Introductory Hebrew I

Course Description

This course is the first of a two-semester study of biblical Hebrew designed for students to learn the fundamentals of the classical Hebrew language, employed in the Hebrew Bible. Emphasis will be on the language’s morphology, syntax, and vocabulary, as well as on the student’s ability to read the Hebrew text aloud through exercises in reading and composition. To facilitate the reading and writing of biblical Hebrew texts, this online course will include a thorough, practised use of the most common biblical Hebrew words, pronunciation, reading practice, and a mastery of elementary morphology (the forms of the words) and syntax (how they fit together to form a sentence). With disciplined study habits, acquiring a basic reading knowledge of Biblical Hebrew is possible.

Offered	2026 Fall
Dates	Sep 8 - Dec 18
Days	Asynchronous
Format	Online Only
Credit Hours	3
Audit Hours	3
Room Number	Online only

Teaching Faculty

Joseph Lee

Online Sessional Lecturer

Originally from South Korea and growing up in the Midwestern USA, Dr. Joseph Lee is interested in cultural exegesis and the intersection of the East and West from biblical and historical perspectives. Most recently, he was an adjunct faculty member in Biblical Studies at Jessup University in California and is a data analytics engineer at a tech firm in Silicon Valley. His research interests include inner-biblical allusions in the Hebrew Bible, the use of Scripture in early Jewish and Christian literature, and Digital Humanities. He is working on the topic of the inverse of power and mystery within the Hebrew Bible and beyond for his current research. He regularly presents papers at academic conferences and publishes book reviews and essays in edited volumes. Upon returning to California after completing his PhD from Scotland, he received an SBL Pacific Regional Scholar Award in 2020 for submitting an essay on First Enoch. He is also a co-editor of the two Feschriften, one in honour of Sven Soderlund, Scriptures, Scholarship and the People of God (Regent College Publishing, 2021), and another edited volume in honour of Rikk Watts, It’s About Life: The Formative Power of Scripture (2023). Joseph is married to Rachel, and they reside in NorCal with their two daughters, Χάρις and אֲמִירָה.