Reading and understanding the Bible is something most of us do intuitively. At least, that is, until we encounter someone who has interpreted a passage in a way that seems completely at odds with what it\u2019s plainly saying. Suddenly, we realize how important it is to have some guidelines for interpretation.<\/p>\n
The goal of these interpretive guidelines must be to extract the author\u2019s original intent. If we fail to ground our interpretation in the original intent, the Bible becomes putty that we can manipulate to mean whatever we might want. Such ungrounded reading is often harmless and might even seem spiritual (think of the athlete with Philippians 4:13 written on his shoes). But when ungrounded reading leads people to deny or undercut plain biblical truths, we realize interpretation must be grounded. It\u2019s not enough to study our Bibles. We need to study them following sound interpretive principles<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fortunately, there are many excellent resources to help us learn how to faithfully interpret the Bible, and I\u2019m convinced that anyone can learn faithful methods for Bible study. With that in mind, I want to highlight a few of the most helpful resources, especially accessible books that cover the basics. I will also mention three more academically oriented resources at the end.<\/p>\n Choose a few of these books to study. Ask your pastor or a mentor to discuss them with you. Maybe walk through them with your spouse, roommate, or small group. Let\u2019s all strive to better ground our interpretation in the author\u2019s original intent!<\/p>\n Before we look at any specific passage, it\u2019s helpful to have a sense of how the whole Bible fits together. That\u2019s because the Bible tells one unified story.<\/p>\n I recommend two resources to help with this.<\/p>\n This is my go-to recommendation for pastors and laypeople alike. It\u2019s also an illustrated children\u2019s Bible. That might be why it\u2019s so helpful!<\/p>\n It retells the whole story of the Bible<\/a> in a way that shows its united theme. There are only a few sentences on each page, making it a quick read. As an added bonus, the illustrations tell their own story. For example, Adam and Jesus are both drawn the same way. Or the picture of Adam and Eve leaving the garden mirrors the picture of Israel going into exile.<\/p>\n Read it with your kids or grandkids, or just read it on your own. Either way, you\u2019ll be learning how the Bible fits together!<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking for a grown-up book that explains how the Bible holds together, Vaughan Robert\u2019s 140-page overview is the clearest and simplest.<\/p>\n It focuses on the theme of kingdom<\/a>. He traces this theme through Eden, the fall, the covenants<\/a>, the monarchy, the prophets, the coming of Christ<\/a>, the church, and the final consummation. Roberts traces this basic storyline with accessible prose, clean chapter divisions, and helpful charts.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \t\t\tAdd to cart<\/a>\n \t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n Once you have a basic grasp of the unified story of the Bible, you\u2019ll want to learn the basics of how to read and interpret a particular passage.<\/p>\n There are hosts of books on this topic, some better than others. I\u2019ll highlight a few of my favorites, mentioning their particular strengths. No need to read them all. Pick one or two that you think might best suit you, and you\u2019ll be in a good place. Then practice!<\/p>\n This is not a book about how to read and interpret the Bible. Instead, it\u2019s a classic book aimed at teaching us how to read.<\/p>\n It was written in 1940 by University of Chicago professor Mortimer Adler, who also advocated for the idea of the \u201cGreat Books.\u201d<\/a> Adler aims to help us hear and consider an author\u2019s argument\u2014a skill which is essential for reading Scripture faithfully. As an added bonus, Adler tackles topics like how to use commentaries and how to read canonical books (e.g., the Bible).<\/p>\n It\u2019s on the longer side but generally accessible for those looking to think more holistically about reading with an eye toward authorial intent. How to Read a Book<\/em> is outstanding, surviving the test of time.<\/p>\n In Dig Deeper<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Beynon and Sach lay out sixteen essential tools for properly interpreting and applying<\/a> the Bible. Each tool receives its own chapter.<\/p>\n The chapters are short, clear, and very practical. I like it because it\u2019s a bit more thorough than most other entry-level books, without sacrificing brevity or clarity. The tradeoff is that sixteen steps might be too many to consistently follow in one\u2019s own study, especially since the tools feel a bit isolated in how they are presented.