Grasping God's Word: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible

by J. Scott Duvall, J. Daniel Hays

Grasping God's Word has proven itself in classrooms across the country as an invaluable help to students who want to learn how to read, interpret, and apply the Bible for themselves. The third edition, revised based on feedback from professors, will continue to serve college-level students and lay learners well in their quest to gain a firm grasp on the rock of God’s word.

 

Old Testament scholar J. Daniel Hays and New Testament expert J. Scott Duvall provide practical, hands-on exercises to guide students through the interpretive process. To emphasize the Bible’s redemptive arc and encourage correlation across the biblical canon, the authors have included a call to "Consult the biblical map. How does a theological principle fit with the rest of the Bible?" as an additional step in the Interpretive Journey. This edition has also been rearranged for clarity and includes updated illustrations, appendices, bibliography, and assignments.

 

A robust suite of learning aids is available for purchase to be used alongside the textbook to help students excel in their studies. These include a workbook, video lectures for each chapter featuring the authors, and a laminated quick study sheet with key concepts from the book. Free teaching resources for instructors and learning resources for students are available for Grasping God's Word on ZondervanAcademic.com.

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Genres: Christian, Theology, Biblical Studies, Nonfiction, Christianity, Reference, Faith

512 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2001

About the author

J. Scott Duvall (PhD. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is professor of New Testament at Ouachita Baptist University. He is the coauthor with George H. Guthrie of Biblical Greek Exegesis: A Graded Approach to Learning Intermediate and Advanced Greek and with Terry G. Carter and J. Daniel Hays of the textbook Preaching God's Word: A Hands on Approach to Preparing, Developing and Delivering the Sermon.

Reviews

[C.J. Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it, though it's not the greatest book on biblical interpretation that I've read. What I liked most about it is that it's written at a level that the average Christian would understand, and so, it's more immediately transferable when I teach others how to interpret Scripture. I like their simple, hermeneutical method and how accessible it is (though it can also make interpretation seem overly simple). If I were to ever teach an undergraduate course in hermeneutics (not saying I ever will), this would be a book I'd consider using.

I thought its biggest weakness was a lack of Christocentricity. The authors, time and time again, affirm that we should be Christ-centered in our hermeneutic (especially when it comes to our understanding of the covenants). However, they spend a large amount of time refuting wrong ways that others have sought to "find Christ in the text," and hardly ever address the right ways to do so.

[Karrie Flegal · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely helpful read for those wanting a deeper dive in how to study, interpret, and learn God’s Word. It is a textbook and thus reads like on with corresponding assignments, but it is not overly technical or difficult to understand.

[Troy Nevitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read this a second time, 6 years later, it appears to me that I did a disservice in rating this book. It was well put together, extensive, thoughtful, charming, and clear. It has many exercises and great insights for people to learn how to read God's word in a beautiful way.

This was once rated at 3 stars, and I'd give it 4.5 now (I'll go to 5 for argument's sake). it's a very good textbook on hermeneutics. I wish I realized how good this textbook was the first time I used it. I remember finding it very helpful for genre studies when I was in Bible college, but didn't recognize how much. Bravo.

Edit: Had to read the book again for TAing. Still a great book in the new edition.

[Jay Vellacott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful, but also very basic. Wish it would have gone a little deeper. A lot of parts felt a little bit like high school English, not really what I expected from a 400 level college Hermeneutics class textbook. I'm kind of sad that a lot of Bible students would consider this "new" information as I feel that most teenagers in churches should be taught this information.

I am glad though that this information is becoming so widely spread and that more are understanding the importance of following basic interpretive rules.

If you're a college student I would suggest going deeper than this textbook may take you.

[Brandon Vaughan · Rating 4 out of 5]

(This review is specifically for the third edition).
This was the textbook for one of my Bible interpretation classes. To be clear, this is by far the best book that I have ever read on Bible interpretation. The information in this book is absolutely imperative for every Bible preacher. The only reason that I didn’t give it five stars is because I felt that the opening chapter on translations contained extremely biased and unscholarly advice. If the authors had just stuck to the historicity of the English translations I would’ve been fine with that.
The only other disagreement that I had was their opinion on allegorical interpretation. While I fully agree that preachers can get crazy with allegorical interpretation, I felt that their stance against it was too hard nosed. Overall, I think every preacher should have this book in their library, not only to read but to reference frequently.

[Hudson Christmas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grasping God's Word by J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays is a wonderful introduction to the life work of understanding God's Word. This book functions very similar to a textbook, with each chapter having homework assigned. However, I appreciated a large portion of the homework (even though on the rare occasion I found it to be tedious and not very helpful) as it helped reinforce the lessons within the pages of this textbook.
Before I read this book I felt that I was decently equipped to understand God's Word, but this book was a wonderful guide, coming alongside and providing additional insights into the various genres and time periods of the Bible. I highly recommend this book to any Christian, and even though you may not do the homework, I found it worthwhile.

