BLA 500: Biblical Languages and Tools

BLA 500: Biblical Languages and Tools

Eric Fudge: Instructor

E-mail:

Phone: 513-659-9015 (before 7:00 p.m. and not on weekends)

Note: This is an on-line course and generally allows students to work at their own pace to complete course assignments within the week they are due. There are specific weekly deadlines for the submission of independent work, exercises, quizzes and exams, and comments in the Discussion Forum. Students registering for this course should be prepared to start class according to CCU’s starting date for the college and devote time each week to completing the assignments as designated in the course schedule and on the Moodle class website.

A. Materials

1. Course Texts (required):

Black, David. Using New Testament Greek in Ministry: A Practical Guide for Students and Pastors. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1993 (1995 3rd printing).

Mounce, William, Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006.

Wegner, Paul. Using Old Testament Hebrew in Preaching: A Guide for Students and Pastors. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2009.

2. Course Texts (recommended):Strong’s Concordance;NASB English Bible

B. Course Description

The primary purpose of this course is to introduce and interact with the biblical languages of Greek and Hebrew in a manner that will 1) provide a very general/basic knowledge of the language’s grammar and syntax and 2) enhance biblical exegesis by interacting with language tools that help guide Bible readers to a better understanding of how the biblical languages function in a given text.

C. Course Objectives

By the end of this course, the student should be able to:

Learn the Greek and Hebrew alphabet
Identify words and clauses in the Greek and Hebrew
Perform exegetical word studies
Identify general linguistic issues and patterns that pertain to Greek and Hebrew
Use language tools to enhance your Bible exegesis in preaching and teaching,
Integrate Greek and Hebrew language into Bible lessons/sermons and exegetical essays
Critically read and assess academic literature that discusses how Greek and Hebrew function in biblical text
Enhance your appreciation of reading the Bible

D. Course Procedures

1. A week in this course runs from Monday to the following Friday. All work that is assigned each week must be completed as it is explained on the course website no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on the Friday of that week, unless otherwise specified. Assignments turned in after 11:59 p.m. on Friday are late and will not be accepted. (See Late Work Policy)

2. If you must turn in work later than the deadline specified on the course schedule because you are under physically or mentally extenuating circumstances, please make arrangements with the instructor ahead of time. What constitutes “extenuating circumstances” is within the instructor’s discretion.

3. Please be aware of the deadlines for submission of all work and plan accordingly by allowing time for possible technical difficulties. For example, do not start a one-hour test at 8:00 p.m. on Friday and count on the fact that you will have no computer or internet problems. Start early enough to allow for common problems such as trouble accessing the internet, being locked out of Moodle for some reason, etc.

4. Should a student experience technical problems with accessing the course website, the student should consult the CCU IT Helpdesk at (513) 244-8647. If this does not resolve the issue, the student should contact the instructor by email at . The CCU helpdesk is very familiar with Moodle and should be able to answer most questions. The exception to this concerns tests. If a student is taking a test and for some reason is “kicked off” the internet, Moodle will count that attempt as the student’s one chance to take the test. In this case, the student should immediately contact the instructor so that the test attempt can be deleted and the student can retake the test.

5. The primary form of communication between the instructor and students is through Moodle. If you are having a difficult time trying to communicate with the instructor via email please do not hesitate to call the number that is at the top of the syllabus. It is the student’s responsibility to check the course website regularly to keep up with course assignments, announcements, etc.

6. Due to the on-line nature of this course, it is imperative that students have access to Moodle each week. Therefore, each student should have a primary computer set up for Moodle use on a regular basis as well as a back-up computer in case the primary computer becomes unavailable. For example, if a student uses a personal computer to access Moodle, that student may want to designate the home college computer lab, library computer, or a friend or family member’s computer as a back-up. Generally, unless a student resides in a foreign country, failure to find access to a working computer is not an excuse to turn work in late.

7. When necessary, I will communicate with you individually primarily through email to answer questions, return writing exercises, etc. When communicating by email, I will use your ccuniversity.edu address or the address provided to me by the Christian College Consortium. Check this email address frequently.

8. I usually check email Monday – Thursday in the evening and I will also attempt to check email at least once during the weekend (Friday evening through Sunday evening). I will respond to your email inquiries during those times. When you email me, please use standard conventions of spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation as you would in a business and/or academic setting. No slang or email abbreviations, please.

