How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth: Fourth Edition

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The Bible is meant to be read and comprehended by everyone from casual readers to seminary students.

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.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. 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. The antidote to bad interpretation is not no interpretation but good interpretation, based on commonsense guidelines. If I had read something like this when I first came to Faith it would have saved me from many wacky interpretations. I really appreciated the humility and incredible knowledge of the authors as they lay out a systematic and scholarly way to interpret each section of the Bible based on genre and historical context.

While we should not expect Fee and Stuart to state Charismatic theology as the indisputable truth of the matter, neither should we accept it if they dismiss an aspect of theology without giving it room to breathe. Yet, I seriously doubt that all the OT original readers and authors would have known that at every place Jesus did. In the sphere of hermeneutical discourse, its brevity is admirable, however, in terms of comprehensiveness, there are better works available. Good thing in this book is its consistency in going through text and context for the main types of Books in the Bible. The problem with too many preachers and teachers is that they dig around so much they tend to muddy the waters.Their “basic concern” is helping readers understand the different types of literature they will encounter in the Bible. In fact we are convinced that the single most serious problem people have with the Bible is not with a lack of understanding but with the fact that they understand many things too well!

The first 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. The need for the interpreter to have a lucid understanding of the characters in Scripture and the geographical and cultural milieu in which they lived is brilliantly outlined. e. obligatory) way - unless it can be demonstrated on other grounds that the author intended it to function in this way.While the same pattern used for the exegesis of Old Testament is applicable to the study of Acts, the authors provide a separate treatment of this book since the majority of believers acknowledge that Acts serves as the "pattern for Christian behavior or church life. Gordon Fee served as the general editor of the New International Commentary series until 2012, and was on the NIV revision committee that produced the TNIV. 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.

The parables are some of the most beloved portions of Scripture and also perhaps among the most misunderstood and misinterpreted.

Among his earlier writings are Studies in Early Hebrew Meter, Old Testament Exegesis: A Primer for Students and Pastors, and Favorite Old Testament Passages. The importance of addressing these issues cannot be overstated and the authors' treatment of difficulties such as euphemisms, word plays and elements of grammar/syntax abound with relevant examples. 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.