Online Hebrew I

Online Hebrew I

Course Syllabus

IS-111, Hebrew I
Four Credits

“The Hebrew language is the best language of all … If I were younger I would want to learn this language, because no one can really understand the Scriptures without it. For although the New Testament is written in Greek, it is full of Hebraisms and Hebrew expressions. It has therefore been aptly said that the Hebrews drink from the spring, the Greeks from the stream that flows from it, and the Latins from a downstream pool.” –Martin Luther

Professor of Record:
Dr. Gerald Bilkes is the professor of record for these courses. Dr. Bilkes is Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. He completed a Ph.D. (2002) from Princeton Theological Seminary. He was recipient of the United States Information Agency Fellowship at the Albright Institute (ASOR) in Jerusalem during the 1997-1998 year. He has written several articles on biblical-theological themes and given addresses at several conferences. His areas of special interest include hermeneutics, the history of interpretation, and conversion in the Bible.
Instructor:
Chris Engelsma is the instructor responsible for the content of the course. He also does the bulk of the teaching and grading. He received his M.T.S. from Calvin Seminary in (2002) and has been involved in teaching languages since 2003.
Course Description:
Hebrew I is a four credit course that immerses the student in the grammar, vocabulary, and syntax of the Old Testament. This course lays the foundation for the student to continue reading and analyzing the Old Testament.  Students have 25 lessons to complete. Each lesson has an assignment, a vocabulary quiz, and a grammar quiz. There are no exams.
Course Objectives:
Students who complete Hebrew I will have been exposed to almost all of the grammar and a some of the syntax of the Old Testament. More specifically:

  • Learning the 195 most common words in the Hebrew Bible;
  • Conjugations of verbs;
  • The morphology and syntax of participles and infinitives;
  • Using contextual clues to parse/translate;
  • Using TheWord Bible software;
Required Texts:
  • Bonnie Pedrotti Kittel, Victoria Hoffer, and Rebecca Abts Wright, Biblical Hebrew, 2nd edition: New Haven: CT, Yale University Press, 2005.
  • TheWord Bible software.
Distance Learning Policies and Tuition Costs:
Please read this.
Summary of Requirements:
Completion of all grammar and vocabulary quizzes; completion of all assignments. The student’s final grade is based exclusively on the quizzes. All quizzes are closed book.

Assignments: As each assignment is completed, the student uploads it to the PRTS online course management system. The instructor is notified of this upload and corrects the assignment. The student makes the corrections that the instructor identifies. When this process is finished, the assignment is marked “passed”. Each assignment consists of verses taken from the Old Testament which the student is required to translate, parse the words, and answer questions about the syntax.

There are 24 assignments.  The student is allotted three hours to complete each assignment.

Grammar Quizzes: The grammar quizzes are based on section #1 above. They are graded as is with no retakes allowed.  There are 25 grammar quizzes.  The student is allotted one hour to complete the quiz and thirty minutes to prepare for it.

Vocabulary Quizzes: The vocabulary quizzes are online quizzes. The words on the quiz are based on frequency of use in the Old Testament.  There are 25 vocabulary quizzes.  The student is allotted one hour to complete the quiz and thirty minutes to prepare for it.

Support:
The instructor is accessible six days a week from 8am to 4:30pm EDT by phone, instant message, or email. He welcomes your contact and values these interactions. Please don’t hesitate to ask for help whenever you need it.

Chris Engelsma
2965 Leonard NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525
Office: (616) 977-0599 x137
Cell: (616) 350-5160
chris.engelsma@puritanseminary.org

 

“And thus have I given some account of the days of my vanity, being this 24th of October 1730, 54 years, 7 months, and 1 week old. Upon the whole, I bless my God in Jesus Christ, that ever He made me a Christian, and took an early dealing with my soul, that ever He made me a minister of the gospel, and gave me some insight into the doctrine of his grace; and that ever He gave me the blessed Bible, and brought me acquainted with the originals, and especially with the Hebrew text. The world hath all along been a stepdame to me; and wheresoever I would have attempted to nestle in it, there was a thorn of uneasiness laid for me. Man is born crying, lives complaining, and dies disappointed from that quarter. “All is vanity and vexation of spirit.—I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.”

–Thomas Boston