How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth

by Gordon D. Fee, Douglas K. Stuart

Your Guide to Understanding the Bible

Understanding the Bible isn’t for the few, the gifted, the scholarly. The Bible is accessible. It’s meant to be read and comprehended by everyone from armchair readers to seminary students. A few essential insights into the Bible can clear up a lot of misconceptions and help you grasp the meaning of Scripture and its application to your 21st-century life.

More than half a million people have turned to How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth to inform their reading of the Bible. This third edition features substantial revisions that keep pace with current scholarship, resources, and culture. Changes include:
•Updated language
•A new authors’ preface
•Several chapters rewritten for better readability
•Updated list of recommended commentaries and resources

Covering everything from translational concerns to different genres of biblical writing, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth is used all around the world. In clear, simple language, it helps you accurately understand the different parts of the Bible—their meaning for ancient audiences and their implications for you today—so you can uncover the inexhaustible worth that is in God’s Word.

Genres: Christian, Theology, Christianity, Nonfiction, Religion, Faith, Christian Living

287 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Gordon Fee was Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Regent College, where he taught for sixteen years. His teaching experience also included serving schools in Washington, California, Kentucky, as well as Wheaton College in Illinois (five years) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts (twelve years).

Gordon Fee was a noted New Testament scholar, having published several books and articles in his field of specialization, New Testament textual criticism. He also published a textbook on New Testament interpretation, co-authored two books for lay people on biblical interpretation, as well as scholarly-popular commentaries on 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus and on Galatians, and major commentaries on 1 Corinthians and Philippians. He is also the author of a major work on the Holy Spirit and the Person of Christ in the letters of Paul.

Gordon Fee served as the general editor of the New International Commentary series, as well as on the NIV revision committee that produced the TNIV. Besides his ability as a biblical scholar, he was a noted teacher and conference speaker. He has given the Staley Distinguished Christian Scholar lectures on fifteen college campuses as well as the annual NT lectures at Southwestern Baptist Seminary, North Park Seminary, the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, the Canadian Theological Seminary, Duke Divinity School, Golden Gate Baptist, Anderson School of Theology, Asbury Seminary, and Chrichton College. An ordained minister with the Assemblies of God, Gordon Fee was well known for his manifest concern for the renewal of the church.

Gordon Fee was married and had four married children.

Reviews

[Amy Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

In all honesty, the only reason that I read this book is because it was required for a class. I'm glad that I read it and am thankful to have kept it as a reference. My only regret is that I wasn't made aware of it sooner. Having read it much sooner would have saved me decades of headache and heartache in sorting through all the twisted theologies currently parading through the modern church today.

This book is about the bible and its original intention, and how to read it in that context. Fee and Stuart emphasize repeatedly the common mistake that many individual Christians(and most churches) make in twisting the scriptures - particularly the Old Testament - into somehow being about the present age, which it isn't! They further explain how the Old Testament is misinterpreted in the present day by many legalistic doctrines to be a moral standard and judgment on present day living. It isn't and was never intended to be.

Furthermore, Fee & Stuart clearly point out the flaws of the KJV/NKJV by exposing translation errors that essentially change the meaning of the original text by encouraging what is known as "proof-texting" which simply means taking verses out of context to suit ones own meaning, i.e. "name it and claim it" theology, so-called end-times "the sky is falling" rescue-ism of Dispensational theology, taking Revelation literally rather than as the figurative narrative from Genesis to the ascension of Christ, the egoism of Calvinism, etc., etc.

This book is for anyone who is a critical thinker, whether Christian or not, who wishes to understand more fully the bible as it was meant to be read and understood: in the original context and as addressed to the original reader, and why. If you are a dogmatic and rigid Christian unaccustomed to and uncomfortable with examining your belief system, or if you are a dogmatic and rigid atheist who refuses to believe in spite of evidence, then this book will likely irritate you. Even so, I highly recommend it! It challenged me, answered many questions that I've had for more than two decades in a logical and meaningful way, and has helped to reshape my view of God the Father from a moralistic micromanager of mankind to that of a living Creator intent on redeeming the world and not just a narrowly limited few.

[Jason Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

On Sunday nights, our little group has started taking a book of the Bible each week and discussing it. Going through the the books in written order, we talk about the book’s history, intent and what its implications are for us today. We decided to do this because several in our group have a precarious relationship with Scripture. Some of of us have very little exposure to it previously. For others it’s intimidating. And some are simply deciding what their relationship to the Bible is.

