A must-read for understanding the Bible, loved by over 500,000 readers worldwide!

"How to Read the Bible" shows us that the Bible is a book for everyone, and that if we read it with a few key principles according to the genre, we can understand its true meaning—the meaning understood by the ancient audience and the meaning applicable to readers today—and apply it to our lives.
The revised fourth edition maintains the basic content while reflecting changes in academic discussions and reference materials, allowing us to consistently “hear and read” the Bible.

The Bible is the word of God and therefore has eternal meaning.
The Bible speaks to all humanity, spanning all times and all cultures.
Because it is the word of God, we must listen to the Bible and obey it.
However, because God chose to convey His word through human words throughout history, all Scripture contains historical specificity.
That is, each book is a product of the language, time, and culture in which it was originally written (and in some cases, determined by oral history before it was recorded in writing).
Because of this 'tension' between the Bible's eternal validity and its historical specificity, biblical interpretation is necessary.
---From "Introduction: The Necessity of Interpretation"

Although the nature of the letters is diverse, there are certain characteristics that all letters share, and these play a decisive role in reading and interpreting them.
This means that all the epistles are occasional documents, that is, they came from a specific situation and were written with that situation in mind, and they are products of the first century AD specifically.
Of course, the epistles, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, are applicable to all ages, but they were originally written based on the circumstances of the author and the first recipients.
It is precisely these factors that often make interpretation of the epistles difficult.
---「3.
From "The Letter: Thinking in Context"

We conclude this section with a note of our own, reminding ourselves that one of the most important things to keep in mind when reading any Hebrew narrative is the presence of God in the narrative.
In every biblical narrative, God is the ultimate character, the supreme hero of the story.
Sometimes this fact is stated quite explicitly. … Missing this dimension of the narrative would mean missing the perspective of the narrative, and these explicit statements about God’s presence would allow us to continue to see God’s presence stated in more implicit ways (e.g., the source of Joseph’s dreams in Gen. 37; the narrative timing of Joseph, his brothers, and the Midianites in Gen. 37:25-28).
---「5.
From “Old Testament Narrative: Its Proper Use”

The Book of Acts is not a difficult book to read, but it is a difficult book to study in a group Bible study.
This is because each person has a different reason for approaching and studying the Book of Acts.… Since each person has different interests, when reading and studying the Book of Acts, they end up being quite selective about the content.
For example, someone who approaches the book of Acts with an interest in piety will be much more interested in the conversion of Paul (9:1-19) or the imprisonment of Peter (12:1-19) than in the words of Gamaliel (Acts 5:35-39).
When reading or studying in this way, it is easy to overlook chronological or historical issues.
For example, when reading the first eleven chapters, it is not easy to read them thinking that what Luke is recording there is an event that took place over a period of 10-15 years.
Therefore, we aim here to help readers read and study the book of Acts carefully, to see it through Luke's lens, and to stimulate them to ask new kinds of questions as they read.
---「6.
From "Acts: A Question of Historical Precedent"

These books, which tell us virtually everything we know about Jesus, are not biographies, although they do contain some biography.
Moreover, although these gospels record the lives of some of the greatest men in history, they are different from modern biographies.
To quote the second-century church father Justin Martyr, the Gospels are “the memoirs of the apostles.”
Your electricity cannot stand side by side with equal value.
Yet these books stand side by side, simultaneously recording facts about Jesus, reminding us of his teachings, and bearing witness to him.
This is the very nature and special quality of the Gospel, and this fact becomes an important factor in both commentary and interpretation.
---「7.
From "The Gospels: One Story, Many Dimensions"

Before studying Chapter 8, let us keep in mind that everything in Chapter 7, which deals with Jesus' teachings in the Gospels, applies equally to interpreting parables.
So why devote a whole chapter to parables? What problem could these simple, direct short stories told by Jesus pose to readers or interpreters? Who but the most ignorant person could miss the essence of the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son? Simply reading these stories can be heartbreaking or comforting.
However, the reason why we must discuss parables in this separate chapter is because, despite their charm and simplicity, parables have been the most misunderstood in the church after the Book of Revelation.
---「8.
Metaphor: Did you get the gist of the story?

