Why the Structure of the Bible Matters for Study

The Bible is not a single continuous composition written by one human author at one time, but a collection of inspired books that together form one unified revelation from Jehovah God. Its books were written by different human writers in different historical circumstances, yet the Holy Spirit directed the writers so that what they recorded constituted the reliable Word of God, as 2 Timothy 3:16 and 2 Peter 1:20-21 establish. Understanding this structure is essential because a reader who treats the Bible as a collection of isolated verses will frequently miss the argument, historical setting, literary form, and purpose of the passage being studied. The historical-grammatical method begins with the words actually written and asks what the inspired author intended those words to communicate to his original audience within their historical and literary setting. This means that Genesis must first be read as Genesis, Psalms according to the characteristics of Hebrew poetry, the prophetic books as prophetic discourse, the Gospels according to their historical and literary purposes, and the epistles according to their developing arguments. The Bible contains narrative, law, poetry, wisdom, prophecy, Gospel accounts, parables, letters, and apocalyptic material, and those literary forms govern how their statements are correctly understood. A person therefore studies the Bible more accurately when he knows not only where a passage appears but what kind of book contains it, where it stands in the argument of that book, and how that book contributes to the entire canon. Scripture itself encourages such careful handling, for 2 Timothy 2:15 calls the Christian worker to handle the word of truth correctly rather than imposing meanings upon it.

The Bible as One Inspired Canon

The word canon concerns the recognized collection of writings that constitute authoritative Scripture, and understanding the canon is the broadest level at which the Bible’s structure should be studied. The authority of the biblical books did not arise because later religious authorities decided to make particular writings inspired; rather, inspired writings possessed divine authority because Jehovah had caused them to be written through His chosen servants. Recognition of the canon therefore concerns identifying the writings that already possessed that authority, rather than granting authority to writings that previously lacked it. The Christian Bible contains the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Greek Scriptures, commonly called the Old Testament and New Testament, and together they form the complete biblical canon. The standard Protestant arrangement contains 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament, yielding 66 books, although the Hebrew arrangement counts the same Old Testament material differently because several writings are combined rather than separated. This difference in counting does not mean that the Hebrew Bible possesses less inspired material, because books such as 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel, 1 Kings and 2 Kings, and the twelve shorter prophetic books may be counted together in the Hebrew arrangement. Jesus treated the Hebrew Scriptures as an established and authoritative body of revelation, and Luke 24:44 refers to the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms as recognized divisions of those Scriptures. The student should therefore think of the Bible simultaneously as a collection of individual inspired books and as one authoritative canon whose parts must be understood without destroying their distinctive historical and literary characteristics.

The Two Great Divisions of the Bible

The most immediately visible structural division is between the Old Testament and the New Testament, but these two parts should never be treated as unrelated religious collections. The Old Testament begins with creation and follows Jehovah’s dealings with mankind, the patriarchs, Israel, the Mosaic covenant, the monarchy, the prophets, judgment, exile, restoration, and the expectation of what Jehovah would yet accomplish through His promised purposes. The New Testament begins with the arrival and ministry of Jesus Christ, records His sacrificial death and resurrection, traces the establishment and expansion of the Christian congregation, explains Christian doctrine and conduct through apostolic writings, and culminates in Revelation. Jesus Himself connected these two divisions when He explained that the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms contained matters concerning Him, as recorded in Luke 24:44-47. Paul likewise taught that the earlier Scriptures continued to provide instruction for Christians, according to Romans 15:4, while his own apostolic writings supplied authoritative instruction for the Christian congregation. The distinction between the Testaments therefore represents development in revelation rather than contradiction, because the later inspired writings build upon the historical and theological realities already established in the earlier Scriptures. A student who begins immediately with a New Testament passage while ignoring the Old Testament concepts behind its vocabulary may consequently miss much of the author’s intended meaning. Understanding both divisions enables the reader to follow the historical progression of revelation while respecting the meaning that each inspired author communicated in his own setting.

