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. This is a helpful book overall and will make a good reference for studying various genres of the biblical books. It will surpass any other religous works when judged by the same standard with which we judge any other ancient work. 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.

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. It is a bit dry at times, though the authors certainly make a go at humorous insertions to hold their reader's attention. 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.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. It is a heavier read than most popular Christian books, of course, but it does not take a theologian or a lot of Bible background to understand.

The authors provide some good guidelines for evaluating and choosing an English translation with some detours into textual criticism. But in a truer sense, such an argument is both naive and unrealistic because of two factors: the nature of the reader and the nature of Scripture.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. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Every so often we meet someone who says with great feeling, "You don't have to interpret the Bible; just read it and do what it says. Yet all of us are reading the same Bible, and we all are trying to be obedient to what the text "plainly" means. But not all of them do; and in every case they bend the truth by the way they select texts from the Bible itself.

Some of these problems are not entirely their fault - they're more illustrative of issues that can occur when a reader goes into a text already asserting that it is divinely inspired, and thereby having to prove it to be so. I might even use it when I teach a class on biblical interpretation because it has a lot of helpful material. 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.

This is not to say that the correct understanding of a passage may not often seem unique to someone who hears it for the first time. I think we all probably have our “pet” verses, and we desperately want them to mean what helps us to feel better. Number 2, I am the Creator of all things, including humankind"—and so on, all the way through proposition number 7,777 and imperative number 777. One can usually recognize the cults, for example, because they have an authority in addition to the Bible. I highly recommend it to any Bible student - even to use as a reference when you are going through a certain section of the Bible.

This is hands-down the best treatment of hermeneutics (or bible-study or exegesis) that I've ever come across. 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. The first chapter is especially crucial to understanding where to begin with your reading/interpreting and why.The aim of good interpretation is simple: to get at the "plain meaning of the text," the author's intended meaning. I recommend Basic Bible Interpretation by Roy Zuck, or Understanding and Applying the Bible by Robertson McQuilkin. Their extensive treatment of the genres of Scripture is beneficial to all believers, regardless of their level of theological acumen.