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The Old Testament is essential to understanding God’s complete story and how we fit into it. The Bible is a unique book with many unforgettable characters, such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jonah, Samson and David. While these stories took place centuries ago, they are still significant today and teach useful lessons about God and His interactions with us.
Dr. Sid Buzzell will guide you through the Old Testament, referencing different types of literature and how each section reflects on the wider story. You’ll come away from this class with a greater understanding of both the Old Testament and its importance in our lives today.
Objectives
- Describe what the Old Testament teaches us about God’s character.
- Understand why the Old Testament books are placed in the order that they are and identify the categories of books contained within the Old Testament.
- Explain the characteristics of each of the categories of books in the Old Testament.
- Identify the four eras (or periods) into which the Old Testament is divided.
- Understand the general narrative flow and major events in Old Testament history.
- Describe the important people in the Old Testament and their contribution to Old Testament history.
- Gain a deeper understanding of the authors of the Old Testament books, their purpose, and the context in which they were writing.
- Know the characteristics of Hebrew poetry and gain a deeper understanding of wisdom literature.
- Understand the context of the Prophets and summarize their collective eternal message.
- Michigan State University, PhD
- Dallas Theological Seminary, ThM
- Philadelphia College of the Bible, BS
I found the course very instructive on multiple levels. It has deepened my understanding of the Old Testament and sharpened my appetite for biblical studies.
Vincent, United States (US)Very interesting, I learned a lot.
Carole, United States (US)I enjoyed the content and the design of the course. I felt like I learned a lot.
Catherine, United States (US)The course was very relevant to today.
Stephen, United States (US)It really helped me to get a clearer picture of where the different books of the Old Testament fit into the whole historical story and to understand more about the different types of literature, when and why they were written. Am looking forward to studying the Old Testament further. Thank you.
Kathryn, United Kingdom (UK)This is a great course for anyone seeking a solid foundation of the Old Testament.
Maurice, United States (US)I learned a lot of information that helped me gain a better understanding of the Old Testament.
Kristy, United States (US)Great overview of the Old Testament!
Karrie, United States (US)Great course, I learned a lot!
Lydia, United States (US)This course was intense, but satisfying. I took a while to complete it, as I didn’t want to rush through its contents and reading assignments. I also wanted to ensure that I had a good understanding of what was read.
Sharalyn, United States (US)You opened my heart to the Old Testament, I now have a better understanding of it, and how it leads us to Jesus.
Mark, United States (US)I really enjoyed the visuals, and graphic organizers. It helped me to have a better understanding.
Evelyn, United States (US)I learned a lot and feel this gave me a great foundation for deeper OT studies.
Roger, United States (US)Enjoyed the dept of the lessons and the application to today’s life.
Ronald, United States (US)Being new to learning the old testament I have found this course extremely helpful, it has explained things in a way that I could understand. I am very impressed with this course.
Christine, United Kingdom (UK)I learned a lot from this course and would recommend others to take this for a beginning look into the Old Testament.
Tonya, United States (US)I thought the course was great. The readings from Ray Stedman’s book were good but it was really a lot of reading.
Gary, United States (US)This is a great course, it takes hard to understand events and puts them in a format that that makes them easier to understand.
Ronald, United States (US)Really a great way of viewing the Old Testament from a more organized and structured perspective, while continually reinforcing the message of a loving God pursuing, nurturing, disciplining, and ultimately redeeming his people in spite of their ups and downs and serial unfaithfulness.
John, United States (US)Beautiful and excellent course. Ray Steadman’s readings are awesome and Professor Sid Buzzel makes a good complement of the teaching.
Omar, MexicoThe best part of the course for me was learning about the Prophetic Books. Now I know how to approach reading them, to whom the prophets were speaking, and the cultural background. I now have a better understanding of them.
Lisa, Trinidad and TobagoExcellent
Josepha, IndonesiaWords cannot describe how much I have enjoyed learning about both the New and Old Testaments from Dr. Sid Buzzell. Dr. Buzzell is genuinely an anointed and gifted teacher, biblical scholar, and professor. I have enjoyed this course so much that I will be advancing my studies as I complete a D.Min. program with Liberty University in Pastoral Counseling.
