It was a surprise and yet it was the kind of compelling and exceptional thing everyone has come to expect out from Beyoncé … like earlier this year, when her performance at the Coachella music festival dominated talk for days.

But the idea of Beyoncé being on a higher plane was recently taken to an entirely new level.

Yolanda Norton, an assistant professor of Old Testament at the San Francisco Theological Seminary, just taught a course called “Beyoncé and the Hebrew Bible.” In the course students learned what Beyoncé can teach us about the Bible, and what the Bible can teach us about Beyoncé.

Archival audio from KTNV Channel 13 Las Vegas, CNN, Pop Trigger, “The Wendy Williams Show,” Hot 97, For the Record and Freedom Project Media.

This piece originally aired July 19, 2018, on Studio 360.