Reading the Holy Scripture in its original language means more depth in grasping the meaning, the nuance and the literal beauty of the Biblical text. Some scholars said that reading the Bible in translation is like kissing your bride through a veil.
This eight week intensive course provides a basic introduction to Biblical Hebrew. You will learn the fundamentals of Biblical Hebrew grammar including phonology (the study of the sounds of the language), morphology of the words (how they are formed) and syntax (the structure of the sentence and the order of the words). Integrated with the Biblical Hebrew grammar, you will be reading and translating excerpts from the Biblical text. You will also expect to increase your Biblical Hebrew vocabulary as we go along the course.
This course will seek to steer a middle course between a simplistic and an overly-detailed approach with an early introduction to exegetical exercises.
In addition to the study of the Biblical Hebrew language, you will be required to present some related research topics such as, for example, an assignment on the discovery and importance of the Dead Sea scrolls.
