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How to Read the Bible: History, Prophecy, Literature--Why Modern Readers Need to Know the Difference, and What It Means for Faith Today

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Throughout history there has been no shortage of ways that people have read the bible: as literal truth, as an allegory, as history, as prophecy or as a guidebook. Professor McKenzie takes the bible as an important book, but one that needs to be read in context. The Bible was not written as a single book at a single time by a single author. Rather it is written by many, in many different ages for many purposes. Understanding the context that an author (or authors) prepared a book is important, or even crucial, to understanding the point the author is trying to get across. The prophets were not necessarily trying to tell what the future holds, but rather to point out what is going on in the world then, but in veiled ways to put their point across. We are reading the bible with hindsight, so we sometimes take the histories as accurate reporting, instead of stories with political or religious purpose, to create lines of events and people. The Gospels feature multiple traces of the lineage of Jesus, but each one differs, depending upon what the author wanted to emphasize, such as proving the unbroken link between Jesus and King David. The apocalyptic literature of Daniel, and the Book of Revelation can be shown to refer in context not to times yet to come, but the world situation when the author wrote the book - apocalypse meaning revelation in Greek. So instead of awaiting the end times, McKenzie shows how the books can be seen as a reflection of current political repression suffered by the Jews and early Christians.

Overall the book gives an interesting way to read and interpret the Bible - to make it a living book but in the proper context. Will this book convince the literalists and "end timers" a new interpretation of readings? Probably not. But for those who come in with an open mind, you may find something to make you think, or a new way of reading one fo the most important books in history.

The book is extremely well written, and a great introduction to reading the Bible critically and as literature. The author is a professor, not a preacher, and approaches the reading of the Bible in a contextual format. The basic types of Biblical writings are discussed, examined and examples are given. McKenzie emphasizes the need to read the Bible within the cultural, historical and literary framework at the time of writing. This approach is likely to turn off a reader who is looking for a religious rather than a critical scholarly text. I strongly recommend the book if you are looking for an approachable and readable introduction to scholarly Bible study.

This past summer I decided to read the Bible from cover to cover, all the way through. I've never done that before, but I hadn't expected it to be too difficult as a church-going Catholic. I figured that I had been getting most of the Bible along the way anyway by going to church. As I tackled the first five books of the Old Testament, I quickly found that I was mistaken. Genesis and Exodus were familiar with their popular stories, but I was quickly bogged down in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. That's when I started looking for a book that would give me more information ABOUT the Bible so that I would be better prepared to understand what I was reading and get something out of it. Steven L. McKenzie's book was exactly what I needed.

As a professor of the Hebrew Bible, he gives the reader a historian's scholarly perspective on the Bible, including both the Old and New Testaments. The main point of this book is that all books in the Bible need to be understood based on their genre. The other main emphasis of his book is the importance of understanding the context, historically, socially, and culturally, of the passages contained in the Bible. He starts by discussing the historical books in the Old Testament and explaining how the definition of history was different for ancient writers than it is today. Ancient history is a totally different genre from modern history. He then goes on with a number of examples of stories in the Bible that are misinterpreted as actual fact when they are more representations of how the Israelites look at their history.

McKenzie continues on in a similar manner, discussing the prophetic books and the apocalyptic books. First, he explains the misunderstanding between modern readers and the authors of the books. Then he goes on to show how prophetic books need to be taken in the social contexts they are from. Rather than trying to predict the future, they are immediately applicable to the situations from which they arose and were written. Once again, he takes many specific examples to give the reader a full understanding of the literature he is discussing.

Other topics covered include the Wisdom books and the Letters from the New Testament.

Something notable about this book is that it never undermines or criticizes either Judaism or Christianity. McKenzie explains the Bible from a scholars point of view, which may not agree with theology, but I thought that everything he wrote was respectful and thoughtful. This book is not in any way an attack on religion. It is simply a guide to help people from all walks of life understand the Bible as a literary work in its historical context. I am disappointed that some reviewers misinterpreted the object of this book.

If you are looking to learn more about the Bible and the meaning behind the books it contains, "How to Read the Bible" is a great place to start. It makes a world of a difference in the sometimes daunting task of reading the Bible.

I found much in this book to help me communicate to my students how biblical criticism clarifies the purpose of individual elements of the Bible. It's not light reading; it's a scholarly and academic project. But recognizing genre and its impact on text is essential for any reading of the Bible, scholarly or faith-based--and I found McKenzie's approach respectful of both possibilities. He's not assuming verbal inerrancy (that every individual word is inspired and true), but he's also not assuming that the whole text is of only historical/literary worth either. His starting discussion of Jonah is a wonderful instance--recognizing the genre (both what biblical prophecy is and isn't; what satire does and doesn't do) helps clarify the message the text offered its original audience: it's a message of tolerance to a world full of those quick to judge and condemn differences. McKenzie offers specific references to the Hebrew words, textual structure, and archaelogy to provide clarity. Good stuff, clearly explained. Definitely worth reading if you're interested in understanding the Bible from a scholarly standpoint--regardless of where you want that standpoint to take you in faith terms.

this is awful, angry, elitist, and boring. readers are better served by Brettler's book on reading the Bible. Mackenzie tries to be provocative, but it comes across as angry and condescending.

Of all of the christian books I've read this one is the worst. If you are like me and know that the Bible is the inerrant word of God then you will laugh at this book. Not only does it say that Adam and Eve are just literary devices and dont exsist, it uses books not even in the canon of the Bible to prove nonsensical points. If you are a Christian don't waste your time reading the lies in this book. You could just save the trouble and read the ficticious Da Vinci Code.