UNDERSTANDING THE OLD TESTAMENT

Catalog description

The collection of books that Christians call the "Old Testament," the first part of the Christian Bible, is also the sacred scripture of Judaism. It originated, however, before either of these religions, as a written reflection of the religious beliefs, practices, and ideals of a particular group of people in ancient Israel whom both Jews and Christians claim as their intellectual and spiritual ancestors. This course will explore the contents and message of these books in relation to their historical, literary, and theological contexts as both sacred literature of ancient Israel and canonical scriptures of Judaism and Christianity.