| CODE | HBW2002 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Reading in Dead Sea Scrolls Hebrew: The Halakhic Texts | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Oriental Studies | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | In this study-unit students will read select passages in Hebrew from various halakhic texts found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, such as Miqsat Ma‘ase Ha-Torah (4QMMT). This will give students the opportunity to get familiar with the Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which is a late strand of Classical Hebrew that contains some variant morphological and grammatical features. Students will also be exposed to a literary genre which is not found in the Hebrew Bible, and to the type of language that is characteristic of this genre; moreover, they will be introduced to the structural and literary complexity of some of these documents, and to some of the Jewish practices and halakhic debates current in Second Temple Period Judaism, which are reflected in these documents. Since the Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls is unvocalised, students will also be trained to decipher, vocalise, and read unpointed Hebrew texts, a most effective exercise that will help students master their Hebrew grammar. A background to the Dead Sea Scrolls and to their cultural and historical context will also be given. Study-unit Aims 1. To further acquaint students with the Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls. 2. To train students to read and translate unvocalised Hebrew texts. 3. To help students master their Hebrew grammar. 4. To expose students to new Hebrew literary genres (not attested in the Hebrew Bible) and to their cultural background. 5. To expose students directly to the Dead Sea Scrolls by reading parts of these scrolls in their original language. Learning Outcomes 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1. read, decipher, and translate many of the texts found among the Dead Sea Scrolls; 2. understand the cultural background of the select texts. 2. Skills (including transferable [generic] skills): By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1. read, decipher, and translate various other unvocalised Hebrew texts (besides the Dead Sea Scrolls), such as the Mishna; 2. strengthen his/her Hebrew grammar; 3. apply the language skills learnt in this study-unit to other study-units related to Biblical Hebrew. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings - Joüon, P., and Muraoka, T. 2006 A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew, revised English edition, Rome: Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblico (Library owns a copy) - Koehler, L., and Baumgartner, W. 2001 The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 2 vols., Leiden: Brill (translated and edited under the supervision of M.E.J. Richardson) (Library owns a copy) - Schiffman, L.H., and VanderKam, J.C. (eds.) 2000 Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls, 2 vols., Oxford: Oxford University Press (I own a copy) - Weingreen, J. 1959 A Practical Grammar for Classical Hebrew, 2nd edn., Oxford: Oxford University Press (Library owns a copy) - Wilhelm, G. 2006 Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, edited and enlarged by E. Kautzch, tr. A.E. Cowley, Mineola, N.Y. : Dover Publications (Library owns a copy) The lecturer will provide copies of the original texts in the classroom. |
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| RULES/CONDITIONS | Before TAKING THIS UNIT YOU MUST TAKE NES1001 AND TAKE NES1002 | |||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | |||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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