Hone your analytical skills. Become an independent thinker. Form and articulate judgements based on argument and evidence. Lead the way. With arts and humanities at the University of Sydney consistently recognised as among the top 30 faculties globally in university rankings, our Bachelor of Arts degree is both highly regarded by academic leaders and highly sought after by industry employers. Offering access to more than 45 subject areas in the humanities and social sciences, no two arts degrees are the same at Sydney, which means you’ll graduate with a unique skillset and career options as varied as the degree itself. Whether you want to learn a new language or study a new culture, explore great books, ideas or minds, discover the past, analyse the present or consider the shape of the world's future, the Bachelor of Arts will expand your horizons and challenge you to think outside the box.
In the Biblical Studies and Classical Hebrew major, you will learn how to read the Bible, both the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the New Testament, in a more informed and responsible way, exploring narrative, law, poetic, wisdom, prophetic and apocalyptic texts. Junior Biblical Studies units deal with the biblical text in English and teach the methods needed in order to understand what biblical books were trying to communicate in their ancient setting, the foundation of all further discussion about the message of these books. Senior units build on these skills with the English text and introduce you to the methods necessary to understand each distinctive type of biblical literature. As part of the major, you are encouraged to take courses in classical Hebrew that will enable you to translate and understand the scriptures in their original language. The language courses will expose you to the multiple levels of pre-Modern Hebrew, focusing on the Bible but also studying the Dead Sea Scrolls and ancient inscriptions as well as the writings of the sages and medieval commentaries on the Bible. Students who choose to learn Classical Hebrew acquire the skills for advanced research on the Bible required for postgraduate study. Whatever combination of units you choose, by the end of the major, you will have mastered skills for better understanding the biblical texts in their ancient historical, literary, and cultural context.
