HEB1040: Biblical Hebrew

Abstract

The purpose of this course is to enable students to read and understand Tanakh in a sophisticated, grammatically attuned manner. It builds on foundational grammatical concepts and familiarity with Hebrew that you have coming into the course, and focuses on developing a sensitivity to the grammatical precision and versatility of the biblical texts. Additionally, students will become familiar with linguistic and grammatical terminology used to describe phenomena in Biblical Hebrew, both those used by modern scholars and also by Masoretic scholars. By the end of the semester, students should be able to predict and identify common grammatical forms and constructions in Biblical Hebrew and carry a greater appreciation for the function of language in Tanakh.