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Many biblical scholars today approach the Bible as a collection of books, treating each book as a composition in its own right. Can such an approach help devotional readers? This introduction to the books of the Bible will have you reading in a whole new light.
The units of meaning in the Bible are not chapters, or verses, or topical sections, but the literary compositions that God inspired to create the Scriptures. If we want to know the meaning of God's word, we need to engage these compositions on their own terms. This means understanding why they were written, what kind of writing they are, how they are put together, and what major themes and ideas they develop and pursue. This book answers these questions for each of the books in the Bible.
About the author
The Rev. Dr. Christopher R. Smith is an author and biblical scholar who lives in East Lansing, Michigan. He served local churches for nearly twenty years in Massachusetts, Ontario and Michigan and is now a volunteer campus staff member with Graduate InterVarsity at Michigan State University. He was a consulting editor to the International Bible Society (now Biblica) for The Books of the Bible, an edition of the Scriptures that presents the biblical books according to their natural literary outlines, without chapters and verses. He was one of the translators for The Voice Bible. Smith has a B.A. in literature from Harvard, a master's degree in theological studies from Gordon-Conwell, and a Ph.D. in historical theology and Bible from Boston College. He has taught visiting, adjunct and extension courses at Williams College, Regent College and the Ontario Bible College (now Tyndale University College). His articles have appeared in professional journals such as Novum Testamentum, New Testament Studies and the Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, in periodicals such as Bible Study Magazine, and on websites such as The High Calling of Our Daily Work.
