RELG 003. The Bible

The Bible is often considered “the best-selling book of all time” as well as a foundational text across the globe-but what is “the Bible,” how did it come to be, what stories does it recount, and why does it still matter? This class surveys biblical narratives from the Hebrew Bible’s accounts of the creation of the world and the ancient Israelites to the New Testament’s life of Jesus and Paul’s creation of the “True Israel.” We explore themes of identity formation, genealogy, ethnicity, and election. We draw upon historical and literary approaches from Biblical Studies and Religious Studies that facilitate an understanding of how the Bible came to be, what it meant to its original audiences, its roles in the development of the religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and consequently what it still means today.
Humanities.
1 credit.
Eligible for GSST
Fall 2025. Kessler.
Catalog chapter: Religion
Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/religion

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