Interpreting the Word II

Competency tips for the OLD COMPETENCY SET (October 2007)

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Written by BILD International
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Tips for Competency 1:

“Develop a basic understanding of linguistics, which applies to any language, with special attention being given to how to develop a functional equivalency between Hebrew and Greek and the language to which one is translating the Bible, as well as the specific skill of determining the semantic range of words.”

  • You may use any evidence that you have created in order to demonstrate this or any other competency. 

  • Most learners draw heavily on their work on Unit 1 projects to demonstrate this competency. The first, third, and fourth projects in Unit 1 correlate respectively to the three parts of the competency. The second project in Unit 1 can be used to help satisfy the “implemented” and “critical” criteria in the Student Competency Assessment Guide

  • The three major sections of the project example respectively address all three parts of the competency. However, as it stands, this project example could only receive credit at the Bachelors level since it lacks the implemented criteria that is required for Masters level work. One way to compensate for this lack is to use the second project mentioned above. Another way is to use any of the projects that are included in later Units of the course since they focus on things like creating practical guides that integrate these linguistic principles (Unit 3) and applying these principles to interpret specific biblical passages and words (Units 3 and 5).

  • The 9 theological readings that are related to the 3 Issues in Unit 1 comprise almost half of the total readings included in the Theological Reader of the course. Therefore, many learners use the Life Development Reading Summaries to help demonstrate various parts of this competency.

Tips for Competency 2:

“Gain a basic understanding of both Hebrew and Greek linguistics (in essence identifying the unique characteristics of the Hebrew and Greek languages beyond those of any language), followed by an introduction to The Translator’s Handbooks—Old and New Testaments (55 volumes), created to guide an English translator in applying general language and Hebrew and Greek linguistic principles in accurately translating the Bible into another language.”

  • Most learners draw heavily on their work on Unit 2 projects to demonstrate this competency. The first, second, and fourth projects in Unit 2 correlate respectively to the three parts of the competency. The third project in Unit 2 can be used to help satisfy the “implemented” and “critical” criteria in the Student Competency Assessment Guide. The fifth project can be used to help satisfy the “substantive” criteria.

  • The project examples for the Hebrew and Greek Linguistic Distinctives are notably blank in the current edition of this course. This frustrates some learners. But, it also encourages learners to think deeply and creatively about how to structure and inform their own articulation of the ideas. Learners should carefully review the Theological Readings that are included in the course to gather relevant ideas for these projects. Learners should also find and use the readings that are not included in the Theological Reader but are referenced in Unit 2 (Issues 1 and 2) to gather relevant ideas for these particular projects.

  • The project example for the Old and New Testament Translator’s Handbooks is simply a list of the books in the series. Demonstration of this competency requires more than the citation of a list of books. Learners should drill down deeper into the series by reviewing one or more specimens, providing a summary, and/or a qualitative assessment of some specific examples in the series to show that the learner is sufficiently “introduced” to it.

Tips for Competency 3:

How do I demonstrate Competency 3? “Introduce the student to the Logos 6 Library System, with an impressive array of Greek and Hebrew tools, and how to use the exegetical and passage guides to make full use of Hebrew and Greek in the interpretive process.”

  • Most learners draw heavily on their work on Unit 3 projects to demonstrate this competency. The first and third projects in Unit 3 correlate respectively to the two parts of the competency. The second project in Unit 3 can be used to help satisfy the “implemented” and “critical” criteria in the Student Competency Assessment Guide.

  • The project example is a more thoroughly developed illustration of the kind of document that learners could create to expresses their own understanding and expected use of the Logos 6 system. The example is very specific and directly related to the conclusions of its particular author. However, learners are welcome to excerpt valuable quotes, critique important ideas, expand on underdeveloped sections, illustrate or apply significant elements with real-life cases. But, the general rule against plagiarism is that if someone else’s ideas are used, then the original author must be given credit for his own ideas.

Tips for Competency 4:

“Guide the student in building a digital library appropriate to the level of biblical study needed, as well as provide an extensive review of Hebrew and Greek tools, commentary sets, and reference works needed at various stages of development as a leader.”

  • Most learners draw heavily on their work on Unit 4 projects to demonstrate this competency. All three projects in Unit 4 collaborate to address the two parts of this competency. The first project in Unit 4 can be used to demonstrate the first part of the competency. The second and third projects in Unit 4 can be used to demonstrate the second part of the competency.

  • The Core Library project example is intentionally skeletal leaving learners with the task of fleshing out their own library development plans. It starts with higher educational categories that are associated with leadership roles. The types of resources that could be included in the plans are open-ended. However, Antioch School students could productively insert the books that are already embedded in their required courses as a start. They could then include resources that are recommended in the Lifelong Learning sections of the BILD Leadership Series courses before advancing further to any resources of interest whatsoever.

  • The Greek and Hebrew Tools project example represents a taxonomy of language resource types. It too will need to be fleshed out by the individual learner. On the other hand, the Commentary and Reference Works project example is more thoroughly developed with specific resources and their prices. The specific books should be viewed as the recommendations of a seasoned minister of the gospel. However, as a project example, it’s should be used as a learning resource rather than as the only correct solution.

Tips for Competency 5:

“Integrate the skills of this course back into the work of Interpreting the Word I: Principles and Procedures and Preaching, Teaching, and Worship in the Early Church, in a way that brings a mastery to the whole process of developing a hermeneutically trained judgment and to the process of study and preaching and teaching.”

  • Most learners draw heavily on their work on Unit 5 projects to demonstrate this competency. Specifically, the first three projects in Unit 5 can be used to demonstrate the three parts of this competency respectively. The fourth project in Unit 5 can be used to demonstrate the “implemented” criteria in the Student Competency Assessment Guide. 

  • The second and fourth projects are well illustrated in the project examples. But, the first and third projects will need to be created by the learners from projects that they have already created elsewhere. The first project will need to be built on previous work in the Interpreting I or Preaching courses. The third project can be constructed from the exegetical and passage guides that were created in Unit 3 of this Interpreting II course. This illustrates the integrated nature of the BILD Leadership Series courses at the macro and micro levels.

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