Grasping God's Word: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible

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My book was so marked up it is hard to read.spend more time trying to figure out why something was highlighted and what the color coding of mark means.

This is an excellent book to help the Bible student learn how to interpret the Scriptures after crossing the river of time, culture, language, situation, convenant, etc. It is practical and easy to read. I used this book in college and have taught from it in the church. Duvall and Hays have given Bible students the Koine (common/every-man) version of a Biblical Interpretation textbook. I believe young and old alike will find this textbook to be most helpful in understanding the Bible as Holy Spirit inspired literature within the first-century historical-cultural context. What did the original author mean? What study aids should I use in learning about the social, historical, political, economic, and religious aspects of the original author's day? What about the role of the Holy Spirit in Biblical Interpretation? This book will answer these questions and more. And there are even pictures to help! This book can help you learn practical steps to unlocking ancient truths in the Scripture in the midst of our modern contemporary 21st century Western culture. There is a workbook that you may purchase also. It may be very helpful to the serious learner. Don't rely on a pastor or Sunday School teacher for truth any longer. Learn to study the Bible for yourself! I also suggest reading: "How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth" by Fee & Stuart and "How to Read the Bible as Literature" by Leland Ryken after you have gone through "Grasping God's Word." Teachers: I use Dr. Bob Utley's "You Can Understand the Bible Seminar: Historical-Grammatical Method of Interpretation" (Bible Lessons International) lecture notes and notebook as the main teaching guide. I use "Grasping God's Word" as the text for the class.

This is a outstanding book for those wanting to mine the Bible for truth and understanding. The book helps the reader avoid misinterpretation and not "dividing the Word of God" with care and deliberation. It bridges the gap between devotional Bible study guides and graduate level books on Biblical Hermeneutics. The book explores the the science of observation, determining the literary and cultural context of a passage to find its true meaning and appropriate application. Grasping God's Word explores the "Interpretive Journey" of Bible study for both the Old and New Testaments. I highly recommend this text.

This book is a giant leap forward in beginning exegesis. It opens a world of possibilities for the beginning student as well as serving as a great review for experienced interpreters. The book is delightfully written, and prayerfully organized. I can't imagine a better book to begin the interpretive journey. While written with college students in mind, anyone who is serious about grasping God's word will find it very helpful!

For a long time the only books available for those interested in Bible study methodology have fallen into two general categories. There were those written more at the popular level (ie. Kay Arthur's Inductive method, Tim LaHaye's How to Study the Bible, etc...); or those that were more technical (Osborne's Hermeneutical Spiral, Vanhoozer's Is There a Meaning in this Text, etc...). However, there has been no real attempt to weave these two types together; an easily readable text that doesn't betray the Spiritual aspect of Bible Study, while at the same time teaching the standard methods of interpretation. Fee and Stuart took a huge step that way with How to Read the Bible for All it's Worth; I submit that their intentions were perfected by Duvall and Hays in this book. Here is a book that can teach college students, seminarians, and even laypeople the correct methods of hermeneutics for every genre in the Bible. At the same time, it remains light and sometimes even funny. I can't imagine there being a more perfect book for those that are interested in truly Grasping God's Word.