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Advanced Biblical Hebrew Grammar

Vak
2019-2020

Admission requirements

Regular MA admission requirements. A very good working knowledge of Biblical Hebrew, such as completion of Biblical Hebrew 1 and 2 or the equivalent (at the discreation of the teacher) is essential.

Description

An in-depth study of advanced topics of Biblical Hebrew (such as the verbal system, the different nuances of the verbal stems) on the basis of a selection of particularly difficult passages, with due attention to philological matters (e.g., textual criticism and style) and linguistic variation in Biblical Hebrew (diachronic, stylistic, and other).

Course objectives

Upon completion of this course, students have gained a deeper understanding of Biblical Hebrew grammar, lexicon, and idiom. They are able to perform an advanced linguistic analysis of difficult texts and have improved their translation skills.

This research seminar contributes to the achievement of learning outcomes 4a and 4c (to give and write a clear and well-argued oral and written presentation on a research topic in accordance with academic standards) of the study programme Classics and Ancient Civilizations.

Timetable

Please consult the Classics and Ancient Civilizations website.

Mode of instruction

  • Seminar

Course Load

Total course load: 280h (10 EC), divided as follows:

  • 13 tutorials of about 2 hours (26 hours);

  • preparing lectures, including reading and assignments (127 hours);

  • preparing written exam or writing a paper (127 hours).

Assessment method

Assessment

  • Oral participation and preparation of texts to be studied in class (40%)

  • Paper (60%)

Weighing

The final grade for the course is established by determining the weighted average.

Resit

Should the overall mark be unsatisfactory, the paper is to be revised after consultation with the teacher.

Inspection and feedback

Students will be invited to discuss the results of the oral participation and preparation of texts, and the paper individually with the teacher, as soon as the results have been published.

Blackboard

Blackboard will be used for additional study materials

Reading list

To be communicated in class.
For some background information, students should take a look at A. Gianto, “Variations in Biblical Hebrew”, Biblica 77 (1996) 493-508.

MA students will be expected to acquire some familiarity with the historical-comparative study of Biblical Hebrew and should make a careful study of H. Gzella, "Northwest Semitic Languages and Hebrew", in: G. Khan et al. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics, vol. 2, Leiden 2013, 852-863.

Research MA students should also read H. Gzella, “Das Hebräische als Sprache Israels und Judas”, in: U. Hübner and H. Niehr (eds.), Sprachen in Palästina im 2. und 1. Jahrtausend v. Chr., Wiesbaden 2017, 265-299 (available upon request).

Registration

Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about registration in uSis is available in English and Dutch.

Contact

Dhr. Prof. H. Gzella