������

������/Greek/Latin 405

Readings of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and New Testament in Greek and Latin

Summer 2024

TTh 2:20-4:50

DEN 256

Instructor: James J. Clauss

E-mail: jjc@uw.edu

Office hours: by appointment after class or other times by zoom

Students with as little as one year of Greek and/or Latin are welcome to take this seminar. The OT (Hebrew Bible) and NT texts are remarkably easy to read in either language and the texts are incredibly important not only for Judeo-Christian religion but for Western culture and civilization in general. Students with only Latin will read and translate in class the Latin texts and similarly those with only Greek will read Greek passages. Students who sign up for ������ should be able to read both languages. I will introduce the Hebrew alphabet so that we can observe how Greek and ������ translators managed foreign words.

A note to all students in the class: if you can’t finish the assignments in your target language, read the rest in English. The assignments are long so that we can cover a lot of material. But I know from past experiences students cannot finish them. This is not a problem as we will cover them in English. In this way we will have much to discuss both from the perspective of the languages as well as the texts.

For the first half of the class, we’ll read the opening 20 chapters of Exodus, the book in which Moses forces the Pharaoh to let the Hebrew people leave Egypt following the ten plagues that concluded with the death of the firstborn offspring and in which Moses encounters God on Mt Horeb and receives the 10 Commandments. In the second half, we will read the Gospel of John in its entirety. This Gospel is significantly different from the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) whose narratives are clearly related.

For such a mixed group, the best resource is on-line that has the texts set side by side: Greek, Hebrew and Latin for the Hebrew Bible and Greek and Latin for the NT, with accompanying translations in English. This will be our text for Exodus. Students will need to have a laptop or other device to follow along in class. If such a device is not available, a copy of the texts in the target language will suffice. We will discuss how to proceed on the first day of class.

For the Gospel of John, I recently discovered a book with both the Greek and Latin texts printed side by side with grammatical and vocabulary help below. Let’s use this book as it will be easier to read in class: Virginia Grinch, Evan Hayes, Stephen Nimis, The Gospel of John in Greek and Latin. A Comparative Intermediate Reader, Faenum Publishing 2018. It can be purchased on Amazon.

Primary Resources

On-line:

(on-line Greek and Latin dictionary)

(OT/NT Latin, NT Greek)

Hard Copy:

F.C. Conybeare and St. George Stock, Grammar of Septuagint Greek, Hendrickson

Nestle-Aland, Novum Testamentum Graece et Latine, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft

Jay P. Green, The Interlinear Bible: Hebrew-Greek-English (English, Hebrew and Greek Edition), Hendrickson

J.D. Douglas (ed.), The New Greek-English Interlinear New Testament, Tyndale

F.J. Long, T. M.W. Halcomb, A Parallel & Interlinear New Testament Polyglot: Luke-Acts in Hebrew, Latin, Greek, English, German, and French

Secondary Resources:

Michael Coogan and Cynthia Chapman, The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures. Oxford 2018.

Martin, Dale B. New Testament History and Literature. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012.

Syllabus:

Week 1                        Introduction                                       

Exodus 1.1-3.15

Week 2                        Exodus 3.16-6.1

Exodus 6.2-8.15

Week 3                        July 4

                                    Exodus 8.16-10.20

Week 4                        Exodus 10.21-12.51

Exodus 13.1-14.31 Read 15-20 in English

Week 5                        Midterm exam

                                    John 1.1-3.21 

Week 6                        John 3.22-5.47

                                    John 6.1-7.36             

Week 7                        John 7.37-9.17

                                    John 9.18-11.57                     

Week 8                        John 12.1-14.14

                                    John 14.15-17.26

Week 9                        John 18.1-21.25

                                    Final exam

Expectations:

Prepare passages for translation in class. Those students with only one year of Greek or Latin should try to complete as much of the assignment as possible and will not be penalized for not being ready to translate everything.  My hope is to read as much as possible in the original languages. Students’ abilities differ and I will be aware of these differences.  Learning is our main goal.

The midterm and final exams will be essay exams based on our readings and will be discussed during the date of the exams.

Grades:

20% Participation in class

40% Midterm

40% Final

Important UW policy-related things to know:

• The UW's Religious Accommodations Policy:“Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at . Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the .”
• The UW's Student Conduct Code: "The University of Washington Student Conduct Code (WAC 478-121) defines prohibited academic and behavioral conduct and describes how the University holds students accountable as they pursue their academic goals. Allegations of misconduct by students may be referred to the appropriate campus office for investigation and resolution. More information can be found online at 
• Access and Accommodation: Your experience in this class is important to me. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course.

If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions.  Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS.  It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.

• Academic Integrity: University of Washington students are expected to practice high standards of academic and professional honesty and integrity as outlined here:
• UW COVID face covering policy: