Biblical Studies – An Introduction: The Bible, Its Content and Theology

This course begins on the 14 Jan 2027, which is when the course materials are made available to students. Students should study these materials in advance of the first live meeting, which will be held on 21 Jan 2027, 19:00-20:00 (UK time).

Week 1: The Hebrew Bible: Introduction and Language 

Week 2: The Pentateuch

Week 3: The Historical Books

Week 4: The Poetical and Wisdom Books

Week 5: The Prophets and the prophecies

Week 6: The New Testament: Content, Exegesis, and Greek

Week 7: The Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles

Week 8: Pauline Letters

Week 9: The other New Testament Writings

Week 10: The Revelation

Course aims

This course will read through the Old and New Testament, in order to demonstrate a critical and reflective understanding of their content. It will analyse different genres of both testaments in light of their cultural, historical, and religious context and evaluate their biblical and theological comprehension.

Course Objectives:

• To formulate a broad understanding of the key issues, stories, composition and characters of the Hebrew Bible and of the New Testament within their historical settings.

• To acquire an appreciation of the theology of the Bible and a clear evaluation of the cultural and religious background of the text.
• To describe the major ideas, literary forms and contexts of the Bible.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be expected to:

• acquire knowledge of the formation, composition, and content of the Bible, and a precise identification of the major themes of the text;
• demonstrate ability to analyse and interpret the biblical text;
• display critical thinking skills.

Level and demands

This course is open to all, and no prior knowledge is required.

This course is offered at FHEQ level 4 (first year undergraduate level), and you will be expected to engage in independent study in preparation for your assignments. Our 10-week Short Online Courses come with an expected total commitment of 100 study hours.

English Language Requirements

We do not insist that applicants hold an English language certification, but we warn that they may be at a disadvantage if their language skills are not of a comparable level to those qualifications listed on our website. If you are confident in your proficiency, please feel free to enrol. For more information regarding English language requirements, please see here.

IT requirements

Any standard web browser can be used to access course materials on our virtual learning environment, but we recommend Google Chrome. To access the virtual learning environment you will be required to verify your identity using an authenticator app on a mobile device or laptop in addition to your username and password. Full instructions will be sent to you on the start date of the course. We also recommend that students join the live webinars on Microsoft Teams using a laptop or desktop computer rather than a phone or tablet due to the limited functionality of the app on these devices.

Teaching methods

This course takes place over 10 weeks, with a weekly learning schedule and weekly live webinar held on Microsoft Teams. Shortly before a course commences, students are provided with access to an online virtual learning environment, which houses the course content, including video lectures, complemented by readings or other study materials. Any standard web browser can be used to access these materials, but we recommend Google Chrome. Working through these materials over the course of the week will prepare students for a weekly 1-hour live webinar you will share with your expert tutor and fellow students. All courses are structured to amount to 100 study hours, so that on average, you should set aside 10 hours a week for study. Although the course finishes after 10 weeks, all learning materials remain available to all students for 12 months after the course has finished.

All courses are led by an expert tutor. Tutors guide students through the course materials as part of the live interactions during the weekly webinars. Tutors will also provide individualised feedback on your assignments. All online courses are taught in small student cohorts so that you and your peers will form a mutually supportive and vibrant learning community for the duration of the course. You will learn from your fellow students as well as from your tutor, and they will learn from you.

Assessment methods

You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first 500-word assignment is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome, but preparing for it and the feedback you are given will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.

Professor Stefano Salemi – Tutor

Professor Stefano Salemi is a scholar of biblical studies, languages, and theology. He possesses the rare expertise of someone with three doctorates in Theology and Biblical Studies (PhD in New Testament and Early Christianity, FTP; PhD in Hebrew Bible, KCL; DPhil in Systematic-Historical Theology, Oxford), as well as degrees in Music (“Vivaldi” Conservatory, IT). He has also held or continues to hold research and/or teaching posts at various universities, including Harvard, Yale, Oxford, King’s College London, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, among others. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK) and has held several academic leadership roles at various institutions. He teaches and conducts research in the fields of biblical exegesis, hermeneutics, Hebrew and Greek languages and semantics, biblical and systematic-historical theology, pedagogy, reception history, the arts and theology, and intertextual studies. His publications include numerous articles and chapters for Brill, De Gruyter, Routledge, T&T Clark, Mohr Siebeck, and many more, and four books on Christ’s death in John (2014, 2025), Hebrew Semantics and Ezekiel (2024) and on the Christology of the Cross (2025).

Credit Application Transfer Scheme (CATS) points 

Coursework is an integral part of all online courses and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework. All those enrolled on an online course are registered for credit and will be awarded CATS points for completing work at the required standard.

See more information on CATS points

Digital credentials

All students who pass their final assignment will be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so. 

Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail. 

Fees

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, or are a care-leaver in the UK, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:
Concessionary fees for short courses

Recommended reading

Recommended reading is optional and you are not required to purchase these books to study this course:

• A Survey of Old Testament Introduction / Archer, Jr., Gleason
• Encountering the Old Testament: A Christian Survey / Arnold, Bill T. and Bryan E. Beyer
• An Introduction to the New Testament / D.A. Carson and Doug Moo
• An Introduction to the Old Testament / Longman, T. III & RB Dillard
• Encountering the New Testament: A Historical and Theological Survey / Walter A. Elwell and Robert W. Yarbrough

Module code: O26P802THZ

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