The Hebrew Arrangement of the Old Testament

One important way of understanding the Old Testament is through the traditional threefold Hebrew arrangement reflected in Jesus’ words at Luke 24:44: the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms, with Psalms representing the larger collection commonly called the Writings. The Law, or Torah, consists of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, the five books connected with Moses and foundational to everything that follows in Israel’s biblical history. Genesis establishes creation, human sin, the Flood, the patriarchal period, and Jehovah’s dealings with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, while Exodus through Deuteronomy develop Israel’s deliverance, covenant obligations, worship, wilderness experience, and preparation to enter the land. The Prophets in the Hebrew arrangement include books modern English readers may initially classify as historical, such as Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, along with Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve shorter prophetic books. The Writings contain books such as Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles, although exact ordering within this section has varied in different Hebrew traditions. This arrangement helps explain why Jesus could speak comprehensively of the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms rather than listing every individual biblical book. It also reminds the modern reader that the familiar sequence in an English Bible is an arrangement of the canonical books and should not automatically be mistaken for the only way those inspired writings have historically been grouped. Recognizing this threefold Hebrew structure becomes particularly valuable when studying how Jesus and the apostles referred to the Hebrew Scriptures as a unified body of divine revelation.

The Pentateuch as the Foundation of Old Testament Study

The first five books of the Bible form a foundational literary and theological unit that determines the background of much of what follows. Genesis begins with the beginning of the heavens and the earth, the creation of mankind, humanity’s fall into sin, the development of the early human world, the Flood, the nations, and the patriarchal family through which Jehovah’s purposes would advance. Exodus continues the history by moving from Israel in Egypt to deliverance under Moses, the covenant at Sinai, and the establishment of the tabernacle arrangement. Leviticus concentrates heavily on worship, priestly responsibilities, sacrifices, holiness, purity, and the regulations governing Israel’s covenant life before Jehovah. Numbers records significant portions of Israel’s wilderness experience and repeatedly demonstrates the consequences of unbelief and disobedience alongside Jehovah’s faithfulness to His declared purpose. Deuteronomy presents Moses’ final major addresses to Israel before entry into the land, reviewing covenant obligations and pressing upon a new generation the necessity of loving Jehovah and obeying His commands. Later biblical writers repeatedly draw upon these five books, so passages in the Prophets, Psalms, Gospels, and epistles often presuppose that the reader understands events, laws, vocabulary, and covenant concepts first established in the Pentateuch. For this reason, the serious Bible student should never regard Genesis through Deuteronomy merely as preliminary material to be passed over quickly, because these books provide the historical and conceptual foundation upon which a substantial portion of subsequent Scripture rests.

Historical Books and the Movement of Israel’s History

In the familiar English arrangement, Joshua through Esther form a large historical section that allows the reader to follow Israel’s national experience after the Pentateuch. Joshua records the entrance into the Promised Land and the major events associated with conquest and settlement, while Judges demonstrates the destructive pattern produced when Israel repeatedly abandoned Jehovah’s revealed standards. Ruth presents a more concentrated historical account within the period of the judges and connects significantly with the family line that leads to David. The books of Samuel trace the movement from the final period of the judges into Israel’s monarchy, especially through Samuel, Saul, and David, while Kings follows the monarchy through division, decline, and eventual national catastrophe. Chronicles revisits significant portions of this history with its own inspired emphases, demonstrating why parallel historical accounts must be compared carefully rather than assumed to be pointless repetition. Ezra and Nehemiah record important developments associated with the Jewish return from Babylonian exile, reconstruction, restored worship, and renewed attention to the Law, while Esther records Jehovah’s people living under Persian rule. Nehemiah 8:8 is especially valuable for the student of Scripture because the Law was read and its sense was explained so that the people could understand what was being read. These books teach the student to read biblical history as real history in which persons, places, covenant obligations, decisions, rebellions, judgments, and acts of faithfulness belong to the author’s intended message rather than serving as raw material for invented allegories.

