T EXT S1. These books are required for the course:a. You will need these two books from the beginning of the course (note editions):- Pratico, Gary D., and Miles V. Van Pelt. Basics of Biblical Hebrew:Grammar, Second Edition. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007.- Pratico, Gary D., and Miles V. Van Pelt. Basics of Biblical Hebrew:Workbook, Second Edition. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007.1

b. You should have a Hebrew Bible—but you don’t need it until well after midterm:- K. Elliger & W. Rudolph, eds. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgarensia. 5th ed.Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1997. ( “BHS” [the scholarlyedition of the Hebrew Bible]; large or small hardback, or smallpaperback [cheapest] versions available).And you will need one of the following two lexicons by around midterm:- Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver and Charles A. Briggs. The Brown-DriverBriggs-Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon. Peabody, Mass.:Hendrickson, 1979. (or other versions of “BDB”, a classic, though dated,resource)or:-Holladay, W. L. A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon. GrandRapids: Eerdmans, 1988.2. These books/resources are not required, but suggested as helpful for Hebrew study:Long, Gary A. Grammatical Concepts 101 for Biblical Hebrew. Second Edition.Grand Rapids: Baker, 2013.Pratico, Gary D., and Miles V. Van Pelt. The Vocabulary Guide to BiblicalHebrew. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.Pratico, Gary D., and Miles V. Van Pelt. Old Testament Hebrew VocabularyCards. Zondervan.Pratico, Gary D., and Miles V. Van Pelt. Charts of Biblical Hebrew. GrandRapids: Zondervan, 2007.Murphy, Todd J. Pocket Dictionary for the Study of Biblical Hebrew. DownersGrove: InterVarsity Press, 2003.For some online vocabulary tools, keyed to the chapters in the Pratico/Van Peltgrammar—check these websites:memrise.com (this site includes an app version for IOS & Android—previousstudents have found this app very helpful)teknia.com/hebrewquizlet.com also has quizlets for each chapter of the grammarAlso: the IOS app BibleVocab (on the App store) is very good, and also keyed to thePratico/Van Pelt grammar2

WEEKLY ROUT INES & COURSE ASSESSME NT S1. 1 or 2 new grammar chapters introduced each week. The first 23 chapters of the grammarwill be covered in Hebrew I. That is: Sections 1-3 of the grammar will be covered thissemester (1. Hebrew Writing, 2. Nouns and Nominals, 3. Hebrew Verbs and Qal Stem)and Section 4 (Derived Stems) will be covered in Quad A of the second semester.a. Usual assignments for Mondays: read a grammar chapter, complete workbookexercises.b. Usual assignments for Wednesdays: prepare for a quiz, read a grammar chapter,complete workbook exercises—and periodically: just review a few chapters for“drills & skills” in class—see below.2. About every other week, on Mondays: a “drills & skills” class session will be held forreview, small group exercises, further oral exercises, etc.3. NOTE: you will not be required to complete every section of every workbook exercise. Iwill limit (via a further handout) what is required per workbook chapter, in class, as thesemester progresses.4. 13 quizzes: the quizzes alternate between 1 or 2 chapters of grammar & vocabulary tostudy.5. Midterm exam: on chapters 1-11, grammar & vocabulary.6. Final exam: comprehensive for the grammar & vocabulary of chs. 1-23, but with astronger focus on chapters 12-23.7. A final grade of C- or above is needed to achieve a “P” (passing grade)1Quizzes25%2Presence & 95-100C80-83A-93-94C-78-79B 91-92D 76-77B88-90D72-75B-86-87D-70-71C 84-85F0-69ADDIT IONAL COURSE GUIDELINESIt’s really important that you prioritize your various responsibilities in and out of school to beable to manage your work in Hebrew realistically.Regular attendance and full participation at every class session is fully expected in this graduatecourse. This is crucial for the faithful, responsible, and successful completion of your firstsemester of Hebrew study! Participatory attendance does count in your final grade in thislanguage course. Keep in touch with me (phone, text, e-mail, meeting, conversation before/after3

