BIB 315: Old Testament Theology
The theology that develops across the Hebrew Scriptures — Israel's faith and the doctrines that shape what comes next.
Course Description
BIB 315 introduces students to the theology of the Old Testament — Israel's developing understanding of God, covenant, worship, and human flourishing across the Hebrew Scriptures. The course works through questions of continuity and discontinuity that connect the Old Testament to the New, examining themes that get carried forward, transformed, or reframed in the early Christian movement.
Special consideration is given to the development of significant doctrines — the role of the law, monotheism, soteriology, and eschatology — and how they take shape across the Old Testament text. Rather than treating the OT as background to the New, BIB 315 reads it as theology in its own right, with its own internal logic and ongoing authority.
BIB 315 pairs with BIB 215 New Testament Theology to form the biblical-theology half of the BA's Theology Concentration core.
Prerequisites
- None
Corequisites
- None
Learning Outcomes
Trace OT Doctrinal Development
Follow how key doctrines emerged and took shape across the Hebrew Scriptures.
Engage Continuity and Discontinuity
Address how the Old Testament's themes connect to and differ from the New Testament's.
Examine OT Monotheism
Work through Israel's developing confession of one God against the polytheistic ancient Near East.
Engage Law, Salvation, and Eschatology
Study the Old Testament's teaching on the law, on God's saving work, and on its forward-looking expectations.
Read the OT as Theology
Approach the Hebrew Scriptures on their own terms rather than only as backdrop to the New Testament.
Biblical Worldview Connection
A Biblical Worldview takes the Old Testament seriously as Scripture's own theological foundation — not as ancient prelude. BIB 315 reads it that way, attending to what the Hebrew Scriptures say about God, the world, and human life on their own terms, and how that witness still shapes Christian theology today.
Explore Programs With This Course
BIB 315 anchors the Old Testament half of ACU's Theology Concentration. Explore the programs that include it.
