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Introducing the Bible
William Barclay testifies to the Bible's unique value as an inspired book and gives clear advice on the best way to read it. He tells how the biblical writings came into being and finally gained acceptance as Scripture. And he explains the significance and the status of the Apocrypha. Most important of all, William Barclay presents the Bible as a book to be read and enjoyed today - a light in the darkness of a world that has lost its way.
Barclay's original text has been edited and revised by Professor John W. Rogerson, who has also written a new introduction. Rogerson is the head of the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Sheffield and an authority on the Old Testament. This is a required text for "Lay Speakers Lead Bible Study: Advanced Course." (Abingdon Press, 1997)
Table of Contents:
Foreward by Ronnie Barclay Prayers for Bible Study Introduction by John Rogerson The Making of the Old Testament The Making of the New Testament The Apocrypha How to Study the Bible The Inspired Book Aids to Reading Maps Index
189 pages
Barclay's original text has been edited and revised by Professor John W. Rogerson, who has also written a new introduction. Rogerson is the head of the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Sheffield and an authority on the Old Testament. This is a required text for "Lay Speakers Lead Bible Study: Advanced Course." (Abingdon Press, 1997)
Table of Contents:
Foreward by Ronnie Barclay Prayers for Bible Study Introduction by John Rogerson The Making of the Old Testament The Making of the New Testament The Apocrypha How to Study the Bible The Inspired Book Aids to Reading Maps Index
189 pages
192 pages, Paperback
First published February 28, 1979
About the author
William Barclay
605 books102 followersWIlliam Barclay was a Scottish author, radio and television presenter, Church of Scotland minister, and Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism at the University of Glasgow. He wrote a popular set of Bible commentaries on the New Testament that sold 1.5 million copies.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 15, 2022
Rarely does a composition so completely and effectively accomplish its purpose with such brevity. Although it is explicitly written for believers, I believe that skeptics would also benefit tremendously from the basic understanding of the Bible provided in this book.
March 16, 2023
Fantastic little book.
It's a somewhat ambiguous title so I wasn't sure what it would contain.
The majority of it discusses the origins of the Bible - the history and historical context of various parts of the Bible and how they came to be collected together and canonised. One chapter for the OT, one for the NT. There's also a chapter on the Apocrypha and its treatment over the years. All fascinating.
The last third is a discussion on how to study the Bible which again goes into the historical aspect, particularly around the meaning of words and how they change over time. This is especially important when reading something like the KJV. I mean, this book was written before the NIV existed!
This is the kind of book that's dense with information and would bear many re-readings. Though next time I'd want to read the updated 25th anniversary edition. The edition I read was the original, written 50 years ago in 1972. There have definitely been many discoveries in the last 50 years that could provide even more historical background.
It's a somewhat ambiguous title so I wasn't sure what it would contain.
The majority of it discusses the origins of the Bible - the history and historical context of various parts of the Bible and how they came to be collected together and canonised. One chapter for the OT, one for the NT. There's also a chapter on the Apocrypha and its treatment over the years. All fascinating.
The last third is a discussion on how to study the Bible which again goes into the historical aspect, particularly around the meaning of words and how they change over time. This is especially important when reading something like the KJV. I mean, this book was written before the NIV existed!
This is the kind of book that's dense with information and would bear many re-readings. Though next time I'd want to read the updated 25th anniversary edition. The edition I read was the original, written 50 years ago in 1972. There have definitely been many discoveries in the last 50 years that could provide even more historical background.