With this in mind, I was anxious to read Fee and Stuart’s How to Read the Bible for All its Worth. The book provides an overview of how to understand the the tools, terminology and effective approaches to reading and understanding the Bible.

Approachable?
Gordon Fee taught at Regent College, which is known for providing a theological education for lay persons. With this in mind, I was curious as to whether or not this book was really useful to the lay person. The book does requires familiarity with Scripture. I wouldn’t recommend this to someone who does not have previous exposure to Scripture and Christian thought without a dialog partner.

Bias?
While potentially an unfair expectation, I was interested in whether the authors are able to direct the reader in how to study while allowing the reader to develop their own conclusions This is not necessarily a bad thing, but there are several doctrinal issues that the authors clearly couldn’t avoid speaking to. And not always convincingly in my opinion. It may very well be that directing the study of Scripture can’t be done without directing some of the outcomes. Still, should the reader be told what his or her conclusion ought to be if honest study is the goal?

Brevity?
Considering how much has been written on any given book of the Bible, can such a short book cover the subject of biblical study fairly? The authors actually do a superb job of covering the “basics” of reading the Bible. Their explanations are concise, provide examples and is, usually, easy to follow. The fact that the book is so comprehensive while so pithy is certainly a testament to the writers’ expertise.

The authors’ confess in the preface that they are admittedly scholars and write as such. Still, it is a comprehensive book for most looking for an introduction to the Bible, how it is assembled and how it ought to be read. I wonder if it is fair not to provide more significant information on differing opinions. But the authors write with conviction and reading the Bible in a manner that does effect our living is often a challenge. I appreciated that Fee and Stuart actually encouraged the reader to respond to Scripture not just in thought but in living as well.

[Timothy Berg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is hands-down the best treatment of hermeneutics (or bible-study or exegesis) that I've ever come across. It is written at the popular level (no Greek, Hebrew, or degree with multiple letters required) yet treats the issue far better than a great many more technical works. The authors have a singular commitment to "authorial intent" as the goal of historical exegesis. This commitment and the clear and relevant way in which they demonstrate the principles of exegesis as applied to the different genres of scripture (they identify eight; epistles, Old Testament narratives, acts, gospels [including a separate chapter on parables], law, prophets, wisdom, and revelation) sets the book apart, and makes it the first I would recommend to anyone seeking to understand the bible.

Note that while Stuart is a Southern Baptist, Fee is a Pentecostal, and both are egalitarians. It seems like less than a coincidence that a great many of the "examples" of exegetical difficulties presented thus touch on women in ministry and tongues. A reader coming to the book with a conservative fundamentalist theological grid may find the authors' conclusions on these and similar issues difficult to stomach. However, they treat the issues fairly, and from the standpoint of solid exegesis of the texts at hand, if not always in light of extended reflection on other pertinent texts in the New Testament.

For a more technical presentation of the exegetical method taught here, see "old testament exegesis" and "new testament exegesis" by these two authors respectively.
The book is exceptional, and I highly recommend it.

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was recommended by a professor from one of my classes, so I took him up on it and decided to give it a shot.

The authors had some wonderful things to say. Fantastic tools and lessons about interpreting pieces of scripture and understanding our place in the role of interpretation. A minor overview is simple: verses and teachings must be left in their original context, and interpretation should be something a first century Christian (or ancient Israelite) would have understood. We need to read our Bibles in light of the historical-grammatical understanding with which the Bible was written.

There is, however, one rather large caveat. The entire first chapter (the epistles) should basically be skipped. These authors have two bones they don't want to let go.

First, they claim the NIV is the single greatest translation of the Bible to ever exist. They offhandedly reject the King James, the New King James, the ESV, the NLT, and the Klingon Bibles. It helps that their publisher (Zondervan) is also the NIV publisher. Now, I'm not here to get into a translation argument, but the NIV is certainly not without its faults (a homosexual helped translate it, so references to homosexuality tend to be missing, and John 7:8 basically make Jesus a liar, to name a couple). I'm also not going to uphold the reverence of the KJ many people have, it is simply impossible to understand and will struggle to connect to non-believers. The best translation is the one you'll read. I have my favorite, others have theirs, and as long as we don't get too off the rails (like the Klingon) then you'll be alright. These authors push the NIV like used car salesmen.