Andre, United States (US)I liked the course and Dr. Buzzell explanations were very understandable.
Normand, United States (US)I find the course very helpful to me to understand the organization of the OT. The course is very well designed and guided through each section with easy. I love to study with both the printed lecture & the recorded sound. They enhanced my understanding of the subject. Very well done! Thank you!
Doug, United States (US)I learned a lot with this course. It was practical, informative and I found myself searching out some of the material presented in the course for more information.
Kathleen, United States (US)Learned so much about the Old Testament! Great overview!
Jennifer, United States (US)I really enjoyed this course and learned a lot!
Cory, United States (US)This course taught me a lot and was a fun way to learn.
Pam, CanadaI really enjoyed the lectures and the readings assigned in this course.
Lisa, United States (US)I had no idea there was so much to learn about the Old Testaments as a whole. I’ve studied Old Testament books individually and have a good understanding of the books, but now looking at all the books as presented in this study, my understanding of each book has new, broader meaning.
Robert, United States (US)Sometimes the quiz would ask questions that I hadn’t yet went over in the course. Not a big deal because they weren’t impossible.
Spencer, United States (US)This course has been very beneficial and has opened my eyes more to the beauty of the Old Testament
Terry, United States (US)I really enjoyed the lectures!
Tonya, United States (US)I’ve studied individual books of the Old Testament before and many times frustrated because I couldn’t make sense of it.
This is my first course with odbu.org and I have finally found sense of it.
I look forward to continuing on to the other courses.
Thank you so much!
Amazing how it stimulates greater interest into getting more acquainted with the scriptures.
Solus, United States (US)I really enjoyed studying the old testament, it’s enlightment to my understanding and insight about this time of history.
Donald, United States (US)The course was helpful and value-adding to my Christian walk. It gave me a bigger picture of what is the Old Testament all about. Thank you to ODB Univ team for coming up with such a wonderful and comprehensive course.
Ma. Remedios, PhilippinesI really enjoyed this course and loved the extra notes and different formats available for learning i.e. visual and auditory.
Kate, United States (US)This course was very informative. I learned things about the Old Testament that I had not learned before. Dr. Buzzell spoke very clearly. He was easy to listen to. Thank you for offering this.
Lori, United States (US)I am glad I took this course as it has been a good eye-opener for me. I have a better understanding of how to read the Old Testament to make sense and how it is related to present-day life and also the importance of relating it to the New Testament which I will be studying next.
John, United States (US)Enjoyed this course. Many Thanks and God Bless.
Schalk, United States (US)This course opened up new learning for me about the Old Testament. Very well done.
Greta, United States (US)I enjoyed this course. My understanding of the Old Testament has grown tremendously. Thank you!
Dannita, United States (US)Overall, I appreciate the videos, written information, lesson illustrations, and lectures. All of the information given helped me to complete this course successfully.
Odessa, United States (US)This is the first course of this kind, Bible study, that I’ve ever attempted. I loved it and couldn’t wait to get at the next lesson. I have purchased Ray Stedman’s “Adventuring through the Bible” as I found it wonderfully instructional and just good reading. This course gave me new clarity about the Old Testament’s purpose, structure, authorship and necessity to understand the whole Bible. Up next, New Testament Basics.
Rockne, United States (US)Dr. Buzzell performed an incredible task in excellent fashion of summarizing the Old Testament ! He took an extremely complex book and broke it into 10 short manageable pieces. I highly recommend this course to individuals, like myself, who have little knowledge of the Bible. I look forward to taking Dr.Buzzell’s course on the New Testament knowing I will acquire a thorough background of knowledge just as I have of the Old Testament. Thank you Dr. Buzzell!
Patrick, United States (US)This has motivated me to continue with more courses – informative and encouraging the student to keep going. Material is excellent – Thank you for this awesome course that I have just completed
Toni, United States (US)I really enjoyed this course! I’m looking forward to the next course! I liked the charts and other illustrations that were provided for the visual learner. I enjoyed the instructor as well. This was an EXCELLENT foundation for further learning. It has encouraged me to read more of the Bible and now I have a nice mental background while I’m reading.
Vicki, United States (US)Outstanding course, thank you!
Anggara, United States (US)