9. Students who require academic accommodations due to any documented physical, psychological, or learning disability should request assistance from their local Academic Support Director within the first two weeks of the course. Students receiving news that they are entitled to accommodations bear the responsibility to notify the instructor and provide the appropriate documentation as soon as possible so that reasonable accommodations may be made.

10. As Christians, students are expected to be honest in all they do. Dishonesty, including plagiarism or cheating on exams or assignments, will result in a zero for that particular grade and other possible action. Note: The quizzes, exams, and other assignments for this course are not open-friend, unless specifically stated otherwise. Do not share quiz or exam answers. Writing assignments should be each student’s individual work.

11. There is no extra work given to help a student achieve a desired grade. The quizzes, exams, writing exercises, and participation that are already built into the course schedule are adequate to test the student’s knowledge of course material. Do not wait until the end of the course to decide to try to achieve a particular grade in the course. Handing in A or B quality academic work earlier in the semester will help a student achieve the outcome he or she desires in this course.

E. Learning Experiences

1. Assigned Readings

Each week you will be assigned readings that will come out of your text books Using New Testament Greek in Ministry and Using Old Testament Hebrew in Preaching. As you will notice, the readings do not provide a straight read-through of your text from cover to cover. Please pay close attention to different readings as they will navigate you through the book in line with the course assignments and topics.

2. Hebrew Final/Greek Final

At the end of each Greek and Hebrew sections will be a Final (not to be confused with the Final Exam). This will be issued as the final assignment for each language that is to be submitted to the instructor via Moodle for assessment. Each Final will consist of objectives similar to those contained in the course assignments. Therefore, the best preparation you can do is complete as thoroughly as possible your weekly assignments. Each Final will serve as a comprehensive assessment for each particular language. After the final is issued, you will have one week to complete it. This is your time to show off and let your instructor see your mastery over using language tools. By nature of this “tools” course, this is an “open book” occasion, just do not use each other; each Final is to be completed individually. If duplicate assignments are submitted then each submission will receive a zero. These Finals will be graded based on three primary critiques: 1) whether the student meets the general objectives, 2) how effective the student employs the various language tools, and 3) how well the student interacts with the Greek and Hebrew language. Note: These Finals should be submitted by uploading it onto Moodle in the assignments category in Microsoft Word. All other formats will not upload and will not be graded as they will be late by that point.

3. Final Exam/Essay: Reviewing Commentary

At the end of the course you will be required to write a 1500 +word review over a particular commentary or excerpt. This commentary review is intended to assess your ability to use the language tools to critically assess how others are using Greek and Hebrew terminology. Does the author use the Greek and Hebrew appropriately? Are there other nuances of a particular word or syntactic issues that the author ignores? This essay will be assessed with the same three primary critiques as the Greek and Hebrew Finals; however, you will also be assessed regarding your ability to interact with the author’s use of Greek and Hebrew. This is to be a formal essay/commentary review that REQUIRES these essentials: a title, introduction, purpose statement (telling the reader what the essay is about), footnotes/endnotes (telling what information was found where), and a bibliography (letting the reader know where you found your information) consisting of at least four sources. Note: Study Bibles and Internet are not resources that will be considered as a part of the four needed. For an example of an outline for a decent paper with these essentials see the essay example at the bottom of this syllabus. Please type this single spaced. Note: If your essay does not have these essentials your essays MAY NOT be read for credit. Note: Your essay should be submitted by uploading it onto Moodle in the Assignments category (which looks like a hand holding a news paper found within the week’s block) in Microsoft Word. All other formats will not upload and will not be graded as they will be late by that point.

4. Quizzes/Exams

Quizzes and exams will look differently throughout the course. Most quizzes will be posted on Moodle and will cover that subject matter which pertains to your weekly readings. Other quizzes/exams will be facilitated by your proctor who must be present when you take the quiz.

5.WeeklyCheck Lists

At the bottom of the weekly box in Moodle there is a Check List. This list allows you to receive appropriate credit for completing your work throughout the week. It also allows you to know what work should be completed by the end of the week in order for you to keep up with the class. These check lists look and act like quizzes so don’t be alarmed. As long as you have completed your work, simply check “yes” or “no” on the assignment and you will receive the appropriate credit. You have unlimited attempts to take the Check List quiz (until it closes that week) just in case you forgot or missed an assignment and still have time to go back and complete it before it is due. Please do not forget to do this; otherwise it will result in a zero.

