How to Read the Bible Book by Book: A Guided Tour

I think this book is one of the best resource books I have every had. I use it everyday as I do my daily Bible reading. It helps you understand what to look for as you read the Bible. I recommended this book to others and have purchased 7 more to distribute to friends.

Dr. Fee's presentation of the biblical material is clear, concise, and up to date. He takes the fruits of biblical scholarship and makes them available to the average lay reader, while not losing sight of what the original authors of the material intended. A strong point of the book is the fact that it situates each of the biblical books and the material they contain within the historical horizon of Israels encounter with God and the World. For the careful reader Dr Fee's material will help define the central importance of the issue of the 'mission to the Gentiles'--which first presents itself in Genesis narrative, particularly when God initiates the covenant with Abraham. God's choice of Israel is the beach head from which the salvation of the world is launched. This fulfillment of God's purpose is dramatized by Israel's encounter with the nations about her and her response to that encounter right up to, and including the New Testament and continues to the present. This is high drama, indeed, and this book helps the average person to see the drama and, better, their place in it. Jim Woods

When I was a boy there was only one Bible handbook that was considered the best: Halley's Bible Handbook. Well, what that book was to my childhood generation, this book by Stuart and Fee is to this generation. Their scholarship is almost "up to the minute" (revised every few years) and is as solid as can be. Especially helpful is the section on each book of the Bible called: "Keys to Understanding" They point out the 2 or 3 things that the reader needs to have in mind as they read the particular book in the Bible. Amazingly simple and helpful. And their section called "A Walk Through" is like a personal guided tour of each book of the Bible. WOW! It is simply THE BEST of all of the Bible handbooks by at least a lightyear. God bless. Mike

I was exposed to this book as I was visiting Regent College and talking with Gordon Fee in his office there. It was about a week prior to the release of the volume and he was excited about it. Dr. Fee pointed out that this was actually mainly his own project and Dr. Stuart acted primarily as a consultant for the Old Testament material. He explained his vision in very canonical terminology. He wanted to create a reader's guide to the Bible as a whole and explained that this is more of a one-person project in order to give the book unity. Verses are descibed in relation to surrounding passages. These passages are included in the individual book of the Bible. The books are a part of larger section of Scripture (e.g., Genesis is part of the "Narrative of Israel in the Biblical Story"). These sections combine together to make the whole of the Bible itself. There is an overview to the whole Biblical story and one for each section. The chapters about the individual works of the Bible have the following setup (using Genesis as an example): ORIENTING DATA FOR GENESIS -Content (brief synopsis) -Historical Coverage (estimation of time the events take place) -Emphases (short list) OVERVIEW OF GENESIS (few paragraphs to summarize material) SPECIFIC ADVICE FOR READING GENESIS (a page or two of advice) A WALK THROUGH GENESIS (divides the book into sections and gives short commentary on each section) The chapters end with a brief concluding paragraph which reiterates the books role in the whole of the Bible. This book is extremely accessible for the layperson wanting a guide to reading the Scriptures. All too often verses and passages are used apart from their biblical story and this guide is a wonderful reminder of those dangers as well as a helpful tool in changing our perspective. Of course it is helpful if you have read How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by these authors, but it is not necessary. If you need a place to start for your Bible reading, to give you context, this is a wonderful place to get that perspective.