CLAS-HEB 138 – Historical Hebrew

NEW COURSE

CLAS-HEB 138 – Historical Hebrew

Semester: Fall
Offered: 2023
Course Head: Andrew Teeter   Instructor: TBA
Meeting Time: T 9:00am – 11:45am

An introduction to the historical grammar of Classical Hebrew, with the primary goal of helping students become more effective and expert readers of the Masoretic Hebrew found in the Bible. The course will acclimate students to the field of historical linguistics and will then focus on the major phonological and morphological changes that occurred in pre-Tiberian Hebrew and that eventually led to the form(s) of Hebrew found in the Bible. Attention will also be given to diachrony within the Hebrew Bible itself, with reference to morphology, semantics/lexicon, and syntax. Note that, in addition to its primary goal, the course also serves to prepare interested students for future study of texts written in Northwest Semitic languages such as Ugaritic, Phoenician, Moabite, Old Aramaic, and Epigraphic Hebrew. A good knowledge of Classical/Biblical Hebrew is required.

Recommended Prep: Classical Hebrew

For more details please visit the Harvard Course Catalog.