<\/p>\n Taken as a whole, though, there\u2019s no better entry-level book on how to study the Bible.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \t\t\tAdd to cart<\/a>\n \t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n Now in its fourth edition, the brilliance of this book is its focus on genres.<\/p>\n Every genre has slightly different tools for interpretation. When we read an Old Testament narrative, for example, we interpret it differently than we would a letter from Paul. Learning how to read and interpret each respective genre is invaluable for the Christian.<\/p>\n Stuart and Fee\u2019s book covers Epistles, Old Testament narrative, Acts, the Gospels<\/a>, parables, law, the Prophets, the Psalms, the Wisdom books, and Revelation. While not exhaustive, it provides a solid foundation for a genre-based interpretive approach.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \t\t\tAdd to cart<\/a>\n \t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n This is the newest book on my list, published in 2025 as part of Crossway\u2019s Theology Basics<\/a> series. It\u2019s simple, accessible, and clear.<\/p>\n Nielson lays out five tools for interpreting the Bible and explains each briefly and helpfully. The best part about this new offering is how hands-on it is. Each tool includes practice exercises, and the book has a compendium workbook to further practice the tools.<\/p>\n Nielson\u2019s approach, influenced by people like Dick Lucas<\/a> and David Helm<\/a>, is an easy entrypoint into biblical interpretation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \t\t\tAdd to cart<\/a>\n \t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n David Helm is a pastor and the chairman of the Charles Simeon Trust<\/a>, an organization that has spent thirty years training people on how to interpret and teach God\u2019s Word<\/a>.<\/p>\n This book is the preaching contribution to the 9Marks Building Healthy Churches<\/a> series. But it packs more hermeneutical punch in its first seventy pages than anything else available. Those seventy pages (the first three of the book\u2019s four chapters) are engaging, compelling, and clear. Principles are illustrated with clarifying examples that drive home the concept.<\/p>\n I recommend it to anyone\u2014not just preachers\u2014who wants to grow as an interpreter, particularly if you regularly teach the Bible.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \t\t\tAdd to cart<\/a>\n \t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n Perhaps you already have a basic foundation in hermeneutics<\/a>, and you\u2019re looking for something that can push you to the next level. There are many excellent books to help you grow as an exegete. I will limit my recommendations to three that I think are particularly compelling, each progressively more demanding.<\/p>\n Graeme Goldsworthy<\/a> is one of the pioneers of the rediscovered field of biblical theology. His little book Gospel and Kingdom<\/em>, first written in 1981 but now often sold as part of The Goldsworthy Trilogy<\/em><\/a>, has had disproportionate impact on how evangelicals read their Bibles. It served as the foundation of the Helm and Roberts books mentioned above. At only a hundred pages, it packs a punch. Goldsworthy champions reading the Bible as a cohesive whole centered on Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n While newer books on biblical theology are more accessible, I have found it uniquely helpful to grapple with Goldsworthy\u2019s original thesis. His concern is to reclaim the Old Testament. He doesn\u2019t want it read as a collection of fable-like stories with a concluding moral. He wants it read as the story of God\u2019s kingdom: created, lost, and restored in Jesus. The story of the Bible is the story of the gospel<\/a> and the kingdom.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This riveting little book exposes the many ways in which Bible interpreters err, and it\u2019s one of the books that first put D. A. Carson<\/a> on the map as a trusted evangelical scholar. If you read it, you\u2019ll see why.<\/p>\n He offers sixteen examples of word study fallacies<\/a>, eight examples of grammatical fallacies (three on tenses and five on syntax), eighteen examples of logical fallacies, and seven examples of presuppositional and historical fallacies. It\u2019s a book that cuts in multiple directions. It\u2019s an apologetic, <\/em>exposing liberal interpretive tricks, and a corrective,<\/em> taking common evangelical errors to task.<\/p>\n Sit alongside Carson as he trains you in precise and careful exegesis<\/a> of the Scriptures. You\u2019ll be better for having done so.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is the only book on my list that\u2019s not written from an evangelical perspective (if you don\u2019t count Mortimer Adler). It\u2019s also the most academically demanding\u2014by a long shot. This tome, coming in at over five hundred pages, is the magnum opus<\/em> of Meir Sternberg<\/a>, capturing the collective approach of others also in his school (e.g., Adele Berlin<\/a> and Robert Alter<\/a>).<\/p>\n I haven\u2019t read anything as compelling and helpful as it relates to reading Old Testament narrative. In one sense, it\u2019s a blistering takedown of many modern readings of Scripture that chase everything but the author\u2019s aim. In another sense, it\u2019s Sternberg\u2019s thought-provoking commentary on a host of passages that exemplify his principles. At its core, it\u2019s arguably the definitive scholarly work on how to read biblical narrative faithfully.<\/p>\n Sternberg explains the complex interplay between God, the human author, the narrator, the characters, and the reader; how gaps in knowledge between the latter three are used by the author to move forward his aim. He describes the various Hebrew uses of repetition and how the author employs them to his end. He teaches us how authors use plot to maximize suspense, curiosity, or surprise. With these, and many other tools, Sternberg urges us to discover the clear theological aim of biblical narrative.<\/p>\n This seminal work is demanding but rewards those willing to put in the work.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \t\t\tAdd to cart<\/a>\n \t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019m thankful God doesn\u2019t wait until we perfect our Bible study before using our Bible study to grow us! Nonetheless, we benefit from taking steps to improve our study of Scripture. <\/p>\n Faithful Bible study isn\u2019t impossible. You don\u2019t need a PhD. It doesn\u2019t require a decoder ring. It just requires becoming a bit more conscious and intentional about the natural rules of reading that most of us intuitively understand.<\/p>\n I\u2019m confident the books I\u2019ve recommended will serve that end. They have helped me. I\u2019m eager for them to help you too!<\/p>\n What books would you add to this list? Join us in the Word by Word<\/em> group to share your thoughts.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Study](\"https:\/\/files.logoscdn.com\/v1\/files\/87820201\/assets\/17564111\/content.png?signature=9R7va06j1ZVpt8GAXOLvJsJwH3M\"\/)
![\"Study](\"https:\/\/files.logoscdn.com\/v1\/files\/87820201\/assets\/17564111\/content.png?signature=9R7va06j1ZVpt8GAXOLvJsJwH3M\")
<\/a><\/p>\nGrasping the Bible\u2019s unified story<\/h2>\n
1. Dave Helm and Gail Schoonmaker, <\/strong>The Big Picture Story Bible<\/em><\/h3>\n
2. Vaughan Roberts, God\u2019s Big Picture: Tracing the Storyline of the Bible<\/em><\/a><\/h3>\n
\n \t\t\t\t
\n \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\nGod\u2019s Big Picture: Tracing the Storyline of the Bible<\/h3>\n
Interpreting individual passages<\/h2>\n
3. Mortimer Adler, How to Read a Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading<\/em><\/h3>\n
4. Nigel Beynon and Andrew Sach, Dig Deeper: Tools for Understanding God\u2019s Word<\/em><\/a><\/h3>\n
\n \t\t\t\t
\n \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\nDig Deeper: Tools for Understanding God\u2019s Word<\/h3>\n
5. Douglas Stuart and Gordon Fee, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth<\/em><\/a><\/h3>\n
\n \t\t\t\t
\n \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\nHow to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, 4th ed.<\/h3>\n
6. Jon Nielson, Understanding God\u2019s Word: An Introduction to Interpreting the Bible<\/em><\/a><\/h3>\n
\n \t\t\t\t
\n \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\nUnderstanding God\u2019s Word: An Introduction to Interpreting the Bible (Theology Basics)<\/h3>\n
7. David Helm, Expositional Preaching: How We Speak God\u2019s Word Today<\/em><\/a><\/h3>\n
\n \t\t\t\t
\n \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\nExpositional Preaching: How We Speak God\u2019s Word Today (9Marks Building Healthy Churches Series)<\/h3>\n
![\"Try](\"https:\/\/files.logoscdn.com\/v1\/files\/87820210\/assets\/17564112\/content.png?signature=KcfjbDs-iIYJoXExUXEU397jXrg\"\/)
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<\/a><\/p>\nStudying more in-depth<\/h2>\n
8. Graeme Goldsworthy, Gospel and Kingdom<\/em><\/a>
<\/h3>\n9. D. A. Carson, Exegetical Fallacies<\/em><\/a><\/h3>\n
10. Meir Sternberg, <\/em>The Poetics of Biblical Narrative: Ideological Literature and the Drama of Reading<\/em><\/a><\/h3>\n
\n \t\t\t\t
\n \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\nThe Poetics of Biblical Narrative: Ideological Literature and the Drama of Reading<\/h3>\n
Conclusion
<\/h2>\nShare your thoughts<\/h3>\n
Related content<\/h3>\n
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