Poetry and Wisdom Require Their Own Reading Discipline

Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon contain substantial material that differs markedly from straightforward historical narrative, making literary awareness indispensable. Biblical poetry communicates real truth through features such as imagery, parallelism, comparison, contrast, repetition, and carefully arranged lines, so poetic expressions should not automatically be interpreted as though they were ordinary prose statements. Psalm 23:1, for example, presents Jehovah through shepherd imagery, and the image communicates His guidance and care without claiming that Jehovah is literally a human shepherd tending literal sheep. Proverbs presents condensed wisdom statements that characteristically express sound observations and principles for wise living, which means that individual proverbs must be interpreted according to wisdom literature rather than mechanically converted into unconditional promises. Ecclesiastes approaches significant questions about human life through carefully developed reflection, and its individual observations must therefore be read within the argument of the entire book rather than detached from it. Job combines extended speeches, poetic discourse, narrative framing, and divine instruction, requiring the reader to notice who is speaking instead of assuming that every statement uttered by every character represents Jehovah’s own evaluation. Song of Solomon likewise demonstrates why speakers, imagery, poetic form, and context matter when tracing a book’s meaning. The student who learns to identify these literary features gains a substantial safeguard against both wooden literalism and imaginative allegorizing, because he allows the inspired literary form itself to control how meaning is understood.

The Prophetic Books and Their Structural Purpose

The prophetic books occupy a major portion of the Old Testament and require close attention to historical setting, audience, literary form, and the distinction between immediate proclamation and predictive prophecy. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel are commonly grouped among the larger prophetic books because of their length, while Hosea through Malachi are often called the Minor Prophets because they are shorter, not because their inspiration or authority is inferior. Prophets addressed real people living in real historical circumstances, frequently confronting idolatry, covenant disobedience, false worship, moral corruption, political presumption, and rejection of Jehovah’s revealed will. At the same time, prophetic books contain genuine predictions concerning future acts of judgment, restoration, the Messiah, kingdoms, and the eventual accomplishment of Jehovah’s purposes. Ezekiel, for example, contains extensive material concerning judgment upon Jerusalem before moving into major sections dealing with restoration and the vindication of Jehovah’s holy name. Daniel combines historical narrative in its earlier chapters with prophetic visions in its later chapters, yet these portions remain connected through recurring themes concerning earthly kingdoms, faithfulness, divine rule, and the future. Zechariah similarly combines visions, prophetic declarations, calls to repentance, restoration themes, and messianic expectations that must be read within the book’s postexilic historical setting. Prophecy should therefore neither be reduced to vague spiritual symbolism nor turned into a playground for modern speculation, because the historical-grammatical method asks first what the inspired prophetic message communicates through its actual words, symbols, historical circumstances, and literary structure.

The Four Gospels and the Centrality of Jesus Christ

The New Testament opens with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, four inspired Gospel accounts that bear witness to Jesus Christ while presenting their material according to distinct authorial purposes. These books overlap substantially because they concern the same historical Person, ministry, teachings, death, and resurrection, but differences in selection and arrangement allow each writer to emphasize particular aspects of Jesus’ identity and work. Matthew repeatedly draws attention to the relationship between Jesus and the Hebrew Scriptures, while Mark advances through a forceful narrative presentation of Jesus’ words, actions, authority, suffering, and sacrificial service. Luke explicitly identifies careful investigation and orderly presentation as features of his account in Luke 1:1-4, giving readers strong reason to treat his Gospel as deliberate historical communication rather than religious legend. John states his purpose near the end of his Gospel at John 20:30-31, explaining that selected signs were recorded so readers might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and have life through faith. Because each Gospel has its own structure, an event or saying must first be understood where the inspired writer placed it rather than being immediately blended with parallel accounts until the writer’s own emphasis disappears. Comparison among the Gospels is valuable, but responsible comparison respects each account before assembling the complementary details into a fuller picture. The Gospel section therefore introduces the New Testament not with abstract theology separated from history but with inspired historical accounts centered upon the words and deeds of Jesus Christ.

Acts as the Historical Bridge

The Acts of the Apostles occupies a structurally important position because it connects the Gospel accounts with the New Testament letters and supplies historical background for the expansion of Christianity during the apostolic period. Acts begins where Luke’s Gospel leaves off, with Jesus’ followers preparing for the mission that would carry the message outward from Jerusalem. The narrative records the growth of the Christian congregation, the preaching of the apostles, significant opposition, the spread of the good news beyond Jewish territory, and eventually the extensive ministry associated with Paul. Acts 2:42 shows the earliest Christians devoting themselves to apostolic teaching, while Acts 17:11 commends the Bereans for examining the Scriptures daily to determine whether the things being taught agreed with what was written. Those passages establish an important pattern for Bible study because Christian teaching was not intended to replace attentive engagement with Scripture. Acts also provides historical settings that illuminate references in several epistles, helping the reader understand persons, cities, journeys, controversies, and circumstances that would otherwise be less familiar. A student reading Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Thessalonians, or other letters benefits from knowing the historical world presented in Acts, although the meaning of each letter must ultimately be established from the letter’s own context. Structurally, Acts therefore functions as far more than an account of exciting missionary activity, because it explains the historical movement from the ministry of Jesus recorded in the Gospels to the increasingly widespread Christian communities addressed by the apostolic letters.