[Will Dole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This really was an excellent introduction to studying the Bible. It’s too heavy to just hand a new believer (for that I’d turn to Sproul’s Knowing Scripture or Wilkin’s Women of the Word). But I’ve been keeping my eye open for a book that would be useful for actually leading a group through the process of Biblical Interpretation, and this is it.

I especially appreciate that the authors take into account where most readers are likely coming from, and therefore structure their book in a way that invites the reader to progressively build their knowledge and skills, rather than trying to strip the process down and rebuild it in a way that they find most logical. That felt really wise from a pedagogical point of view.

I also appreciated the refresher for myself. I like to read books on hermeneutics every year or two just to keep reminding myself to pay attention and have my eyes open when studying God’s word. Grasping God’s Word was very helpful in that regard.

Also, while I generally hate the journey metaphor because it’s been beat like a dead horse, they use it to illustrate the process of interpretation in a way the is memorable, and therefore valuable.

[Avery Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay I read most of it, I’m giving it 4 not 5 bc it’s in textbook format which psychologically makes it harder to read, I will not explain further.

The principles in this book are very very good and I know it is one I will use any time I need to unpack a verse.

[Annelise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Accessible, practical, and even fun! Definitely keeping this book on hand for personal study and quiet time.

[Michael Cash · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I have ever read. The authors introduce and then build upon a logical, methodical way of interpreting the entire bible, regardless of genre. Specific issues surrounding various types of biblical material are addressed, but it doesn't get burdensome; in fact, I was thrilled to get to each new chapter to learn what the authors had for me next. A great read.

[Samuel Kassing · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid evangelical textbook on interpretation. Duvall and Hays are Baptist who stick closely to a grammatical-historical method of interpretation. They aren't fundamentalists in their epistemology and rely on Vanhoozer to navigate the discussions around objectivity and subjectivity.

It's a textbook. I skimmed certain parts because it can be dry. But, overall it's a helpful resource and almost any undergraduate student would benefit from it.

[Jens Hieber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable, exactly what I was looking for, and both thorough and concise. I liked how well the authors integrated specific examples throughout. I had a few issues here and there (just deciding to conflate author and narrator, not acknowledging the possibility of multiple authors/writing time frames within some books, etc.), but overall, this was great.

[Stephen Bedard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great evangelical introduction to interpreting the Bible. Very accessible, likely aimed at a first year undergrad. Has everything you need to read the Bible responsibly.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for a hermeneutics class. A good handbook on how to read and interpret the different genres of biblical literature. Easy to understand. Very helpful and informative.

[logankstewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grasping God's Word is a mammoth of a book. It's used as a textbook for seminarians and other students of the bible. Me, I'm just a Sunday School teacher and a lover of the Word. So why did I read it? I was looking around on NetGalley and found an ARC for it. I thought it could be helpful for Sunday School, sent the request to Zondervan, and soon I had the ARC on my Kindle.

On the down side, I've rarely had good luck with sending ARCs to my Kindle via NetGalley. Most of the time, the things are shoddy and formatted to a point where I either can't read at all or I would have to exude great effort to do so. This is to be expected some, as the books are ARCs, but they still need to be read-able. In this case, Grasping God's Word is read-able, but there are plenty of graphics that are impossible to decipher. Also, quotes and footnotes don't display correctly.

Besides this, and this stuff really won't affect the final product, I rather enjoyed Duvall and Hays' textbook. Up front, I didn't read the entire thing, but I did read a large chunk of it. For Sunday School my class is doing a "how to read and study the bible" study. Through this we are going through the various types of books (poetry, prophecy, epistles, etc.) found in the bible, and this book is a perfect tool for what my class is doing. I read the first few introductory chapters, setting up the book and how to use it.

I like the authors approach to interpreting scripture. Imagine a biblical city, all walled and dusty. There's a river flowing next to the city. On the other side is a modern city, skyscrapers and all. Connecting these two cities is a bridge. The method describes taking the message from the bible (a la the old city) and applying it to life (a la the new city). Doing this requires understanding the culture of the Old, crossing the bridge, and understanding the New. (There's more to it than that, but this is a simplified preview.)

In particular I enjoyed the chapter on epistles. It was very informative of how letters worked back in biblical times, how Paul's letters are much, much longer than an average letter of the times, and how letters were written, going so far as to break down the mechanics and structure. I personally feign interest in most of history, but this stuff was kind of interesting.

Overall, I felt that Duvall and Hays offer a great resource for reading and understanding the bible. They are passionate about correct interpretation, and they stress context very seriously. There are many different methods for reading and interpreting Scripture, and Grasping God's Word offers tools for applying the bible to our own lives. While the book goes through a somewhat repetitive approach, if you're in any way interested in getting a little deeper in the Word, then it is still a book I'd recommend checking out.