March 11, 2015
William Barclay is one of the most respected New Testament commentators, and his series is used for intensive Bible study. In this volume, he gives a short introduction to the Bible, what it means for him, and how we should read it. There is still some commentary in this small volume, but its purpose is not extensive commentary. “The Greek Longinus wrote one of the great books on literary criticism, and called it On the Sublime. For him sublimity was the supreme quality in any writer. When a coin is dropped it gives out a ring, and from that ring you can tell at once whether it is true or base metal, and Longinus said, in a great phrase, that sublimity is the ring of a great soul. And there is no book in the world which has this quality of sublimity as the Bible has.” (12) One gets the very real sense the Barclay loves this book. He invites readers to look at the Bible as a whole through a quote by Arminius: “Nothing is more obstructive to the investigation of the truth than prior commitments to partial truths.” Barclay notes that “not even God can teach a man who comes to the Bible with his mind made up.” (90)
There are a number of interesting facts about the Bible that Barclay presents. Two in particular are worth mentioning here because I had never heard them before. “When Alexander the Great conquered the world, he took the Greek language with him; but it obviously could not be the classical Greek of the great days of Greece. It was a much simplified form of Greek, called Koine Greek, which means the Greek of common speech. That kind of Greek did not normally get into literature, and the New Testament is the only written example of it. In fact, Greek linguists will assert that, if the New Testament were ever to lose all its religious value, it would still remain on of the most important linguistic books in the world.” (14) Then there is an interesting story about the Apocrypha – “In his chapter on ‘The Pervasive Influence of the Apocrypha’ in the Introduction to the Apocrypha Bruce Metzger outlines this influence in many spheres, and quotes one surprising example of it. It was certain things said in the Apocrypha which sent Columbus out to discover America! A famous fifteenth-century writer called Pierre d’Ailly, who was a great scholar and Archbishop of Cambrai, wrote a book entitled Ymago Mundi, the Image of the World. In it there is a chapter De Quantitate terrae habitabilis, Concerning the Amount of Earth which is Habitable. On the basis of 2 Esdras (4 Ezra) 6:42, 47, 50, 52 he argued that six-sevenths of the earth is land and only one seventh sea. The first passage reads: ‘On the third day thou didst command the waters to be gathered together in the seventh part of the earth; six parts thou didst dry up and keep so that some of them might be planted and cultivated and be of service before thee.’ This made d’Ailly argue that since the earth is a sphere, and since only one seventh is sea, the ocean between the west coast of Europe and the east coast of Asia can be ‘of no great width,’ and with a fair wind could be navigated in a few days. This is exactly what Columbus set out to prove. There was a copy of d’Ailly’s book in Columbus’ library, annotated in Columbus’ own hand. It was this that sent Columbus voyaging, and it was this that at last persuaded hesitant sovereigns to finance his expedition, for here was a sacred book which said that the sea covered no more than one seventh of the earth, and could therefore easily be navigated!” (84)
The main thrust, though, is Barclay’s teaching about how to think of and use the Bible. Regarding the Old Testament, his exposition of Origen is wonderful. Barclay’s exposition of Origen’s thought is wonderful. He basically states that in the Genesis story there is truth, but in a picture. The truth is the kernel. Of particular interest to me is the story of the Fall. “This story is in fact the story of the fall of every man. It is worthwile noting that the name Adam is not a proper name at all; it is in fact the Hebrew word for man. This is everyman’s story.” (126) Barclay also talks about the revolutionary transition from a communal to a personal faith.Using the story of Achan, Barclay demonstrates that if the mindset is the punishment of the group, then a nation facing disaster may lose its faith. However, if an individual is connected with God, then the individual connection can survive disasters. In short, a personal religion is truly discovered. (33) Moving to the Gospels, he talks about their intent. “The Gospels are not biographies; they are not photographs. They are attempts to show the mind and the heart and the character of Jesus; and they make this attempt, not simply as matter of interest, and not simply as a contribution to history, but so that those who read may see the mind of God in Jesus. The Gospels are not simply descriptions of Jesus; they are invitations to believe in him as the Son of God.” (52)
In his concluding lines, Barclay summarizes the book along with a recommendation of order in approaching the Bible. “The Bible tells of the preparation for his coming in the Old Testament; it tells of the event of his coming in the Gospels; it tells of the result of his coming in the Acts; it tells of the interpretations of his coming in the Letters. The correct way to read the Bible is to begin in the middle with the saving event of Jesus Christ; then to go back to the preparation, and then on to the story of the church, and the interpretations of him.” (141) Overall, this is a wonderful little introduction.
See my other reviews here!
