How Shall We Read the Bible?
Recommended Books on Biblical Interpretation and Hermeneutics
I was asked the other day about some books that I would recommend on the matters of Biblical Interpretation and Hermeneutics. So I compiled a list of books that I have read and are also pretty accessible to a broad audience.
Before sharing the list, let me say a brief word about why such books are helpful. I hear a lot of people talk about the importance of exegesis which seeks to interpret the original meaning of the text rather than eisegesis in which we read our own meanings into the text. I’m completely on board with exegesis which it comes to biblical interpretation. However, I hear some people talk as though reading the Bible in a manner that equips us for good works (cf. 2 Tim 3:16-17) in our own context requires nothing more than exegesis, which is just very short-sighted.
Reading the Bible involves not just biblical interpretation but also hermeneutics and everyone, whether they realize it or not, has a hermeneutic lens through which they read scripture. When it comes to understanding not just what the Bible says but how we ought to live as followers of Jesus within our own context, we need to bring scripture into dialogue with our own Christian tradition(s) and culture. This dialogue is the necessary business of hermeneutics, so that we will not only read the Bible responsibly but also embody the gospel of Jesus Christ in a faithful and contextual manner.
So here is a list of twelve books I recommend on the matter of biblical interpretation and hermeneutics:
Brueggemann, Walter. Text Under Negotiation: The Bible and Postmodern Imagination. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993. This book takes the challenges of postmodernism seriously by reminding the readers that the Bible is telling a story we participate in. It is also one of the early books that provides a narrative framework for scripture as a series of acts/movements.
Butts, K. Rex. Gospel Portraits: Reading Scripture as Participants in the Mission of God. Eugene: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2022. I know this appears a little self-serving but I do believe my book provides a rationale and framework for how local churches can read scripture in order to embody the gospel in both a faithful and contextual manner.
Fee, Gordon, D. New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors, 3rd ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002. This is a standard introduction for learning the exegetical skills necessary for biblical interpretation of the New Testament.
Fee, Gordan, D. and Douglas Stuart. How To Read the Bible For All Its Worth, 4th ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2014. This book is a solid introduction for anyone who is new to reading the Bible, as it helps the readers understand that reading the Bible is to read a collection of different books that span differing historical contexts and are composed of different genres (i.e., history, poetry, etc…).
Fowl, Stephen E. Engaging Scripture: A Model for Theological Interpretation. Eugene: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 1998. This book is also one of the early books that provides a narrative framework for scripture as a series of acts/movements.
Hicks, John Mark. Women Serving God: My Journey in Understanding Their Story in the Bible. Nashville: John Mark Hicks, 2020. While this book addresses the role of women in church and ministry, it also offers an example of the author’s hermeneutic applied to a specific issue. Since I address issue in the tenth and final chapter of my book Gospel Portraits as an example of how a missional hermeneutic is applied, I include this book in this list.
Hicks, John Mark. Searching for the Pattern: My Journey in Interpreting the Bible. Nashville: John Mark Hicks, 2019. This book is important, especially for those who come from the Churches of Christ and the larger Stone-Campbell Restoration Movement. With grace and appreciation for his own fellowship among the Churches of Christ, Hicks lays out the problem of the traditional restoration hermeneutic as he develops a theological hermeneutic rooted in a narrative reading of the Bible.
Kimball, Dan. How (Not) to Read the Bible: Making Sense of the Anti-women, Anti-science, Pro-violence, Pro-slavery and Other Crazy Sounding Parts of Scripture. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2020. This book helps readers avoid different pitfalls that too many people make when reading scripture, such as making an ancient pre-scientific text into a text that answers all contemporary scientific questions or reading every text as literal instruction that must be continued today.
McKnight, Scot. The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible, 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2018. This book helps reader move beyond just flat readings of scripture that ignore context or treat the Bible like a concordance by helping the reader consider that big story the Bible is telling and how that shapes the way scripture should be read. I had Scot McKnight as a professor for one of my doctoral seminars and his work has shaped a lot of my own thinking on the subject of hermeneutics.
Stuart, Douglas. Old Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors, 5th ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2022. This is a standard introduction for learning the exegetical skills necessary for biblical interpretation of the Old Testament.
Vanhoozer, Kevin J. Faith Speaking Understanding: Performing the Drama of Doctrine. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2014. This book assumes a narrative theological reading of scripture but focuses more on how the church puts its reading of scripture into practice.
Wright, N.T. Scripture and the Authority of God: How to Read the Bible Today. New York: HarperCollins, 2011. This book explains why Christians should read scripture as having authority in terms of instruction and how such instruction is discerned. His example of actors in a play is excellent and helped me formulate the idea of playing in a jazz ensemble as a metaphor for we should read/practice scripture. Along with McKnight, N.T. Wright is also a big influence on my own theological understanding.
Now for a bonus, in addition to the books listed above, I’ll mention two other resources important resource for biblical interpretation, hermeneutics, and theology.
The first resource is the website of John Mark Hicks (PhD, Westminster Theological Seminary), who just recently retired as a Professor of Theology at Lipscomb University in Nashville. I had John Mark Hicks as a professor when I was a student at Harding School of Theology, which included a class titled Theological Hermeneutics. This course a game changer for be because I realized that there were problems with the traditional restoration hermeneutic and this course helped me both articulate those problems as well as begin contracting a theological hermeneutic (which eventually morphed into a missional hermeneutic). You can read more from John Mark Hicks on his blog: johnmarkhicks.com.
The second resource is Greg McKinzie (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary), who serves as the missions minister at Stones River Church of Christ in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Greg’s studies have focused on missional hermeneutics and he just wrote an article titled The Bible Says: Reading Scripture as Participants in the Mission of God on the Mission Alive Substack. Greg also writes and podcasts regularly on theology, discipleship, mission, and culture at theologyontheway.com.
Thanks for the shout out!