More devastating, however, is how they choose to treat a set of passages they disagree with. These authors go to some pretty extreme lengths to argue that women should be allowed to be leaders in church. We can go to the table, we can have this argument and both sides can make good points about what Paul meant and what it means for a 21st century audience. This is HOTLY debated among Christians. Their best course of action would have been to avoid it. Instead, these authors decide to announce that they don't think these passages were written by Paul and were instead added later by a disagreeable translator or scribe.

This has some HUGE theological repercussions. I had to put the book aside for nearly a month and debated the whole time if it was even worth continuing. I nearly came here to simply give the thing a big DNF and a one-star review. Cooler heads prevailed, and after the epistles section it only came up a few more times (but it kept coming up), and it piledrives this book from something every Christian should read, to something only the most discerning should even consider. I pretty much regret purchasing the book because of their treatment of Corinthians.

If we simply decide Paul didn't write that verse, why not other verses? Why not whole books? if we can remove one verse like that, then we can remove everything we don't like. It is a very dangerous road to travel when discussing the Bible. This isn't a book we can pick and choose what we like and don't. If we can't accept 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, then how can we accept John 3:16? In fact, John's gospel was FAR more contested than any of Paul's writings.

If we can't trust an all powerful God to take care of a book, then how can we trust Him to take care of us?

We can debate over how to interpret and understand 1 Corinthians, but we can't simply say it wasn't Paul's writing (or a single verse was added by mistake). The Bible doesn't work like that.

It is no accident that female pastors almost always lead to Progressive Christianity, and generally speaking are very much allowed at the most liberal of denominations.

The issue is sales. Women dominate the church. They have since the 1200's, and so if you want to write a book for Christians, you have to write a book that will appeal to women.

I would be wary of this book. I recommend Basic Bible Interpretation by Roy Zuck, or Understanding and Applying the Bible by Robertson McQuilkin. I had my issues with those books as well, but nothing on the level of the heresy presented here!

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely good resource for learning how to read Scripture. If I had read something like this when I first came to Faith it would have saved me from many wacky interpretations. While I did find the author overly dogmatic on some minor questionable points, over-all this was a fantastic course in biblical interpretation.

[Michael K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe I have read a newer version of this several years ago. In either case, whether I did or did not, I believe we can pick up new ideas and tricks to learn newer and better ways to learn and study the Bible. Gleaning far more from it than prior times. You might call it active reading or critically reading, placing everything into its proper context. The Bible is that one book that a person can read once each year, or multiple times per year, and pick up something new that they did not get from it before in prior readings. Anything I can do that will open my eyes and my mind and my spirit to glean something new, something else, anything that will aid in my understanding. Anything that will help you to better understand, critically read, and focus your contextual comprehension of the Biblical study that you perform, I am all in favor of it. Each and every one of us studies and comprehends just a little bit differently than the rest. So, find your niche!

[Taylor Rollo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a helpful book overall and will make a good reference for studying various genres of the biblical books. That is probably the most helpful aspect of this book: helping the reader to understand the qualities of each genre of biblical books (e.g. narrative, poetry, prophecy, etc.) and how the qualities of each genre guide our exegesis of the book and interpretation of it. I plan to use this book as a reference in the future when I teach different books of the Bible. I might even use it when I teach a class on biblical interpretation because it has a lot of helpful material.

However, I cannot recommend this book to anyone because their primary and most basic rule of hermeneutics (interpretation) is faulty in the way it is stated. Their primary rule is: "a text cannot mean what it never could have meant to its author or [original] readers." (p. 77) I know what they are trying to guard against with this rule, and I agree in general with that precaution. They are trying to guard against someone trying to make a text mean whatever they want it to mean through allegorizing it or taking the "what does this mean to you" route. Certainly, many bad and harmful interpretations have been made because people have thought a text could mean anything if they can somehow make a case for it.

However, this rule, particularly in the OT books, violates how the NT interprets the old and what Jesus Himself says to us about Himself in the OT in Luke 24:27: "And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." This does not mean that Jesus is in every verse or behind every object, but He is in ALL the Scriptures, as the text tells us. The whole OT points us to Him, including the narratives and other genres besides prophecy. Yet, I seriously doubt that all the OT original readers and authors would have known that at every place Jesus did. For example, Jesus points out in Jn. 3:1-15 that He is typified in the serpent that Moses lifted up in Nu. 21. He is pointing out that while it is a real, historical story in Nu. 21, that story pointed beyond the direct meaning Moses and the original readers knew to Himself.

