Reader S Guide To The Bible

"Ideal for introductory Bible courses, adult education groups, and readers of any faith, this book is an invitation to engage biblical text in a direct, fulfilling, and honest manner in order to better understand and interpret it, and to enter into the process of learning how to do this."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Many of us would like to know more about the Bible, but don't know where to begin. A Beginner's Guide to Reading the Bible is a concise introduction that assumes no previous acquaintance with Scripture. The author provides an overview of the content of the Bible, a look at the kinds of literature it contains, describes how the Old and New Testaments were formed, discusses some commonly used English translations, and lists resources that can be helpful to beginning readers.

A Feminist Companion to Reading the Bible: Approaches, Methods and Strategies forms a conclusion to the series of 10 volumes published in the groundbreaking Feminist Companion to the Bible since 1993. Not only is this the companion to the Companion, but, it is at the same time the forerunner and companion to a second series of nine volumes of the Feminist Companion. In all, there will be a unique collection of 20 volumes representing the enormous range of influence that feminist criticism has come to have in biblical studies. Anchored always in particular biblical texts, the essays in this multi-authored Companion to Reading the Bible have a distinct methodological slant, reflecting the numerous developments in feminist criticism that have occurred since the first books in the series were published, and forming an indispensable handbook for every biblical scholar and student today.

James Kugel’s essential introduction and companion to the Bible combines modern scholarship with the wisdom of ancient interpreters for the entire Hebrew Bible. As soon as it appeared, How to Read the Bible was recognized as a masterwork, “awesome, thrilling” (The New York Times), “wonderfully interesting, extremely well presented” (The Washington Post), and “a tour de force...a stunning narrative” (Publishers Weekly). Now, this classic remains the clearest, most inviting and readable guide to the Hebrew Bible around—and a profound meditation on the effect that modern biblical scholarship has had on traditional belief. Moving chapter by chapter, Harvard professor James Kugel covers the Bible’s most significant stories—the Creation of the world, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood, Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and his wives, Moses and the exodus, David’s mighty kingdom, plus the writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the other prophets, and on to the Babylonian conquest and the eventual return to Zion. Throughout, Kugel contrasts the way modern scholars understand these events with the way Christians and Jews have traditionally understood them. The latter is not, Kugel shows, a naïve reading; rather, it is the product of a school of sophisticated interpreters who flourished toward the end of the biblical period. These highly ideological readers sought to put their own spin on texts that had been around for centuries, utterly transforming them in the process. Their interpretations became what the Bible meant for centuries and centuries—until modern scholarship came along. The question that this book ultimately asks is: What now? As one reviewer wrote, Kugel’s answer provides “a contemporary model of how to read Sacred Scripture amidst the oppositional pulls of modern scholarship and tradition.”

This book has been prepared for use as a textbook for Methodist Local Preachers on Trial, but there are few readers at any stage of development or attainment who would not find its pages informative and helpful. A valuable introduction deals with various aspects of the New Testament, and the teaching of Jesus according to the Synoptic Gospels is the subject of a separate chapter. Thereafter, the author offers comments on selected New Testament passages. These comments--terse, pithy, shrewd, and factual--will be of the greatest help both to preachers and to all who desire to understand their Bible.

Understanding the Bible: A Guide to Reading the Scriptures will inform your reading and enrich your understanding of the Bible from historical, literary, and faith perspectives. It is ideal for use regardless of your background, your beliefs, your questions, or the Bible translation you are reading. Inside are articles that explore the Bible in its faith, historical, and cultural contexts. The Bible is looked at as literature too--its genres and literary forms. There are articles introducing the Old and New Testaments, specifically the Pentateuch, the Historical Books, the Wisdom and Poetry Books, the Prophets, the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, the Letters, and Revelation. The history and differences of translations are discussed, and other tools to help you unlock the Bible are introduced. Additional aids include maps, charts, a timeline, and a glossary. Together these aids further investigate the Bible and the world in which it was written, as well as the progression of scholarship that helps us understand the Bible today.