The New Testament Letters and Their Developing Arguments

After Acts, the New Testament contains a substantial collection of epistles, and letters must be studied as complete communications rather than repositories of disconnected devotional sentences. Romans through Philemon form the familiar sequence of Pauline letters in English Bibles, Hebrews follows, and James through Jude contain additional apostolic writings associated with James, Peter, John, and Jude. The letters generally arose from actual historical circumstances involving doctrinal instruction, congregation problems, Christian conduct, encouragement, correction, leadership, worship, endurance, and relations among believers. Because an epistle develops an argument, words such as “therefore,” “for,” “because,” “but,” and “so then” may reveal logical connections that are essential to understanding what the writer is saying. Romans 12:1, for example, cannot be properly appreciated without recognizing that its appeal follows the extensive doctrinal argument developed through the preceding chapters of Romans. Philippians 4:13 likewise should not be detached from Paul’s discussion of contentment in changing circumstances, because its immediate context determines what he means by being able to do all things through Christ’s strengthening power. The study of an epistle therefore requires tracing its opening, historical occasion, main themes, successive arguments, exhortations, transitions, and closing material instead of constructing doctrine from isolated lines. Respecting this structure enables the student to hear the apostolic writings as coherent Spirit-inspired communication and sharply reduces the danger of proof-texting.

Revelation and the Structure of Apocalyptic Prophecy

Revelation stands at the end of the New Testament and combines epistolary, prophetic, and apocalyptic characteristics, making sensitivity to literary form especially important. The book opens by identifying itself as a revelation given through Jesus Christ and immediately establishes that its contents concern matters Jehovah intended His servants to know. Revelation 1–3 includes the opening vision and messages directed to seven congregations, while subsequent chapters introduce throne scenes, seals, trumpets, symbolic figures, beasts, judgments, bowls, Babylon the Great, the return of Christ, the Millennium, final judgment, and the new heaven and new earth. These visions contain symbols, but symbolic language does not mean that interpretation may be controlled by personal imagination or constantly altered to match current headlines. The interpreter must seek the textual meaning of those symbols by examining the immediate context, the book’s internal explanations, grammatical relationships, and the extensive background supplied by earlier Scripture. Revelation repeatedly draws upon language and imagery found in books such as Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Isaiah, Exodus, and the Psalms, demonstrating why knowledge of the Old Testament materially strengthens New Testament study. The book also possesses a discernible progression and structure, so individual symbols should not be removed from their literary setting and treated as independent predictions. Reading Revelation according to the same historical-grammatical discipline applied elsewhere protects the student from sensationalism while allowing the book’s warnings, judgments, kingdom expectations, and promises to retain their intended force.

Canonical Order Is Not the Same as Chronological Order

A common mistake in Bible study is assuming that the books appear in the exact chronological sequence in which every event occurred or every book was written. The canonical order serves an important organizing purpose, but books grouped by literary type may describe historical periods that overlap substantially with material found elsewhere in Scripture. The prophetic books provide an obvious example because many prophets ministered during periods already narrated in Kings and Chronicles, meaning that a reader can sometimes place prophetic messages alongside the reigns and national conditions described in those historical books. Psalms were composed under varied circumstances and cannot simply be assigned chronologically according to their present order, while Proverbs consists of wisdom material collected and arranged rather than a continuous historical narrative. The New Testament letters also need historical placement, because several were written during periods covered by Acts even though they appear after the entire book of Acts in the canonical sequence. Understanding chronology can therefore illuminate the historical setting of a book, but chronological reconstruction must never be allowed to override the wording and structure of the book itself. The inspired author still determines the meaning of his communication through the particular form and arrangement he employed, whether that writing describes earlier history, contemporary circumstances, or future prophecy. The student should consequently learn both the canonical location of each book and its approximate historical setting, using the first to navigate the Bible and the second to understand the circumstances in which Jehovah’s revelation was communicated.

