Hebrew Exegesis OT506 Fall 2005 Richard P. Belcher, Jr. ([email protected]) I. Course Description This course introduces basic tools for interpreting the Old Testament. Attention is given to a working knowledge of biblical Hebrew and to principles of interpretation as they inform effective preaching and teaching of the Old Testament. II. Course Goals A. To increase the student's grasp of basic vocabulary. B. To strengthen the student's competence in translation. C. To equip the student to handle the issues of Hebrew syntax. D. To be able to use the textual apparatus of BHS in analyzing textual variants. E. To develop a method for using Hebrew in exegesis and sermon preparation. II. Textbooks A. Students may already have the following books, which are required: 1) A Hebrew Bible: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (Hebrew text only) or Biblia Sacra (Hebrew and NT Greek) 2) Hebrew Vocabulary Cards 3) E. R. Brotzman, Old Testament Textual Criticism (TC) 4) W. L. Holladay, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament B. Other required books: 1) William R. Scott, A Simplified Guide to BHS (SG) 2) Bill T. Arnold and John H. Choi, A Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax 3) Steven D. Mathewson, The Art of Preaching Old Testament Narrative (APOTN) C. Other books used in the course 1) Bryan Chapell, Christ-Centered Preaching (CCP), Chap 6 2) Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., From Exegesis to Exposition (EE), Chaps 1 and 4 3) Sidney Greidanus, The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text (MPAT) Chaps 5 and 10. D. For students without a computer program (Hermeneutica,Logos, Gramcord): 1) Tod S. Beale, Old Testament Parsing Guide2) Benjamin Davidson, The Analytical Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon 3) Recommended: Wigram, The New Englishman's Hebrew Concordance III. Basic Course Structure A. Quizzes: the quizzes will be given outside of class and can be taken from Monday to Thursday morning, the day of class. The quiz must be completed before class starts at 1:00 PM. Pick up the quiz from the receptionist and take it in the library. The quizzes will cover vocabulary, translation, and possibly questions related to syntax. Twelve quizzes will be given; the lowest quiz grade will be dropped. The first time you miss a quiz, for whatever reason, will be your dropped quiz. B. Translation: a portion of text will be assigned for each class. You should translate the passage and parse all the verbs. You do not need to hand in your translation or parsing, but you do need to hand in the Worksheets. C. Reading assignments: you will not be quizzed on the reading assignments (unless it is covered in the Worksheet), but they cover material that you need to know for translation work. D. An Exegesis Paper is required. It should be based on a Hebrew text of about 8 verses (see the handouts on "An Exegetical Method" and "Basic Format of the Exegesis Paper"). E. A homiletical outline on an assigned text from Ruth and Malachi is required. In addition to the outline, your exegetical work on the passage should also be handed in (see the handout "Assignment for Homiletical Outlines"). A student may do a word study in place of the homiletical outline for Malachi. F. Classroom participation is important and can be a factor in your final grade. If you are regularly late, miss class or are not well-prepared for class, it can affect your final grade. Such participation includes reading the Hebrew text, translating the text, parsing the verbs, and handing in the Worksheets. Please bring your Hebrew Bible to class. V. Grading 30% Quizzes 25% Final Exam 25% Exegesis Paper 10% Homiletical Outlines 07% Reading 03% Class Particip/WorksheetsSchedule for OT506 Reading Vocabulary Translation August 25 None (Don't worry... Ruth 1:1-5 Be Happy!) Sept 1 Review TC 5 V 136-145 Ruth 1:6, 18-21 TC 138-42 APOTN Ch 1-2 Sept 8 TC 133-37 N 500-510 Ruth 1:6-11 SG I & V (V 136-145) APOTN Append A, Ch 3 Sept 15 APOTN Ch 4-7 V 146-155 Ruth 2:10-15 (N 500-510) Sept 22 TC 152-54 N 511-522 Ruth 3:7-11, 13 APOTN Ch 8-9, 12 (V 146-155) Sept 29 TC 157-60 V 156-165 Ruth 4:1-6 CCP Ch 6 (N 511-522) October 6 EE Ch 1,4 N 523-534 Jonah 2:3-8 (V 156-165) October 13 Fall Break October 20 MPAT Ch 10 V 166-175 Malachi 1:1-5 pp 228-238 (N 523-534) October 27 Trans Articles N 535-546 Malachi 1:6-11 (V 166-175) Nov 3 MPAT Ch 10 V 176-185 Malachi 2:1-7 pp 238-250 (N 535-546) (Mal 1:6-2:9) Nov 10 MPAT Ch 10 N 547-558 Malachi 2:10-16 pp 250-262 (V 176-185) Nov 17 No Class Nov 24 Thanksgiving Nov 29 Exegesis Paper dueDec 1 MPAT Ch 5 V 186-195 Malachi 3:6-10 (N 547-558) (Mal 3:6-12) Dec 9, 12-14 Final