Given that the authors of this book violate their own rule in a few chapters (i.e. those on prophecy, the psalms, and Revelation), and how they try to accommodate Paul's use of the OT in 1 Co. 10, they would probably answer, "Yes, well Jesus can do that because He is inspired but you cannot," which is basically what they said about Paul. Yet, that is not an acceptable answer. I agree Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit and Jesus is God Himself, so they know what I do not, but that does not change the simple fact that the meaning IS THERE in the passage, even though the OT human author and audience did not know it. That shows their rule is too restrictive.

And, of course, it makes sense that their rule would be too restrictive because the Holy Spirit is the true author of all of Scripture. He is the one who inspired the OT authors to write, so He certainly could have inspired books that have a level of meaning to their original audiences that take on a new level of meaning IN LIGHT OF THE NT. Because of that, I would suggest an update of their rule for interpretation: "a text cannot mean what it never could have meant to its author or [original] readers, IF they had access to the revelation of Christ in the NT like we do." That is, if the original author knew what we know about Christ, would he have looked at what he wrote and said, "Ah yes, I see it now in the light of Christ." This still keeps good constraints on interpretation because it does not allow us to make the text mean whatever we want, but it also allows for the OT to be read in light of the NT and to see the mysteries God hid there but now fully revealed in Christ (Col. 1:24-29). As B. B. Warfield, the great Princeton theologian, wrote: the OT is like a room full of wonderful furniture but the light is off, but with the NT, the light is turned on. We must interpret the OT in light of the NT; not just within itself.

I suspect the authors do not want to allow this for perhaps two reasons (at least): First, they obviously have a dispensational view of the covenants and OT and NT, so they would not agree that the OT is as strongly related to the NT as those of us who understand covenant theology; second, they have a narrow view of inspiration, believing that the Holy Spirit can only inspire an author to write that which an author can completely understand. These are theological presuppositions that they do not defend at all when they state their rule, and they are presuppositions with which I do not agree, so I cannot fully endorse this book. There are many who might not notice these presuppositions, and then would read the Bible, especially the OT, and miss how it all has Jesus at the center. Such reading of the Bible is what leads many, many preachers to make the OT stories simply moral examples and not gospel-centered.

That being said, I think their initial rule is broken, which means how they interpret the Bible, especially the OT, will be defective from the beginning. (Also, they do not really keep this rule consistently anyway, for they seem to feel free to violate it when working with the psalms, prophets, and Revelation.)

That, however, does not mean this book is not useful. Its discussion of translations and the translation process is good (though biased because both of them are on the NIV translation board and so, unsurprisingly, they applaud the NIV and downplay its major competitors like the ESV). Their chapters on each biblical genre is really helpful, and generally their hermeneutical rules for each genre are accurate (though some do depend on their primary rule, so those need to be modified too). So, I will use it in the future, but I will not be giving it out because of their primary rule. If you do not know how to filter that, it can lead you in a very wrong direction of interpretation.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent exploration of the different genres in the Bible, with guiding principles focused on content and context—exegesis and hermeneutics. Would recommend to any Christian. There's a few things I could nitpick. But really, it's outstanding.

[René Gehrmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutes Must-Read über die Grundlagen zur Exegese und Hermeneutik.

[Lananorris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is the best and most important of all the books ABOUT the Bible. We are supposed to read and understand and love the word of God, but it is hard sometimes to do all of those things with a work of literature that was written thousands of years ago and half a world away. I think that most Christians tend to think that since the Bible is a book apart from all other books that it should not be read in the same way that we read other works of literature. While we should revere God's word we are instructed within its pages to handle it properly. There is more to reading the Bible than simply reading and memorizing our favorite stories and passages. Dr. Fee reminds us that we are to read God's word and then shape our lives to it; instead, many times we read God's word to support our opinions, our politics and our lifestyles. There are many pet doctrines out there which were first formed in the mind and then the Bible has been forced into the mold of the that doctrine. The Bible can stand up to the closest scrutiny. It will surpass any other religous works when judged by the same standard with which we judge any other ancient work. The Bible is worth the time and study to learn how to read it and interpret it properly. Most of the criticisms of the Church can be traced back to human interpretations (or misinterpretations) of the Word of God.

