This course is the first course of a year-long sequence designed to give students the ability to read and interpret biblical Hebrew. Such ability is essential for students who wish to understand the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. The fall and winter quarters of this course are devoted to giving the student the ability to read Hebrew at a basic level, while learning to appreciate the distinctive cultural concerns and ways of expressing these concerns in biblical prose and poetry. These quarters will include a survey of Hebrew grammar and the development of a basic Hebrew vocabulary. The spring quarter will primarily be devoted to the reading and exegesis of Hebrew texts and will further develop the student’s vocabulary, and the student’s ability to read, interpret and understand Hebrew grammar.
Required Texts:
Hackett, Jo Ann. A Basic Introduction to Biblical Hebrew . Har/Cdr Bl edition. Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson Publishers, 2010.
Brown, Driver, and Briggs. The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Hendrickson.
Other Texts that will become necessary in Winter and Spring quarters:
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS). Edited by Gerhard Weil, 1977.
Recommended Texts:
Waltke, Bruce K., and M. O’Connor. An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax . Winona Lake, Ind: Eisenbrauns, 1990.
Benjamin, Don C., and Victor H. Matthews. Social World of Ancient Israel: 1250-587 BCE . Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2005.
King, Philip J., and Lawrence E. Stager. Life in Biblical Israel . 1 edition. Louisville, Ky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002.
Weekly Rhythm
Learning a language requires regular engagement. The in-class model for Hebrew that Iliff has used in the past involved being in-class four days a week. We have the benefit of not having to face rush hour traffic every afternoon, but establishing a rhythm of regular engagement will be crucial to our moving through the material, and for your improvement in understanding and reading Hebrew.
I have designed our weekly rhythm based partly on that past precedent and partly on Justin Barber’s Greek course which he taught this past year, and which a number of you participated in, I understand. So there will be two cycles of engagement each week. A chapter and/or exercises due by Tuesday/Wednesday and a second set on Friday nt/Saturday morning. I will also be offering google hangout sessions as a venue to interact around questions, go over exercises, and read Hebrew together.
The following is what you can expect:
The first set of assignments due by the google hangout time, either Tuesday nt. or Wednesday morning.
The second set each week due by a Friday nt or Sat morning google hangout.
We will touch base on the google hangout schedule, as I want it to be accessible for as many as possible, recognizing that it may not work for all given the limits of scheduling.
For each chapter:
Getting ready for the start of the Quarter:
On Monday of the first week of the quarter I would like you to post a short (3 minute or so) video introducing yourself. Tell us the following:
Who are you?
What makes you tick?
What is your vocation and what are your vocation goals?
Where do you live?
Why Hebrew? What are you excited about, or have trepidation about?
In the meantime, I encourage you to start learning, getting familiar, and practice writing out the alphabet. I have posted a video where I go over the alphabet and offer an alphabet song that has always helped me, and which may be a helpful memory device for you.
I look forward to our year learning Hebrew together. See you in a month!
This year-long sequence will endeavor to do the following:
Students should possess the following competencies when they complete this year-long sequence:
Requirements
We will work through the first 18 chapters of Hackett’s grammar by covering approximately two chapters per week. The early six chapters are primarily introducing the alphabet and vowel system, which we will work through in the first couple weeks. The chapters are not generally long, and you would do well to review them a second time after you read through them once.
Each chapter has a reasonable number of practice exercises. I encourage you to complete them. I am not ultimately concerned if you do not complete every one as long as you complete enough to be comfortable with the concepts and paradigms and this becomes evident in your ability to either read and translate in a short video, or read together in a google hangout (see below about this requirement).
I am not expecting perfection, but am looking for evidence of progress, in your translations! I am looking for evidence that you are able to pronounce words and identify vocabulary and are improving in your ability to recognize and analyze forms. Again, not concerned with perfection, but with progress and an increasing facility with being able to analyze and translate what you are reading.
Our work each week will be punctuated by two times per week when I expect your chapter and exercise work will be completed. These will be due essentially at the time of our two google hangouts. The scheduling of these hangouts will depend somewhat on your availability. The first, however, will be approximately Tues or Wed, the Second likely early on Saturday morning (7am Denver time).
I recognize that participation in the google hangout will depend on schedules and other things going on in life. The hangout will give us the opportunity to go over the exercises, to respond to your questions or points of confusions, and as the quarter progresses to read short passages together. This reading will allow us to combine some inductive learning as we encounter forms and concepts not yet covered, as well as reinforce the concepts and paradigms already covered.
Google hangout allows 10 to participate (9 students plus the instructor), so if more than 9 wish to participate we will accommodate through scheduling another hangout. I expect, however, that between scheduling and preferred learning styles a number of you will not be present in each hangout. In lieu of joining the hangout, your other option is to record yourself in a short (5 minute) video reading your exercises and translating without looking directly at your notes. I want to see you looking at the exercises and drawing from your preparation without reading from your notes.