class) if you need to be absent, if you have any concerns overall, if you are struggling with anissue in the grammar, or if you just love to talk about Hebrew, the OT, and the Bible!No extra credit is given. The grading is balanced between active participation and presence,successful completion of the workbook assignments, the quizzes, and the two exams. I usuallydrop the lowest quiz grade when computing the final grade.ACADEMIC HONEST YIn keeping with our Christian heritage and commitment, North Park University is committed to thehighest possible ethical and moral standards. Just as we will constantly strive to live up to these highstandards, we expect our students to do the same. T o that end, cheating of any sort will not be tolerated.Students who are discovered cheating will receive a failing grade on the assignment and are subject todiscipline up to and including failure of a course and expulsion. Our definition of cheating includes but isnot limited to:1. Plagiarism – the use of another’s work as one’s own without giving credit to the individual. T hisincludes using materials from the internet.2. Copying another’s answers on an examination.3. Deliberately allowing another to copy one’s answers or work.4. Signing an attendance roster for another who is not present.For additional information, see the Seminary Academic Catalog, pp. 25–27.ACCOMMODAT IONSStudents with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class are encouraged tocontact their program's office (773-244-5619) as soon as possible to ensure accommodations areimplemented in a timely manner. For further information, see Seminary Catalog, p. 17 and “ DisabilityResources” provided through North Park’s Office of Student Enrichment Services and Support.T IT LE IXStudents who believe they have been harassed, discriminated against, or involved in sexual violenceshould contact the Dean of Students (773 -244-5565) or Director of Human Resources (773 -244-5599) forinformation about campus resources and support services, including confidential counseling services. Asa member of the North Park faculty, we are concerned about the well-being and development of ourstudents, and are available to discuss any concerns.Faculty are legally obligated to share information with the University’s T itle I X coordinator incertain situations to help ensure that the student’s safety and welfare is being addressed, consistent withthe requirements of the law. T hese disclosures include but are not limited to reports of sexual assault,relational/domestic violence, and stalking.Please refer to North Park’s Safe Community site for contact information and further details.4

COURSE SCHEDULEDateClass Period Topic(s)GrammarReading DueWorkbookExercise DueO therM 8/27Course Introduction & Alphabet------W 8/29Vowels1&21--M 9/3Labor Day: No ClassW 9/5Syllabification & Pronunciation32Q uiz 1: 1-2M 9/10Drills & SkillsReview 1-33--W 9/12Nouns4Review 1-3Q uiz 2: 3M 9/17Definite Article & Conjunction Waw54--W 9/19Prepositions65Q uiz 3: 4-5M 9/24Drills & SkillsReview 4-66--W 9/26Adjectives7Review 4-6Q uiz 4: 6M 10/1Pronouns87--W 10/3Pronominal Suffixes98Q uiz 5: 7-8M 10/8Drills & SkillsReview 7-99--W 10/10Construct Chain10Review 7-9Q uiz 6: 9M 10/15Numbers1110--W 10/17Drills & SkillsReview 1-1111Q uiz 7: 10-1110/19-21Fall Break: No ClassesM 10/22Midterm Exam: Grammar & Vocabulary, 1-11W 10/24Introduction to Verbs12Review 10-11--M 10/29Qal Perfect – Strong Verbs1312--W 10/31Qal Perfect – Weak Verbs1413Q uiz 8: 12-135

M 11/5Drills and SkillsReview 12-1414--DateClass Period Topic(s)GrammarReading DueWorkbookExercise DueO therW 11/7Qal Imperfect – Strong Verbs15Review 13-14Q uiz 9: 14M 11/12Qal Imperfect – Weak Verbs1615--W 11/14Waw Consecutive1716Q uiz 10: 15-16M 11/19Qal Imperative, Cohortative, and Jussive1817Q uiz 11: 1711/21-23Thanksgiving: No ClassesM 11/26Pronominal Suffixes on Verbs1918--W 11/28Qal Infinitive Construct & Absolute20 & 2119Q uiz 12: 18-19M 12/3Qal Participle2220 & 21--W 12/5Issues of Sentence Syntax2322Q uiz 13: 20-22M 12/10Drills & SkillsReview 12-2323--W-F12/12-14Final Exam: Grammar & VocabularyExact date & time T BA; comprehensive, but with focus on chs 12-23SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHYA. Biblical Hebrew: Introductory GrammarsBartelt, Andrew H., and Andrew Steinmann. Fundamental Biblical Hebrew. St. Louis:Concordia Academic, 2004.DeClaissé-Walford, Nancy L. Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Textbook. St. Louis: Chalice,2002.Dobson, John H. Learn Biblical Hebrew. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005.Ellis, Robert R. Learning to Read Biblical Hebrew: An Introductory Grammar. Waco, Tex.:Baylor University Press, 2006.Fuller, Thomas R., and Kyoungwon Choi. Invitation to Biblical Hebrew: A BeginningGrammar. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2006.6