Mining for Meaning: Practical Ways to Analyze the Hebrew Bible

OT 2L03

Winter 2019

Wed 9:00 AM - 10:50 AM

Computers have revolutionized many human practices, including the study of ancient texts. Today, it is common for preachers and teachers to examine the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible using software tools or online resources. This course will demonstrate how free online web resources can be used effectively in order to analyze a passage “in the original Hebrew” so that interpretations and applications can rely upon a careful consideration of what the Hebrew actually says and how it says it.

Knowing…

To understand the metafunctions of language
To understand the reasons for variation in language: cultural, historical, situational, personal, social, etc.
To know some of the most frequent words in the Old Testament
To know the major grammatical forms in Hebrew and their syntactical relationships to each other (nominals, verbals, adverbials, phrases, clauses, etc.)
To understand Hebrew language units and their ranking
To know what is involved in moving from grammatical analysis to interpretation and application

Being…

To address over-confidence—or lack of confidence—concerning knowledge of the Bible, adopting instead an attitude of life-long learning
“To present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Tim 2:15)
To be a mature and responsible interpreter of Scripture as taught by the Spirit (1 Cor 2:6–16)
To allow the Scripture to motivate, form, and transform our faith, worship, and Christian way of life

Doing…

To develop the ability to talk intelligently about what the available linguistic information reveals about specific wordings (i.e. to explain both what a wording means and why it means what it means)
To develop the ability to move cautiously from the available linguistic information to a preliminary understanding of an actual passage of scripture
To be able to interpret Scripture more effectively with attention to the cultural, historical, and situational context
To be able to use quality online Hebrew resources critically and effectively