How to Read the Bible
by James L. Kugel · first published 2007
50% recommend50% neutral
A reader's companion to the Bible draws on classic interpretations as well as modern scholarship to explain how the Bible may also be a metaphorical reflection of anthropological history.
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On this topic, you may want to check out How to Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now by James Kugel. It provides a historical overview of how the implicit and explicit interpretations of the old testament narratives have changed with respect to scholarship.…
on “Ask HN: Whats the most challenging book you have ever read?” ↗'How To Read The Bible' by James Kugel (of Harvard University) is great for Judaism and Christianity. It goes through the history of how the text was interpreted - both critically/historically and how religious people interpret…
on “Ask HN: What's the Best Book on Religion” ↗Even if you understand the Hebrew, much of the original meaning has been lost. I'd recommend Kugel 'How to read the Bible' for this.
on “How the Rosetta Stone yielded its secrets” ↗There are countless opinions/suggestions on how to read the Bible (and the same applies to the Qu'ran for example). If you are totally new to the Bible the important thing is probably to try and get enough from it at the start that you'll be interested enough to continue.…
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life?” ↗You have two options: 1- You teach people critical thinking and how to read the Bible within the historical context. or 2- You assume a lot of guess work as facts that support your already pre-conceived opinions and hide the fact that you are possibly wrong.
on “A Camel Through the Eye of a Needle, and Other Wild Tales of Translation (2018)” ↗