Literary Genre Is Part of Biblical Structure

The structure of the Bible involves more than arranging books into Old Testament and New Testament categories, because Jehovah communicated through several distinct literary forms that require different reading expectations. Biblical narrative presents events through sequence, characters, dialogue, conflict, development, and resolution, while law communicates obligations through commands, prohibitions, regulations, and covenant stipulations. Poetry frequently relies upon parallelism, images, metaphors, repetition, and emotional expression, whereas wisdom literature condenses observations concerning wise and foolish conduct into memorable statements. Prophecy may contain rebuke, warning, promise, judgment, historical proclamation, prediction, vision, and symbolic imagery, while parables communicate by comparison and carefully constructed narrative situations. The Gospels combine historical narrative with discourse and teachings of Jesus, Acts records historical development, epistles reason through doctrine and application, and Revelation makes extensive use of apocalyptic vision and symbolism. These differences matter because a metaphor should not be handled as though it were a literal physical description, a proverb should not automatically be converted into an unconditional guarantee, and a historical narrative should not be turned into an invented allegory. The inspired writers chose forms appropriate to their communication, so honoring literary genre is part of honoring inspiration rather than a method of weakening biblical authority. Scripture is consequently best described as a library of inspired books united in divine authority while displaying real literary variety, and the student must learn to receive each form according to the way its author designed it to communicate truth.

Context Moves From Words to the Whole Canon

One of the most useful ways to understand biblical structure is to think of context as a series of expanding circles that begin with individual words and reach outward to the entire canon. A word receives its specific sense from the clause and sentence in which it appears, because dictionaries provide possible meanings while context identifies the meaning the author actually employs in a particular passage. Sentences belong to paragraphs or larger units of discourse, and those units normally develop ideas through explanation, contrast, cause, consequence, illustration, command, warning, or argument. Those paragraphs then belong to larger sections whose purpose can often be recognized by repeated vocabulary, transitions, changes of speaker, narrative movement, or logical development. Every section belongs within an entire biblical book, and the purpose and structure of that book place important boundaries upon how individual statements may be interpreted. The book itself then stands within the larger canon, where other inspired passages can clarify terminology and theological relationships without canceling the original author’s historical-grammatical meaning. This is why Philippians 4:13 must first be read with Philippians 4:10-12 before being transformed into a statement about unlimited personal achievement, and why John’s signs should be understood in light of the stated purpose at John 20:30-31. Sound Bible study therefore moves carefully from words to sentences, from sentences to paragraphs, from paragraphs to books, and from individual books to the whole canon rather than reversing the process and forcing an outside theological idea into a verse.

Reading Whole Units Instead of Isolated Verses

The modern reader can easily develop the habit of encountering Scripture one verse at a time, but the inspired writers ordinarily communicated through narratives, songs, speeches, arguments, prophecies, and letters that extend far beyond one numbered verse. Public reading in the early Christian congregation encouraged believers to hear sustained portions of Scripture, and 1 Timothy 4:13 directs attention to public reading together with exhortation and teaching. Colossians 4:16 instructs that an apostolic letter be read and exchanged with another congregation, demonstrating that Christians were expected to encounter the communication as a letter rather than as a handful of selected quotations. Revelation 1:3 likewise connects blessing with reading, hearing, and keeping the words of the prophecy, reinforcing the importance of receiving the book as extended communication. A whole paragraph often explains a difficult sentence, and the argument of an entire chapter may correct an interpretation that would appear plausible if one sentence were removed from its setting. The larger book can provide even stronger controls, since repeated words, stated purposes, major transitions, and recurring themes reveal how the author expects individual passages to function. This kind of reading requires more attention than rapidly collecting verses on a subject, but it develops biblical literacy because the reader begins recognizing argument flow, narrative progression, repeated vocabulary, and textual relationships. Christians who cultivate sustained reading become better prepared to distinguish what Scripture actually says from religious claims that merely attach a verse reference to an idea developed elsewhere.