You can switch back and forth – join the google hangout once in a week, and submit a video for the second deadline that week. Either way, I am looking for a demonstration of how you are grasping the material and progressing, and for this to be a mechanism of accountability to keep you on track and putting in the consistent effort throughout the week.
In the gradebook I will submit a mark based on a 10 point scale for each of these assigments (twice per week for most weeks).
9 – you are on track, showing progress, gaining facility, participating. Great!
8 – you are doing well; might put in a little more time gaining a handle on the material so that you do not get overwhelmed as we go.
7 or below – looking for more progress or evidence of close engagement.
10 – Way to go! Look at you!
My goal with this grading approach is to build in some accountability and feedback to keep you on track, for me to get a sense of how you are doing, and for you to have some feedback to gage your own progress.
One of our goals is to develop the ability to read. Word recognition is important to this, otherwise we become so bogged down with the lexicon that it takes too much time and energy. So you will need to build a basic vocabulary as we go. The resource I have chosen for this is quizlet. This program/app has flashcards as well as other types of activities to learn and reinforce vocabulary. It also allows me to view your progress and how much time you are putting in.
Each week I will give you a score of 0, 1, or 2 for your vocabulary work.
0 = I don’t see evidence of you fulfilling this expectation
1 = more time investment needed/encouraged
2 = you look on track to me.
Ultimately you know how much time mastery of vocab requires for you.
Too often, instructors limit how students learn based upon their own pedagogical predispositions. Several studies have noted, however, that people learn languages in different ways. What may work for one person may not work for another. In this learning agreement, please identify (1) how you expect this class to contribute to the goals you have for taking the course, (2) what concrete actions you plan to take to meet these goals, and (3) the grade you hope to receive at the end of this course. Your goals should be attainable with reasonable effort. After you and I read Hebrew together privately for the second time (at the end of the quarter), we can discuss how you have met, not met, or surpassed your goals and whether you feel you have earned the grade you set out to attain. If I see major discrepancies between the grade you feel you have earned and my evaluation of your overall grasp of the material, we will enter into negotiation.
Evaluation will be based on weekly exercises and vocab work (50%) and evaluation of your grasp of the concepts and vocabulary, and demonstration of progress based upon my expectations and/or your goals and the learning agreement that we have agreed upon (50%).
These are not examinations per se. Rather, they allow us to assess your progress and deficiencies together in order to determine how you might reach your long term goal to know Hebrew. (note: if you are reading in google hangouts with me along the way, this additional mtg may be waved.)
Degree Learning Goals: Please take some time to look over the Professional Degree Learning Goals (MDiv, MASC, MAPSC) and the Academic Degree Learning Goals (MTS, MA).
Incompletes: If incompletes are allowed in this course, see the Master's Student Handbook for Policies and Procedures.
Pass/Fail: Masters students wishing to take the class pass/fail should discuss this with the instructor by the second class session.
Academic Integrity and Community Covenant: All students are expected to abide by Iliff’s statement on Academic Integrity, as published in the Masters Student Handbook, or the Joint PhD Statement on Academic Honesty, as published in the Joint PhD Student Handbook, as appropriate. All participants in this class are expected to be familiar with Iliff’s Community Covenant.
Accommodations: Iliff engages in a collaborative effort with students with disabilities to reasonably accommodate student needs. Students are encouraged to contact their assigned advisor to initiate the process of requesting accommodations. The advising center can be contacted at advising@iliff.edu or by phone at 303-765-1146.
Writing Lab: Grammar and organization are important for all written assignments. Additional help is available from the Iliff Writing Lab, which is available for students of any level who need help beginning an assignment, organizing thoughts, or reviewing a final draft.
Inclusive Language: It is expected that all course participants will use inclusive language in speaking and writing, and will use terms that do not create barriers to classroom community.
| Date | Day | Details | |
| Sep 13, 2016 | Tue | Learning the Alphabet | due by 05:59AM |
| Sep 14, 2016 | Wed | Introductions and Ch.1 of Hackett | due by 05:59AM |
| Sep 17, 2016 | Sat | Chapters 2 and 3 and getting started with Quizlet | due by 05:59AM |
| Sep 18, 2016 | Sun | Survey for Google Hangout Times | due by 05:59AM |
| Sep 20, 2016 | Tue | Vowels | due by 05:59AM |
| Sep 21, 2016 | Wed | Chapters 4-5 | due by 05:59AM |
| Sep 24, 2016 | Sat | Chapter 6 - Syllables and the Reduced Vowels and First Google Hangout | due by 05:59AM |
| Sep 28, 2016 | Wed | Week 3: Hackett ch.7 - Independent Pronouns and Adjectives | due by 05:59AM |
| Oct 01, 2016 | Sat | Hackett ch.8 - Nouns, Definite Article, Conjunction Vav | due by 05:59AM |
| Oct 05, 2016 | Wed | Week 4: Hackett ch. 9 - Prepositions, The Relative Pronoun, Rule of Shwa --- Post submissions here. | due by 05:59AM |