Hebrew 323: Biblical Texts (Third Semester Biblical Hebrew)
Department of Hebrew and Semitic Studies
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Fall 2008
Class: MWF 1:20-2:10                                                            Location: 216 Ingraham Hall
Instructor: Tim Mackie                                                          Email: tpmackie@wisc.edu
Office: 1336 Van Hise Hall                                                     Office Phone #: 262-8240
Office Hours: MW 3:45-4:45 or by appointment                    Home Phone #: 512-8999

            Welcome to Intermediate Biblical Hebrew (a.k.a. Biblical Texts)! The primary purpose of this course is to reinforce and expand your existing knowledge of Biblical Hebrew. We will accomplish this goal in the best way possible: by reading large quantities of the biblical text in Hebrew. In addition to reading texts together in class we will systematically review Biblical Hebrew grammar and continue to build vocabulary (by the end of the spring semester you should know all the Biblical Hebrew words that occur 25 times or more). Finally, in all our reading we will be consistently guided by the question: How did the biblical authors craft their language so as to create richly meaningful stories and poems?

REQUIREMENTS:

            1) Attendance is crucial for your success in this class. You are expected to come to class with all the assigned work completed and ready for active participation. If you must miss a class, it is your responsibility to get notes from another student and be prepared for the next class session. Late arrivals and early departures are unacceptable.

            2) Weekly translation: Come to class prepared to translate from an unmarked Hebrew text, parse all verbs, and identify all forms. In class you may use notes, but you may not use a prepared translation. Students will take turns reading one- or two-verse portions of the assigned text aloud and then translating. When a student finishes reading and translating, I will ask relevant grammatical questions about the verse. You are encouraged to bring your own questions about the text for discussion. We will then move to another reader and continue the process.
To prepare for class, read the assigned text in advance (roughly 10-15 verses per day), and be able to pronounce the verses accurately. Look up any words you don’t know in BDB. Consult BHRG or another reference grammar if any phrases or words are unclear. Make a note of anything you can’t figure out on your own, and ask about it in class.

            3) Quizzes: Every Monday we will begin class with a brief 10 minute quiz that will test you primarily on material covered the previous week, especially vocabulary, morphology review, and translation. The quiz will start at the beginning of the hour, so do not be late. There will be no make-up quizzes (except at my discretion––talk to me if you have a valid excuse), but your lowest quiz score will be dropped.

            4) Reading: A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar: This is a reference grammar, and so you
should not try and memorize every detail. However, I would like you to read every assigned section closely. I will offer you guidance on approaching specific sections as the semester progresses.

            4) Exams: We will have a mid-term (Fri., October 17, 1:20 P.M.) and a final exam (Thurs., Dec. 18 at 7:45 A.M.). Both exams will be cumulative. We will discuss them in more detail later in the semester. The midterm and final exams must be taken at the scheduled times, except in cases of emergency.

            5) Paper: You must read Shimon Bar-Efrat's Narrative Art in the Bible and write a 7-10 page
analysis of the book of Ruth with respect to one of the literary features discussed in Bar-Efrat (i.e.,
narrator, characters, plot, time and space, stylistic devices). I will give you more information on the
assignment later in the semester. You will be responsible for this reading on the midterm. The tentative due date for this paper is Mon, Nov 3, roughly two weeks after we finish reading the book of Ruth. Late papers will be reduced by one-half grade for each day (24 hours period) that the paper is late (e.g., an A becomes an AB, etc.).

            6) Recitation: It is important that you gain the ability early on in your study of Biblical Hebrew to read Hebrew aloud fluently. You will prepare a narrative text of chapter length from Ruth or Jonah and read it for me during office hours (or by appointment). This assignment is due by December 7 (you may complete the assignment earlier in the semester). A good, free, oral recording of the Hebrew Bible is available at http://www.aoal.org/hebrew_audiobible.htm.

            7) CJS Lecture: Students are required to attend the following lecture sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies:
 “The Great Code: The Greek Bible and the Humanities”
Professor Peter Gentry
Monday, September 22nd, 7:30 pm – Grainger Hall
Compose a short lecture interaction assignment of one typed page, due in class on Mon, Sept 29.
(1) Summarize the main point of the lecture.
(2a) Undergrads: Write at least one paragraph reacting to the lecture, for example, with  a       
question, a critical comment, or your personal response..
(2b) Graduates: Questions and Critical Comment: Ask two critical questions of the speaker’s
main point, and make one critical comment (something they should or did not consider).

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR HEBREW DEPT. GRADUATE STUDENTS:
1) In addition to the assigned reading in BHRG, Hebrew Department graduate students should
read the corresponding sections in Joüon/Muraoka. We will work from BHRG in class, but please feel
free to ask me questions arising from Joüon/Muraoka outside of class.

2) Hebrew Department graduate students will meet with Prof. Miller for an additional “4th Hour”
of credit in Hebrew historical morphology. Please contact her for more information. She will give me a
grade for this 4th hour that will be averaged in with your other grades for the class.

COMMUNICATION:
1) I have set up a course email list for our use. The address is: hebrst323-1-f07@lists.wisc.edu.
Please feel free to use this list to communicate with your fellow students, arrange study groups, ask
questions, or do anything else related to Biblical Hebrew.

2) I will occasionally post files for download on the Learn@UW website (http://learnuw.wisc.edu).

GRADING: (approximate %; GS = Graduate Students)                         Grading Scale: A 93-100 (Outstanding)
Oral Reading: 7% [GS 7%]                                                      AB 89-92 (Exceptional)
Quizzes: 20% [GS 15%]                                                          B 82-88 (Good)
Paper: 20% [GS 15%]                                                              BC 79-81
Midterm Exam: 25% [GS 20%]                                                C 70-78 (Adequate)
Final Exam: 25% [GS 20%]                                                     D 60-69 (Marginal)
CJS Lecture: 3%                                                                      F 0-59 (Don’t even ask)
GS “4th Hour” 20%
TEXTBOOKS:
Bar-Efrat, Shimon. Narrative Art in the Bible. JSOT Supplement 70/Bible and Literature Series 17. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000. [NAB]
Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs. The New Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1979. [BDB]
Elliger, K. and Rudolph, W., eds. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. 3rd ed. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1967-77.
Joüon, Paul and Takamitsu Muraoka. A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew. Subsidia Biblica 27. Rome: Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblico, 2006. [Recommended; 1991 ed. is fine too.]
Landes, George M. Building Your Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary: Learning Words by Frequency and Cognate. Resources for Biblical Study 41. Atlanta: Society for Biblical Literature, 2001.
van der Merwe, Christo H. J., Jackie A. Naudé, and Jan H. Kroeze. A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999. [BHRG]

If you have trouible accessing this page, contact: Chris Dargis  (cadargis@wisc.edu)
Latest revision date: 8/29/2008 (cad)

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