To read and understand the Law well, we must begin by understanding its role in Israel's history.
At the same time, we must understand the covenantal nature of the law.
This is essential for understanding not only the law but also the prophets and the New Testament, the story of the new covenant.
Therefore, the first purpose of this chapter is to lead readers to a better understanding of the nature and role of the Law in Israel.
But we believe the second goal is also important.
What role does this law play for us as we live with God's people under His new covenant?
---「9.
From "The Book of the Law: Covenant Regulations for Israel"

The primary challenge facing most modern readers of the prophetic books stems from an inaccurate preconception of the term "prophecy."
Most people understand this term as the first meaning that appears in the dictionary: “to foretell or predict something that will happen in the future.”
So many Christians think of the prophetic books as books that foretell the coming of Jesus and/or certain features of the New Covenant era, as if the prophets' primary concern was to foretell events from a time far removed from their own.
In fact, this use of prophecy is very selective.… The prophets clearly announced what would happen in the future.
But what they proclaimed was not our future, but rather the imminent future of Israel, Judah, and other nations surrounding them.
Therefore, one of the keys to understanding the prophetic books is that we must look back to a time that was future for them but past for us so that we can see the fulfillment of their prophecies.
---「10.
From "The Prophetic Book: The Covenant Implementation of Israel"

Problems in interpreting the Psalms arise primarily from the nature of the Psalms themselves.
Because the Bible is the Word of God, many Christians automatically assume that everything in it is God's word to His people.
Because of this, many people do not realize that the Bible also contains words addressed to God or about God (such as the Psalms), and that these words are also God's words.
In other words, because the Psalms are fundamentally prayers and hymns, they are by their nature offered to God and are a book that expresses the truth about God through hymns.
It is precisely because of this characteristic that a unique problem in biblical interpretation arises.
How does this word offered to God function as God's word to us? Because the Psalms are not propositions, commands, or stories that allow us to encounter God's story, they do not primarily function to teach doctrine or moral conduct.
But the Psalms, when used for the purpose God intended them to serve, can help us express our thoughts to God and reflect on His ways.
---「11.
From Psalms: Israel's Prayer and Our Prayer

Wisdom is a literary genre unfamiliar to most modern Christians.
Although the Book of Wisdom comprises a significant portion of the Old Testament, Christians often misunderstand or misapply this material, missing the benefits God intended for it.
However, if understood and used correctly, the Book of Wisdom becomes a useful resource in the believer's life.
When misused, it can provide a basis for selfish, materialistic, and short-sighted behavior, the exact opposite of what God intended.
What exactly is wisdom according to the Bible? It can be briefly defined as follows.
“Wisdom is the ability to make godly choices in life.” You can achieve this goal by applying God’s truth to your life, as your choices will become godly.
This is a sufficiently satisfactory definition, and not one that should confuse Christians.
However, problems arise when the wisdom materials of the Old Testament are misunderstood and misapplied.
In such cases, people may not always make godly choices.
This chapter aims to help readers understand and apply wisdom literature.

---「12.
From "The Book of Wisdom: Past and Present"

Finally, it is worth noting that this mixture of apocalyptic and prophetic elements takes the form of a letter.
For example, if we read how John begins (1:4-7) and concludes (22:21) the book of Revelation, the reader will see that all the formal features of the letter are present.
You will find that it exists.
Moreover, John speaks to his readers in the first and second person (I…to you).
So the final form of the Book of Revelation is a letter from John to the seven churches in Asia Minor.
The importance of this fact lies in the fact that, like all prophetic writings, the book of Revelation has a contextual aspect (see pp. 72-74, 111-113 of this book).
The circumstances have at least something to do with the needs of the specific churches receiving this letter.
Therefore, in order to interpret (the Book of Revelation), we must understand its original historical background.

---「13.
From "The Book of Revelation: Images of Judgment and Hope"