Hurlbut's Story of the Bible

When I make hospice visits, many of the patients love to see me pull my Hurlbut out of my backpack to read to them.

Hurlbut's Story of the Bible has enchanted thousands of children in the decades since it was first published. It is unfortunate that it is so often overlooked in favor of newer "children's bibles". They are often canned broth compared to the rich stew found in the original text and made accessible by Jesse Hurlbut. Key points: 168 stories, roughly from 2 to 5 pages each, spanning virtually the entire Bible in chronological order.One distinctive characteristic of Hurlbut's is the omnipresent pronunciation marks. Virtually every name of person or place is marked every time it appears. This can be off-putting at first. However, anyone who has tried to read the Bible aloud (especially any of the Old Testament) will come to greatly appreciate this feature.Suitable for readers of fourth-grade level and up (the pronunciation marks will help quite a bit, once they learn to use them), this work is a wonderful read-aloud for any age over about 5.If you take the time to read through this work, you will have a far better understanding of biblical history than the vast majority of adherents to the Christian faith.

Here is the answer to all those who have vowed each New Year to read the Bible but can't get past Eve's pluck of the forbidden apple. In clear, charming prose that stays true to the rhythm of the Bible itself, the author tells all the great stories of the Old and New Testaments. Hurlbut's greatest triumph is the clarity with which he presents each story in the Bible's great continum. God tells Noah "I am going to bring a great flood of water on the earth, to cover all the land and to drown all the wicked people..." and finally you understand why those 40 days and 40 nights it rained like cats and dogs (to kill all the bad people who are God's first experiment with humanity on earth). Of Methuselah he writes "and we do not know anything about Methuselah, except that he lived to be nine hundred and sixty-nine years old, which is longer than any life of any other man who ever lived." Simple enough. Now we know how his name came to symbolize an aged man, and we need look no further for deeper meaning--it isn't there.

Hurlbut's Story of the Bible was the first and best comprehensive "Bible story book" I read and re-read. As an adult it remains my favorite and now I am sharing it with my own children. Hurlbut's tells all the stories you remember from Sunday School as well as many that you may not know. It explains with clear and exciting language that is simple enough for children but also interesting for adults. It is almost like reading a thrilling novel, you can hardly wait to find out what happens next. I cannot recommend it enough.

I read it when I was 7 years old. The best birthday present I ever got. I couldn't put it down because it was so interesting. It taught me the chronological order of all the patriarchs and prophets of the Old Testament in a way that made it go into long term memory. Years later, I took an "Introduction to the Old Testament" course my freshman year of college. Ninety-five percent of what I needed to learn for that course I already knew because of reading "Hurlbut's Story of the Bible"when I was 7. I got an A in the course! When my two children came along, I let them read "Hurlbut's Story of the Bible", and they have both gotten A's in freshman Bible class at their colleges. In summary, it is easy to read, is interesting to read, is written in chronological order, goes into long term memory,and is my top recommendation for the best Bible story book to give to children.

A copy of this book has been in my family since 1932. My grandmother read it to my father , my father to his sons and I to my sons and now to my grandchildren. I find the format that was used by the author to be as timeless as the subject. As a child I loved listening to my father read this to us and I know my grandchildren love hearing it read to them. The explaination of the meanings of words, the simplistic use of definitions helps us all to understand and picture what is often difficult ot understand in the Bible. This is an excellant book for the whole family. I recamend it highly.