THEO 231 - 001

Regular Academic Session

3920

Undergraduate

3 units

Graded Alpha

Prerequisites: THEO 100, THEO 107, or equivalent; please check requirements for declared majors/minors for exceptions.

This course provides an introduction to the Old Testament / Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures).

Outcomes: Students will be able to demonstrate understanding of central texts, beliefs, ethical understanding, and practices of Judaism and Christianity.

Prerequisite: THEO 100 or THEO 107 or equivalent.

Tier 2 Theological Knowledge
Islamic World Studies

This course introduces students to the Hebrew Bible, also known as the TaNaKh or the Christian Old Testament. The diverse texts in this collection tell the story of the Jewish people, offer compelling portraits of human love, violence, and loss, and ruminate on the deepest existential questions of life. But what kind of book is the Bible? How do we in the 21st century make sense of it? How have individuals and communities made sense of it in the over two-thousand years since it was compiled? The areas of focus will include: (1) genre; (2) background; (3) interpretation. Genre: What are the literary norms that shape these texts? How do these patterns shape our expectations as readers? Background: Where do these texts come from? How do they relate to history? Is it possible to discover the circumstances in which they were written? What about the cultures which shaped them? Interpretation: What assumptions do we (and others) bring to the Bible? How do these assumptions influence the meanings we find in the Biblical text? How have assumptions and approaches changed in the history of Biblical interpretation in Jewish, Christian, and contemporary critical scholarship?

Mark Lester

TuTh 8:30AM - 9:45AM

01/13/2025 - 04/26/2025

In person

Lake Shore Campus

Lake Shore Campus

Closed

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