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

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: ancient history writing, unnumbered visions, etiological nature, New Testament, Hebrew Bible, Jesus Christ (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Thoughtfully considered and ably written, this book is highly recommended for all libraries."--Library Journal
"Steven L. McKenzie offers a fresh take on the ancient texts of the Bible and allows us to see the familiar biblical landscape in wholly new and illuminating ways. How to Read the Bible is authoritative and provocative, often witty and always insightful and illuminating, an essential tool for modern readers of the Jewish and Christian scriptures." --Jonathan Kirsch, author of God Against the Gods: The History of the War Between Monotheism and Polytheism and The Harlot by the Side of the Road: Forbidden Tales of the Bible
"In order to determine what the Bible means, we must first determine the intentions of its authors, intentions expressed in the literary genres they used. In his examination of several genres used in the Bible, McKenzie demonstrates through detailed analysis how the identification of genre is as necessary for the understanding of biblical literature as it is of any literature. An important and insightful book."--Michael D. Coogan, editor of The New Oxford Annotated Bible, Third Edition, and The Oxford History of the Biblical World
"How to Read the Bible is a role model of its kind. Steven L. McKenzie, a rising star in our field, has 'squared the circle' and delivered a book that blends serious up-to-date scholarship with a simple, straightforward style aimed at an intelligent but non-scholarly audience. At the same time, I would add a hint to scholars: We could read the book to advantage and pick up pointers on the latest wrinkles in our field of study, along with ways and means to improve our own presentation. Approaching the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) in terms of its types or categories of literature, the author explains and illustrates from the text of the Bible. While the book is an introductory survey, he samples the literature successfully and treats in detail selected stories and representative passages from the historical, prophetic, and wisdom books of the Old Testament." --David Noel Freedman, author of The Nine Commandments: Uncovering the Hidden Pattern of Crime and Punishment in the Hebrew Bible

Product Description

More people read the Bible than any other book. Indeed, many try to live their lives according to its words. The question is, do they understand what they're reading? As Steven McKenzie shows in this provocative book, quite often the answer is, "No." McKenzie argues that to comprehend the Bible we must grasp the intentions of the biblical authors themselves--what sort of texts they thought they were writing and how they would have been understood by their intended audience. In short, we must recognize the genres to which these texts belong. McKenzie examines several genres that are typically misunderstood, offering careful readings of specific texts to show how the confusion arises, and how knowing the genre produces a correct reading. The book of Jonah, for example, offers many clues that it is meant as a humorous satire, not a straight-faced historical account of a man who was swallowed by a fish. Likewise, McKenzie explains that the very names "Adam" and "Eve" tell us that these are not historical characters, but figures who symbolize human origins ("Adam" means man, "Eve" is related to the word for life). Similarly, the authors of apocalyptic texts--including the Book of Revelation--were writing allegories of events that were happening in their own time. Not for a moment could they imagine that centuries afterwards, readers would be poring over their works for clues to the date of the Second Coming of Christ, or when and how the world would end. For anyone who takes reading the Bible seriously and who wants to get it right, this book will be both heartening and enlightening.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; annotated edition edition (September 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195161491
• ISBN-13: 978-0195161496
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #877,480 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reading for context, not just words, May 14, 2006

By	J. J. Kwashnak "voracious reader" (Monroe, LA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Scholarly Work, December 6, 2008

By	Edward J. Barton (Mill Creek, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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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.

2 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars biblereader, February 5, 2007

By	carefulreader - See all my reviews

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.