[Angela Blount · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 Stars

All in all, this has been a deeply valuable reference for learning to read the Bible--and to explain to others how they can better understand it themselves and find relevant life application. On a deep study level, I'm impressed with how much its expanded my ability to discern the full historical and literary context of commonly misused/misunderstood passages and verses. I'd long understood that most abuses of biblical quotation and interpretation centered around either proof-texting, or a simple lack of thorough reading (not reading the verse before and after the verse in question, never mind taking the time to read the full paragraph or chapter it's actually found in.) But this book's orderly approach to gaining better perspective was enlightening to degrees that reminded me just how much I don't know I don't know. I came away awed by how many different genres make up the entirety of the Bible—I'd only been taught a few, and the scope of it had previously eluded me. Hence one of my favorite takeaways:

*“One of the most important aspects of the human side of the Bible is that, in order to communicate his Word to all human conditions, God chose to use almost every available kind of communication: narrative history, genealogies, chronicles, laws of all kinds, poetry of all kinds, proverbs, prophetic oracles, riddles, drama, biographical sketches, parables, letters, sermons, and apocalypses.”

How To Read Your Bible For All Its Worth is strongly academic, yet structured well enough to walk laymen through some progressive comprehension on the basis and basics of biblical interpretation. I don't recommend reading this book out of order, as the chapters generally build on each other. The first chapter is especially crucial to understanding where to begin with your reading/interpreting and why. There is a reasoning and a method to their suggestions, and it is blessedly orderly:

Exegesis: the careful, systematic study of the Scripture to discover the original, intended meaning. This is basically a historical task.

Hermeneutics: the study of the methodological principles of interpretation. It is used in the narrower sense of seeking the contemporary relevance of ancient texts.

*"The reason one needs to learn -how- to interpret is that, whether one likes it or not, every reader is at the same time an interpreter. That is, most of us assume as we read that we also understand what we read. … We also tend to think that -our understanding- is the same thing as the Holy Spirit's or human author's -intent-. However, we invariably bring to the text all that we are, with all of our experiences, culture, and prior understandings of words and ideas. Sometimes what we bring to the text, unintentionally to be sure, leads us astray, or else causes us to read all kinds of foreign ideas into the text."

It's difficult to rate a book like this, given its instructional/textbook-like feel and function. It is a bit dry at times, though the authors certainly make a go at humorous insertions to hold their reader's attention. At a few points I worried their wording choice was on the needlessly convoluted side—yet, it's hard to argue with the voice and perspective of theological professors who certainly know this material better than I could hope to. The main detractors that bothered this reader were their structural layout in the chapter explaining the four gospels, in which they didn't—for whatever reason—opt to tell us about the gospel authors. (I didn't mind looking that up myself, but it seemed exegetically relevant.) And their approach to chapter 13 (the Revelation) which seemed to shy away from the fantastical part of the imagery. Ultimately I was hoping for more depth into the numerous pools of interpretation for that book, but I can somewhat understand why they kept things brief with a book so full of unknowns.

[Craig Toth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this book for any who need to learn how to read the Bible more precisely.* It was a great help for me, as it will be for you—particularly if you are accustomed to the all-too-common habit of "proof-texting"—i.e., lifting verses out of context and applying them according to one's own predetermined ideas.

*Note: The fact is, many Christians--even Christians who can quote verses all day long--do not know how to read the Bible well. Too many engage in "proof-texting" (see above). Reading the Bible a lot, and being able to quote a lot of verses, does not eliminate the need for paying close attention to the text--and the context (literary, social/historical, etc.)--when one reads scripture. Get this book and learn how to read the Bible with the respect it deserves!

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't get me wrong, this book has some helpful stuff to say. BUT, in my opinion it is fundamentally flawed, especially in relation to OT interpretation.

[Dusty Kirkland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a high recommendation for anyone who wants to read the Bible in the way it was meant to be read and interpreted on your own. It really breaks things down, and it explains things in a way that makes sense to someone even if you aren’t a bible scholar who knows a lot. I got a lot out of reading it, and I definitely will be taking what I learned into my personal Jesus time.

