Welcome to our 5-week online course on the Torah with Fr. Stephen de Young! This is a for-credit course for students desiring to complete all seven Biblical Studies electives. Please note that the prerequisite for this course is BIB 401: Introduction to the Bible in the Orthodox Church.
This course will cover the first five books of the Bible, known as the Torah or Pentateuch. While this section of Scripture is commonly called the “Law,” much of these books consist of narrative. We will discuss this narrative from the creation of the world through the founding of the nation of Israel and God’s covenant with Abraham, all the way to Moses’ deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and their being led to the Promised Land. We will also examine the commandments delivered by God to Moses, which are found especially in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
We will send out a link a few days before the first class. The class will meet on the following dates at 7pm Eastern: 10/10/2023, 10/17/2023, 10/24/2023, 10/31/2023, and 11/7/2023.
Each week, you will be provided with a set of learning objectives, readings, and an assignment to submit a written essay. The readings and the essay are designed to help you acquire the knowledge and skills needed to achieve the objectives of the week.
The course will be delivered primarily online, through a combination of video lectures and readings. You will be expected to complete the course materials within a specific schedule, with specific deadlines for the weekly essay submissions.
You may access the course syllabus by clicking on the “Materials” tab above. We will also post the recordings of the lectures as they become available under the same tab.
We are excited to have you join us for this 5-week journey and we look forward to reading your essays and working with you to achieve your goals. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us. Let’s begin!
There are two options for taking this course: the Live Cohort and Synchronous Self-Guided. In the Live Cohort version, students are required to virtually attend one lecture per week online. In the Synchronous Self-Guided version, students are not required to attend the online lectures, but are required to show proof of having watched recordings of the lectures. Below are the syllabi for both the Live Cohort and the Synchronous Self-Guided versions of this course.
Students are required to have an electronic journal that contains all of their notes for every content assignment in the course. There is a required minimum of one paragraph of notes per hour spent on a content assignment. The journal will be submitted in the Lesson Five Quiz when the course is completed.
Each week, students will perform a casual interview that relates to the content they are studying. A student can interview the same person as often as they want, and ideally, your interviewee is a person that is familiar with the current content you are studying. Students will submit a summary of their interviews at the end of the course.
Only enrolled students can view materials.