6. Assignments

Each week you will be assigned a variety of assignments that will engage you in the Greek and Hebrew languages and challenge your use of language tools. These assignments are formulated from the material covered in your lectures, which you are to read each week. Most of the 5 assignments will require you to work directly within the uploaded Word file found on the Moodle site. These assignments will not be submitted for assessment. Credit for completing them will reside in the Weekly Check Lists. Though these assignments will not be assessed by the instructor it is highly recommended that you complete them and not fall behind. The Greek and Hebrew Finals build on these assignments, so if they are not completed the Finals will prove to be very difficult. If you like working with others, feel free to form groups and work through the assignments together.

7. Alphabet Quizzes

You will be asked to select a proctor of noble character (minister, teacher, etc.) who will supervise and send your alphabet quizzes to the instructor. This does not include a family member or B.F.F. You will be asked to write out the Hebrew and Greek alphabets in the presence of your proctor and he/she will take your assignment and submit it to me via email or snail mail by the date the assignment is due. For a quick turn over on the grading I highly encourage you to suggest to your proctor to send the quiz via email to . For snail mail, please send to Suzanne Faber:

Cincinnati Christian University
attn: Suzanne Faber
2700 Glenway Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45204

8. Comments, Questions, Discussions Forum

Each week you will have the opportunity to engage me and each other in a forum setting. If you have any comments, questions or discussions that you would like to post this forum is the appropriate location to do so. I am happy to field questions and/or discuss any research that you are doing inside or outside this course. I encourage you to frequently check these forums in case one of your colleagues made a posting for you to comment. When you post your comments please do so respectfully and know that all may view what you say.

F. Grade Calculation

Reading Quizzes – 20%
Final Exam – 30%
Greek Alphabet – 10%
Greek Final – 10%
Hebrew Alphabet – 10%
Hebrew Final – 10%
Checklists – 10%

G. Late Work Policy

Any late work, if accepted at all, will be graded out of a 50%. Each student is required to familiarize themselves with the assignment and tools used to complete the assignments before the assignments due date. If you have any questions about the assignments please contact the instructor at the email listed above or 513-659-9015 (cell) before 7:00pm. *If you are having technical difficulties or you are suffering from physical or mental stress it is your responsibility to contact the instructor ahead of time, BEFORE THE ASSIGNMENT IS DUE, to allow the instructor time to accommodate your circumstance appropriately.

H. Calendar

Because of the on-line nature of this course and because this course is taken by students from a variety of colleges and universities, the dates of breaks/vacations from the university or college in which any one student is enrolled may differ from the time off given in this on-line course. Please do NOT assume that your college’s winter break, spring break, etc., coincides with time off during this course. The course schedule is the guide for when work is due in this course.

I. Contacting your Instructor

Should you need to discuss personally any matters pertaining to this class, I can be contacted by telephone or e-mail, as noted on the top of this syllabus.

J. Disclaimer

This syllabus is intended to suggest the general nature of this course. Details may be changed and adjustments may be made at the discretion of the instructor.

K. Course Schedule

Week of / Assignments
Week 1
Jan 21-25 / Print out and review syllabus; Download necessary files; Read and reading quiz; Getting to Know You Forum; Checklist
Week 2
Jan 28-Feb 1 / Walkthroughs; Reading and reading quiz; Checklist
Week 3
Feb 4-8 / Lecture; Assignment #1; Read and reading quiz; Checklist
Week 4
Feb 11-15 / A -W
Assignment #2 Learn Greek Alphabet; Read and reading quiz; Checklist
Week 5
Feb 18-22 / Lecture; Assignment #3; Checklist
Week 6
Feb 25-March 1 / Lecture; Assignment #4; Checklist
Week 7
March 4-8 / Spring Break!
Week 8
March 11-15 / Lecture; Assignment #5; Checklist
Week 9
March 18-22 / Lecture; Assignment #6; Checklist
Week 10
March 25-29 / Read and reading quiz; Assignment #7 Greek Final; Checklist
Week 11
April 1-5 / t – a
Assignment #8 Learn Hebrew Alphabet; Read and reading quiz; Checklist
Week 12
April 8-12 / Lecture; Assignment #9; Checklist
Week 13
April 15-19 / Lecture; Assignment #10; Checklist
Week 14
April 22-26 / Lecture; Assignment #11; Checklist
Week 15
April 29-May 3 / Lecture; Assignment #12; Checklist
Week 16
May 6-10 / Read and reading quiz; Assignment #13 Hebrew Final; Checklist
Week 17
May 13-17 / Final Exam/Essay