[Sarah Mullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting for a textbook read! Gave me more perspective about taking physical and historical context of the Bible when reading in a more literal sense. Still a textbook tho so pretty dry

[Paul Sheffield · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a layperson who has not been to seminary, this book needs to be mandatory reading for every seminary student. Fee also writes with such ease and engages the reader on a topic that, for many, may seem rather dry.

Anyone who is serious about reading and studying the Bible, both for academia and evangelical-type Bible study need to read this book. Fee also has a great list of commentaries listed in the appendix should you want further engagement. However, he is a strong proponent of commentaries being the LAST thing you should use and the best “commentary” is a reader’s own exegetical and hermeneutical approach to the text.

Fee also is a proponent of reading Scripture in large chunks and out loud in group settings which I appreciate and is often lost amongst modern western evangelicals.

Anyways, if you are reading this…read this book!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was required reading for my Old Testament survey course in college in 2000. Hard to believe that so much time has passed since then (writing this in Jan. 2018), but I still turn to this book frequently and find it helpful. Not surprisingly, nearly every book that I have read since then about rightly handling Scripture quotes and/or cites Fee and Stuart at some point. In my mind, this is a classic primer on the subject.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of bang for your buck!

[Michael Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stewart examines the exegetical and hermeneutical issues related to the various genres of biblical literature. It provides a comprehensive introduction that should truly enhance a believer’s ability to read the Scriptures profitably while avoiding many common pitfalls. Although written by two distinguished biblical scholars, the authors do try to make this accessible to the laity.

The focus is on reading the Scriptures, not formally studying them. Their “basic concern” is helping readers understand the different types of literature they will encounter in the Bible. For each of these types (genres), they have two overriding concerns: proper exegesis and proper hermeneutics. They insist that the reader must first understand what the original author said to the original audience (“the plain meaning” or “the author’s intended meaning”). Only after doing that can the reader tackle questions of application. The key to exegesis is a careful, close reading of the text, while asking the right questions. Those questions involve context (historical and literary) and content. Hermeneutics on the other hand seeks the contemporary relevance of the text.

They begin with the premise that we are all interpreters of Scripture when we read it and, therefore, we need to be responsible readers and interpreters. We cannot claim not to interpret (“it just means what it says so no interpretation is necessary”) because we are all doing it all the time. If we are using an English translation, that is itself an interpretation, so our reading of that is an interpretation of an interpretation. Again, since that is the reality, we need to ensure we are wise and conscientious interpreters. This book provides tools for the purpose.

The authors provide some good guidelines for evaluating and choosing an English translation with some detours into textual criticism. Their ultimate conclusion is to avoid the KJV and NKJV because they believe them to be based on an inferior text type.

The bulk of the book is an examination of several different genres of biblical literature: epistles (occasional documents where context is critical), Old Testament narratives (God’s story that has relevance to our lives today, not allegories or moralizing lessons), Acts (a specific look at one NT narrative account and its application today), the gospels (four different but complimentary narratives), Parables (simple metaphors that require some unpacking), the law (apodictic and casuistic law as covenant), the prophets, the Psalms, wisdom literature, and Revelation.

The authors conclude with a helpful, if not exactly robust, appendix on evaluating and using commentaries, both Old and New Testament, for both the general reader and advanced students.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand biblical genres in greater depth in order to deepen their reading of Scripture. The guidance the authors present for the reading of the genres is of great value, though they often veer into offering their own interpretation as the one correct interpretation rather than merely equipping the reader to do their own reading and coming to their own understanding.

[Lynda Dietz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book because it was the required reading for a twelve-week course I was enrolled in, and even though my reading felt like a race to the finish toward the end of the course, I’m so glad to have it in my possession. This book seems to cover it all, and then some.

The class and this book were eye-opening confirmation that justified much of my uneasiness with people who say, “it’s in there; you’re just not spiritual enough to find it,” or “trust me, everyone thinks XYZ passage means this, but God showed me [and only me] what it really means.”

In one of the first sections, right there on page 23, it says, “Interpretation that aims at, or thrives on, uniqueness can usually be attributed to pride . . . a false understanding of spirituality . . . or vested interests.” Instead, interpretation should be done with careful examination of what's actually authoritative (rather than simply an example mentioned), taking into consideration the word meanings at the time of the authors, the historical context, and the literary context.

