A Brief Book Notice from Books At a Glance
by Fred G. Zaspel
(This notice is for an older 1978 edition. An expanded edition was released in 2016.)
Sproul writes to offer a commonsense approach to interpreting Scripture. “The theme of this book is not how to read the Bible but how to study the Bible.” He presents simple, practical guidelines for biblical interpretation and applying what we learn. Topics include discovering the meanings of biblical words, biblical poetry, proverbs, and parables, differentiating between historical and didactic passages, understanding predictive prophecy, and the use of Bible study aids. Over 250,000 copies have been sold.
Table of Contents
Foreword (J.I. Packer)
1 Why Study the Bible?
2 Personal Bible Study & Private Interpretation
3 Hermeneutics: The Science of Interpretation
4 Practical Rules for Biblical Interpretation
5 Culture & the Bible
6 Practical Tools for Bible Study
Selected Quotes
- “It is important to note that the theme of this book is not how to read the Bible but how to study the Bible. There is a great deal of difference between reading and studying.” (17)
- “Two of the great legacies of the Reformation were the principle of private interpretation and the translation of the Bible into the vernacular.” (33)
- “Many of the modern controversies concerning the Bible revolve around questions of hermeneutics. The science of hermeneutics is the science of biblical interpretation.” (45)
- “To be accurate interpreters of the Bible we need to know the rules of grammar; and above all, we must be carefully involved in what is called genre analysis.” (49)
- “The Bible may be a very special book, being uniquely inspired by the Holy Ghost, but that inspiration does not transform the letters of the words or the sentences of the passages into magical phrases.” (49)
- “Whatever else the Bible is, it is a book which communicates information verbally. That means that it is filled with words. Thoughts are expressed through the relationship of those words…The better we understand the individual words used in biblical statements, the better we will be able to understand the total message of Scripture.” (79)
- “The problem of cultural conditioning is a real one. Barriers of time, place and language frequently make communication difficult. Still, the barriers of culture are not so severe as to drive us to skepticism or despair of understanding God’s Word.” (112)