Table of Contents

Part 1 What Is the Bible? 1

1 Who Are We as Readers of the Bible? 3

2 How Does a Text Mean? 9

3 Who Wrote the Bible? 17

4 Who Picked the Books of the Bible? 23

5 Why Does Translation Matter? 31

6 What Then Is the Word of God? 39

7 Who Ate We When We Read the Bible? 45

Part 2 How Then Do We Read the Bible? 51

8 How Do We Read Creation Texts? 53

9 How Do We Read Biblical Law? 59

10 How Do We Read Biblical Poetry? 63

11 How Do We Read Prophecy? 71

12 How Do We Read Wisdom Literature? 79

13 How Do We Read Narratives? 87

14 How Do We Read Four Gospels? 95

15 How Do We Read the Letters of Paul? 105

16 How Do We Read Apocalyptic Literature? 113

Conclusion 119

Recommended Reading 121

Appendix: Revised Gottwald Inventory 123