I knew to read in context, and that many people take a single verse for their purposes without considering what’s around it for interpretation, but yet I was guilty of shallow examination of verses I thought I knew—the “easy” ones that seemed pretty clear-cut.

I think one of the things that’s shifted so much of my thinking is that everything— everything—deserves closer examination. Just because a particular passage doesn’t seem troublesome doesn’t mean it is as straightforward as I might think it is. I think we all probably have our “pet” verses, and we desperately want them to mean what helps us to feel better.

Something I enjoyed in the reading was that there was not one single Bible translation that was held up as the ONLY valid one to read. Each version is broken down into categories from literal translation (word for word) to dynamic equivalent (phrase for phrase) all the way to free translation (concept for concept). The idea that more than a handful of translations are useful to attack a passage from various angles allowed me to see how each one could be a study aid in its own way.

I appreciated that How to broke down the various genres, and outlined the necessary factors in how to interpret what they’re saying. Even though I knew Song of Solomon and the Psalms were poetry, I never thought about the fact that their imagery was similar to how we’d write song lyrics. Duh. Of course they would be. But somehow, when we see the word “Bible,” the normal rules fly out the window and we seem to feel that different rules should apply, because it’s not the common man’s poetry.

I felt that gave a good guideline for being able to pull a meaning for me, today, out of something that was spoken to someone else long ago, and to apply it properly. The book focused heavily on exegesis and doing it well.

Even the appendix is so thorough that its commentary recommendations take into consideration what may be better for the general reader in comparison to the advanced student, which is so helpful when trying to figure out which books may be over my head, or just right for me.

Overall, this book was so chock-full of information that I plan on rereading it as soon as I can manage it.

[Nancy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful resource for someone who wants to begin to go deeper into studying his or her Bible. The authors emphasize the importance both of proper exegesis as well as interpretation of the Word.

The chapters are organized by Biblical genre - narrative, epistles, law, Psalms, Gospels, etc. Each chapter delves into the particular challenges - and riches! - of each genre.

I would have considered this potentially a 5 ⭐️ book had not the material on Revelation been so disappointing. The authors seem to have forgotten their own hermeneutical rules for this final chapter.

[Elizabeth Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This aptly-named title is an excellent resource for those who struggle with understanding how to read the Bible. While many of the suggestions are applicable to reading different genres in general, the material breaks down when to apply them and where it’s not appropriate to apply them.

[Amanda Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't have a detailed memory of this book; I read it during my freshman year of college for Old Testament Survey. I do know this book gave me a clearer understanding of Bible genres and the importance of context.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was SO helpful. I can see myself coming back to it again and again to get a refresher on how to properly approach specific genres. The advice for evaluating translations and choosing commentaries was also really useful.

I did find myself disagreeing with a few of the authors' conclusions but not enough to disagree with their approach and recommendations.

[Chad Stogner · Rating 5 out of 5]

11/10. Seriously. This book is in a category of its own. There are 5 star books that were just highly enjoyable, and then there are 5 star books that I deeply believe everyone (or at least every follower of Jesus) needs to read. This is one of those books.

[Adam Warfel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly one of the best practical books I’ve read in a while. For anyone scratching their head wanting to read their Bible but having difficulty on how to go about this Gordon Fee does an incredible job of giving practical tools to use and then goes through and discusses what certain contexts are in each of the different kinds of Scripture.

[Garrett Rupp · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I’ve ever read. Incredible tool to read the Bible better.

[Josh G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very clear, detailed, and useful handbook for how to interpret the various genres of the Bible.

[Reese · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good work, good principles, and good overviews of Biblical books, themes, and genres.

The biggest problem with this work is it assumes the starting point of the New Testament, without warrant, and therefore lowers the standing of the Old Testament to those reading this book. "The OT is history, but the NT is really for us today!"

Moreover, and even more concerning, is it ignores the centrality of Christ in the Scriptures.

They warn against allegorization, but in doing so they remove any concept of connecting the incarnate God with his own OT scriptures.

(In a sense, they create a false dichotomy between allegory and seeing Christ in the OT)

Yes, the grammatical historical context matters, but also the "theological" or redemptive-historical framwork is just as relevant.

A better book to read instead of this would be Kostenburger's Introduction to Biblical interpretation.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent common sense book on helping a person to read and understand the scriptures. I especially appreciated the chapter on Bible translations and how they compare in their accuracy.