There are a number of interesting facts about the Bible that Barclay presents. Two in particular are worth mentioning here because I had never heard them before. “When Alexander the Great conquered the world, he took the Greek language with him; but it obviously could not be the classical Greek of the great days of Greece. It was a much simplified form of Greek, called Koine Greek, which means the Greek of common speech. That kind of Greek did not normally get into literature, and the New Testament is the only written example of it. In fact, Greek linguists will assert that, if the New Testament were ever to lose all its religious value, it would still remain on of the most important linguistic books in the world.” (14) Then there is an interesting story about the Apocrypha – “In his chapter on ‘The Pervasive Influence of the Apocrypha’ in the Introduction to the Apocrypha Bruce Metzger outlines this influence in many spheres, and quotes one surprising example of it. It was certain things said in the Apocrypha which sent Columbus out to discover America! A famous fifteenth-century writer called Pierre d’Ailly, who was a great scholar and Archbishop of Cambrai, wrote a book entitled Ymago Mundi, the Image of the World. In it there is a chapter De Quantitate terrae habitabilis, Concerning the Amount of Earth which is Habitable. On the basis of 2 Esdras (4 Ezra) 6:42, 47, 50, 52 he argued that six-sevenths of the earth is land and only one seventh sea. The first passage reads: ‘On the third day thou didst command the waters to be gathered together in the seventh part of the earth; six parts thou didst dry up and keep so that some of them might be planted and cultivated and be of service before thee.’ This made d’Ailly argue that since the earth is a sphere, and since only one seventh is sea, the ocean between the west coast of Europe and the east coast of Asia can be ‘of no great width,’ and with a fair wind could be navigated in a few days. This is exactly what Columbus set out to prove. There was a copy of d’Ailly’s book in Columbus’ library, annotated in Columbus’ own hand. It was this that sent Columbus voyaging, and it was this that at last persuaded hesitant sovereigns to finance his expedition, for here was a sacred book which said that the sea covered no more than one seventh of the earth, and could therefore easily be navigated!” (84)
The main thrust, though, is Barclay’s teaching about how to think of and use the Bible. Regarding the Old Testament, his exposition of Origen is wonderful. Barclay’s exposition of Origen’s thought is wonderful. He basically states that in the Genesis story there is truth, but in a picture. The truth is the kernel. Of particular interest to me is the story of the Fall. “This story is in fact the story of the fall of every man. It is worthwile noting that the name Adam is not a proper name at all; it is in fact the Hebrew word for man. This is everyman’s story.” (126) Barclay also talks about the revolutionary transition from a communal to a personal faith.Using the story of Achan, Barclay demonstrates that if the mindset is the punishment of the group, then a nation facing disaster may lose its faith. However, if an individual is connected with God, then the individual connection can survive disasters. In short, a personal religion is truly discovered. (33) Moving to the Gospels, he talks about their intent. “The Gospels are not biographies; they are not photographs. They are attempts to show the mind and the heart and the character of Jesus; and they make this attempt, not simply as matter of interest, and not simply as a contribution to history, but so that those who read may see the mind of God in Jesus. The Gospels are not simply descriptions of Jesus; they are invitations to believe in him as the Son of God.” (52)
In his concluding lines, Barclay summarizes the book along with a recommendation of order in approaching the Bible. “The Bible tells of the preparation for his coming in the Old Testament; it tells of the event of his coming in the Gospels; it tells of the result of his coming in the Acts; it tells of the interpretations of his coming in the Letters. The correct way to read the Bible is to begin in the middle with the saving event of Jesus Christ; then to go back to the preparation, and then on to the story of the church, and the interpretations of him.” (141) Overall, this is a wonderful little introduction.
See my other reviews here!
February 28, 2012
I found this book to be excellent at looking at the Bible and analyzing it based on the meaning behind the books based on what it would of actually meant in the time when the books were written. Especially the Old Testament books.
When you find yourself thinking about what is being said in the context of the time the book was written, you can get a whole different understanding from what you are reading then you will if you try to and compare it with the context of the current day. Language, culture, traditions.. they all change over time and mean something different today then they may have when the book you are reading in the Bible was written.
For example, one area the book touches on that always bothered me was the principle of an eye for eye, a tooth for a tooth philosophy in the Old Testament. Upon realizing that in the time when the book was written the vengenance for wrong doing usually lead to death it becomes obvious that this was a step towards limiting vengenance by putting a limit on how far revenge would go. It then walks thru the steps it takes to getting to finally being told to turn the other cheek and not look for vengenance at all.
The book starts out by explaining how the books of the Bible were selected and how today's current selection was arrived at and the differences between the different versions of the Bible.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a better understanding of the Bible or that is interested in where the Bible came from.
When you find yourself thinking about what is being said in the context of the time the book was written, you can get a whole different understanding from what you are reading then you will if you try to and compare it with the context of the current day. Language, culture, traditions.. they all change over time and mean something different today then they may have when the book you are reading in the Bible was written.
For example, one area the book touches on that always bothered me was the principle of an eye for eye, a tooth for a tooth philosophy in the Old Testament. Upon realizing that in the time when the book was written the vengenance for wrong doing usually lead to death it becomes obvious that this was a step towards limiting vengenance by putting a limit on how far revenge would go. It then walks thru the steps it takes to getting to finally being told to turn the other cheek and not look for vengenance at all.
The book starts out by explaining how the books of the Bible were selected and how today's current selection was arrived at and the differences between the different versions of the Bible.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a better understanding of the Bible or that is interested in where the Bible came from.
June 23, 2014
a good read. it gave me the essentials about the Bible which i have trouble reading so i read books that explain it. William Barclay is a well respected professor and writer. a perfect writer for explaining what the Bible is all about. i am rereading the book again. kindle tells me i am 13% into it.
December 23, 2015
If you want to get a good understanding of the Bible then you have to read this book. It is well thought out and give very good examples and scriptural references. If you do not know about the Bible then read this and you will understand that it is the Word of God.
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October 30, 2011Call Number: 229 BAR
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews