Table of Contents

Abbreviations:
Transliterations:
Preface:
An Invitation to Explore the Bible
Part One: Surveying the Terrain, Studying the Map
1. 'Let the Reader Understand'
2. The Grand Narrative of the Bible
3. The History in the Bible
4. On Figuring out What's Figurative, and on Learning about the Letter of the Law
5. Of Parables, Promises, and Prophecies
6. The Oral and Rhetorical Character of the Ancient Biblical World
7. Social Realities and Cultural Scripts in Bible Times
8. The Theological Structures of the Gospels
Part Two: Unearthing the Treasure
9. The Basic Rules of the Road: Hermeneutics
10. Digging Deeper: Historical Narrative
11. Digging Deeper: The Psalms
12. Digging Deeper: Isaiah
13. Digging Deeper: The Prophecy and Parables of Jesus
14. Digging Deeper: Paul--His Reflections on Hymn and Him
15. Next Steps
16. Did the Canon Misfire? The Bible's Story
Epilogue: Found in Translation
Bibliography:

About the Author

Ben Witherington III is Amos Professor of the New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary and also serves on the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University in Scotland. One of the world's top evangelical scholars, he has written more than fifty books and is also a popular lecturer. Along with many interviews on radio networks across the country, he has been seen on the History Channel, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, the BBC, The
Discovery Channel, A&E, and the PAX Network.

Reviews

"Reading and Understanding the Bible is an up-to-date introduction to biblical interpretation that takes seriously both the more recent advances and ideas in hermeneutics and the historical and cultural context of the biblical writings themselves."--Jon Mark Robertson, Multnomah Biblical Seminary
"Witherington writes from the perspective of a believer who is convinced that God speaks through the Scripture, that the Scripture is normative for us, that we need to get at the intended meaning of the text, and that we do that through grappling with the contexts."--Steve Rodeheaver, Point Loma Nazarene University
"Witherington's writing style is lucid and approachable for undergraduate students."--David Howle, Wayland Baptist University
"This book will be a useful tool for many introductory courses in scriptural interpretation."-- Kenny Edward Hilliard III, The Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society