Old Testament Basics

Discover the richness of the Old Testament! Discover its stories, themes, key figures, and timeless lessons.

Course
Outcomes
Reviews

In this course you will get an overview of the Old Testament: its overarching story and themes, books, different types of literature, historical eras, and major characters. You’ll gain a greater understanding of and appreciation for the importance of the Old Testament in the Bible and its meaning for your own life.

  1. Explain the overarching story and promises of the Old Testament.
  2. Identify the structure of the Old Testament and be able to name the books and major eras they are associated with.
  3. Examine the lives of the major characters in the Old Testament and the role they played in God’s plan to redeem his people.
  4. Apply the wisdom and key themes of the Old Testament in your own life.
  • I have read through the Old Testament many times, but never fully grasped it's cohesiveness, how it all fit together. I came away with a great foundation of how it fits as well as the intention God has for us to understand through Old Testament Scripture. I highly recommend this course, but enforce the need to do the additional readings, even though the readings are lengthy. The lecture and reading compliment one another and the Old Testament becomes so much clearer if you take the time to do both.

    — Kristine, Canada
  • This course was a deep dive into the OT, which I loved before, but love even more now. Learning the framework or structure of the OT gave me a new depth to my understanding and application of it. Some of the readings were rather long, but worth it for the information.

    — Vicki, United States
  • This course had great structure and insight in terms of the Old Testament's organization of books and different genres held within; however, the speaker for the lecture portion of this course spoke very quickly. This made it necessary to pause and rewind several lessons.

    — Angela, United States
  • A great course that truly broadened my understanding of the Old Testament.

    — Heather, United States
  • This is a great course to start with. Understanding the Old Testament is critical to studying the New Testament.

    — Don, United States
  • Through this course, I am trained, equipped, and confident to turn on the volume of Jesus even louder to introduce people to our Loving, Good, and Caring God. PTL!

    — Alex Ow Yong, Singapore
  • This study of the Old Testament has given me an overview of the Bible. I understand God better.

    — Gloria, Nigeria
  • Succinct overview of the Old Testament. It is logical, well-presented, and easy to follow and understand. I highly recommend this course.

    — Helen, United States
  • Overall a good experience for me and encouraged me to continue to study the Old Testament in more detail. Thank you.

    — John, United States
  • Very informative and educative course

    — Abraham, United States
  • I learned a great deal about the Old Testament!

    — Emily, United States
  • Great overview of the Old Testament. It really nailed down the key points of each type of literature.

    — Stacy, United States
  • Eye-opening and easy to understand.

    — Jessica, Malaysia
  • Enjoyed this course!

    — Rachelle, United States
  • Must learn biblical knowledge and basic fundamentals of the Scripture

    — Esosa, United States
  • This was an amazing beginning of the Old Testament. I am so looking forward to going further into this.

    — Kevin, United States
  • Lectures and commentaries were very helpful. I have learned a lot. So blessed for the opportunity I had to take this course. Cant wait to start NT Basics.

    — Luis, Honduras
  • The professor was phenomenal. I thoroughly enjoyed this course that helped with my understanding of the Old Testament.

    — Yolonda, United States
  • Dr. Buzzell explained the Old Testament in a way that I never realized before. God's creation and love is not in a timeline but in His way for us to communicate with Him. My eyes open when time, color (narrative), poetry & wisdom and prophetic books were in order they were in according to the timeframe of the stories. God is Great.

    — John, United States
  • Good course!!

    — Steven, United States
  • This course, while introductory, is yet very accurate, succinct and clear in its presentation of the Old Testament, which, to many Christians, is less understood than the New Testament. I'd strongly recommend it.  

    — Weng Yuen, Singapore
  • This was a very interesting course. I learned many things about the Old Testament that I did not know.

    — Janea, United States
  • Great course full of information I never thought of or knew I didn't know  

    — Edward, United States
  • A wonderful compact set of studies that truly have whetted my appetite for more.

    — Johann, United States
  • Dr Buzzell provided a good scholarly way of ordering and making sense of the OT, the books in the types, chronology, and how they are to be read, as well as why the OT must not remain a 'closed book' but rather be seen as opening all towards Jesus.

    — Matthew, United States
  • Enjoyed learning a more in-depth lesson on the Old Testament.

    — Niki, United States
  • Thoroughly enjoyed this course. It provides a very useful and informative grid through which to piece together the various aspects of the Old Testament.

    — michael, United Kingdom
  • The lectures were really educative.

    — Samuel, Nigeria
  • This course opened my understanding of the messages of the prophets, their place and time, and the circumstances in which they lived.

    — Cheryl, United States
  • This course helped me better understand the Old Testament, and it gave me a better way to study it. Thank you!

    — Delanesha, United States
  • Ever thing about this study was great. I really felt the love of God and the patience He has with us.  

    — Sharon, United States
  • Enjoyed the course and learned some new information

    — Kevin, United States
  • This course helps me to grow deeper in my spiritual life. Praise God!  

    — Paul, United States
  • Enlightening  

    — Gwen, United States
  • This course was such a blessing to me, helping me to better understand the Old Testament and the treasure within it. It was interesting, insightful, and the text reading from Ray Stedman was thorough yet not over my head for understanding. It really gave me much food for thought and further study. Thank you so very much for the offering.  

    — Susan, United States
  • Really broke down the timeline, culture, and topics of the prophets! Helped me grasp where and when their teaching occurred.

    — Marcia, United States
  • Very enlightening

    — Gwen, United States
  • 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
  • Very interesting, I learned a lot.

    — Carole, United States
  • I enjoyed the content and the design of the course. I felt like I learned a lot.

    — Catherine, United States
  • The course was very relevant to today.

    — Stephen, United States
  • 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
  • This is a great course for anyone seeking a solid foundation of the Old Testament.

    — Maurice, United States
  • I learned a lot of information that helped me gain a better understanding of the Old Testament.

    — Kristy, United States
  • Great overview of the Old Testament!

    — Karrie, United States
  • Great course, I learned a lot!

    — Lydia, United States
  • 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
  • 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
  • I really enjoyed the visuals, and graphic organizers. It helped me to have a better understanding.

    — Evelyn, United States
  • I learned a lot and feel this gave me a great foundation for deeper OT studies.

    — Roger, United States

Course Content

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Course Wrap-Up
Apprentice Level
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Course Details

  • Low Effort
  • 10 Lessons
  • 15 Min Average Lecture
  • Course Award

Course Resources

Videos Audios Discussion Questions Notes
Lecturer

Sid Buzzell, PhD