The Importance of Words, Grammar, and Translation

Because the structure of Scripture operates through language, careful Bible study must pay attention to the actual words, grammatical relationships, and discourse connections chosen by the inspired writers. A translation should therefore seek to preserve the meaning-bearing features of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek as accurately as the receiving language permits rather than unnecessarily replacing the text with a translator’s interpretation. Repeated vocabulary can reveal thematic relationships, conjunctions can show logical movement, pronouns can identify participants, verb forms can mark actions or states, and word order can occasionally contribute emphasis. The Updated American Standard Version explains its literal translation philosophy in terms of representing what the biblical author wrote while allowing the reader to perform the work of interpretation. This principle directly affects Bible study because a translation that preserves repeated words and argument markers makes it easier to trace the structure established by the biblical writer. The reader should therefore notice expressions such as “for,” “therefore,” “because,” “but,” “now,” and “so that,” since these small words frequently explain why one statement follows another. Careful attention to grammar does not reduce Bible study to technical analysis, because grammar is one of the ordinary means through which Jehovah caused His revelation to be communicated in understandable human language. Accurate study consequently respects the entire chain of communication: the inspired words, their grammatical relationships, the literary form, the immediate context, the book’s structure, the historical circumstances, and finally the book’s place within the complete canon.

Using the Bible’s Structure in Personal Study

A disciplined study session should begin by identifying the biblical book before concentrating on the individual verse or doctrinal question that initially attracted the reader’s attention. The student should determine who is speaking or writing, to whom the material is directed, what historical circumstances are relevant, what literary form is being used, and where the chosen passage stands within the surrounding argument or narrative. He should then read enough material before and after the passage to identify the immediate context rather than assuming that the numbered verse contains a self-contained thought. If studying an epistle, he should trace the argument from earlier sections; if studying narrative, he should follow the sequence and narrator’s emphasis; if studying poetry, he should observe imagery and parallelism; and if studying prophecy, he should establish the historical setting and textual explanation of its symbols. Cross-references become most useful after the passage itself has been understood, because another verse should illuminate genuine biblical relationships rather than provide an excuse for abandoning the original author’s context. Acts 17:11 provides an excellent disposition for such study, since the Bereans received instruction eagerly while continuing to examine the Scriptures carefully to determine whether what they heard agreed with the written Word. Bible study therefore requires both receptiveness and verification, because confidence in Scripture does not require unquestioning acceptance of every human interpretation presented in the name of Christianity. The Christian who learns the structure of Scripture is increasingly equipped to read the Bible on its own terms, recognize the inspired author’s intended meaning, compare Scripture with Scripture responsibly, and build belief and conduct upon Jehovah’s written Word rather than upon isolated quotations or inherited assumptions.

Structure Serves Understanding and Obedience

Knowledge of biblical structure is not an academic decoration added to Christian reading but a practical safeguard that enables the believer to understand what Jehovah actually caused to be written. Nehemiah 8:8 describes the Law being read and its sense being given so that the people could understand, demonstrating that accurate comprehension of Scripture has always mattered in the worship of Jehovah. Jesus consistently reasoned from the written Scriptures and treated them as authoritative, whether answering Satan from Deuteronomy in Matthew 4:4-10 or explaining His ministry from Moses and the Prophets in Luke 24:25-27. The apostles followed the same pattern by reasoning from Scripture, explaining its fulfillment, writing authoritative instruction to congregations, and expecting those writings to be read, understood, obeyed, and circulated. Recognizing the Bible’s canonical divisions helps the student locate a passage within the broad course of revelation, recognizing genre tells him how the passage communicates, and tracing context tells him how its individual statements function. Attention to grammar and vocabulary then sharpens that understanding by showing precisely how the author develops his thought through the words he chose under inspiration. The result is not the invention of hidden meanings but disciplined exegesis in which the reader seeks the one authorial meaning communicated by the text and then considers its legitimate implications for Christian belief and conduct. Such study honors both the unity and the variety of the Bible: one inspired canon consisting of many books, many historical settings, many literary forms, and many human writers through whom Jehovah communicated His reliable written revelation.

You May Also Enjoy

How to Interpret the Bible To Find What the Bible Authors Meant by the Words That They Used

About the Author

CLICK LINKED IMAGE TO VISIT ONLINE STORE

CLICK TO SCROLL THROUGH OUR BOOKS