FTC Thingy: Zondervan graciously supplied me with an Advanced Readers Copy of this book. I wasn't even obligated to right a review, but I enjoy this sort of thing, so I did. I also enjoy cookies and milk, or just cookies, too, though I did not receive any of these along with my book. Such is life.

[W. Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book cover to cover as part of my hermeneutics class in seminary. Excellent and probably the best available textbook for introduction to hermeneutics. The book packs so much information and wisdom but it is very readable and accessible for most people (I think this book fits best for undergraduate studies). I love especially how the authors teach through modelling and also how they provide plenty of exercises for practice. The way the book is organized and the way the chapters are ordered are very sound pedagogically and very intuitive. Above all, this book will infect you with a deep love and hunger to dig deeper into the wonderful treasures of God's word!

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teaches the principles of Biblical Interpretation clearly and concisely. But it's not overly technical. It's intended to be used by the Sunday School teacher and Small Group leader, and so it's very practical and easy to use. It comes with hands-on exercises that you can use to sharpen your skills in Biblical Interpretation, and it remains on my shelf to this day as a quick reference tool that i still use in preparing my studies and sermons.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This text is perfect for a high school or early undergraduate course on hermeneutics. It was assigned to me as a graduate text and it was the biggest waste of my time. I hung on to the text in the hopes that it will become a useful teaching tool.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays, Grasping God’s Word: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible. Third Edition. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001. 462 pp. $39.99

Interpretation and application of God’s Word has become an assortment of picking and choosing how the reader wants to handle the text. Many factors account for this: laziness, the spirit of the age, poor teaching, and the mass flooding of published material vying for different views. J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays have produced a useful work Grasping God’s Word, that can aide both pastors and lay persons alike for years to come. Duvall is the Fuller Professor of Biblical studies at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, while Hays serves as senior professor of Old Testament at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. They are seeking to offer an easily accessible and practical book to assist college and seminary students in becoming capable readers, interpreters, and applicators of God’s Word. Duvall and Hays should be commended in writing a work that is consistent with the literal, grammatical, historical interpretation of Scripture.
Duvall and Hays divide their work into five parts: Part 1: How to Read the Book-Basic Tools, Part 2: Contexts-Now and Then, Part 3: Meaning and Application; Part 4: The Interpretive Journey-New Testament, and Part 5: The Interpretive Journey-Old Testament. They broke the book down into three sections of application; Part 1 is considered more practical, Parts 2 and 3 are more theoretical, and Parts 4 and 5 are designed to be more theoretical and practical (p. 15). It is the intention of the authors to organize the book in a more pedagogical manner than a logical manner (p. 14).
Part 1 is made up of four chapters. In chapter one Duvall and Hays introduce the reader to the illustration of looking at the interpretive process as a town, a river, a bridge, and another town. The first town represents the world in which the text was written. The river represents the gap between the authors time and ours. The bridge represents the theological principle that spans the river. The second town represents the world of the reader. Chapters two, three, and four deal with the grammar and syntax of Biblical literature.
In Part 2 Duvall and Hays walk the reader through five topics related to context. In chapter five they deal with the readers presuppositions and biases. Chapter six addresses the historical-cultural context providing the reader with tools and resources for understating the world of the author and his original audience. Chapter seven deals with the literary context such as genre and surrounding context. In chapter eight Duvall and Hays cover word studies and encourage the readers of God’s Word to avoid fallacies while diligently using study aids to determine the meaning of the word within its context. In chapter nine the authors give a helpful description of translations and how to choose a good translation today.
Duvall and Hays delve into meaning and application in Part 3. Chapter ten seeks to establish the importance of authorial intent in discovering the meaning of a text. Chapter eleven clearly demonstrates that there is only one meaning to a text, not hidden levels that one needs a special apparatus or formula to understand. Chapter twelve explains the role of the Holy Spirit in the process of interpretation and application. Duvall and Hays point out that certain elements of interpretation can be understood by using one’s mind in interpretation, but the sanctifying work of Scripture is only produced by the Holy Spirit. Chapter thirteen closes out the section dealing with application by offering three “substeps: a. Observe how the principles in the text address the original situation; b. Discover a parallel situation in a contemporary context.; c. Make your application specific” (p. 215). It should be mentioned that some caution should be used with contemporizing a text because there is a danger in this tool to let the imagination run wild and miss the point of what the author intended.
Parts 4 and 5 deal with the different written material in the New and Old Testaments. Duvall and Hays rightly identify letters, gospels, Acts, and Revelation in the New Testament while narrative, Law, poetry, prophets, and wisdom compose the Old Testament. These sections are useful in giving the reader an overview of how each book is composed and the literary tools and genres it is a part of.
This book is a useful work in the field of hermeneutics. It could even be argued that Grasping God’s Word is an excellent tool for use within the church not just amongst collegians and seminarians. One final criticism; it would be helpful to discuss both reformed and dispensational hermeneutics within the work. It is understood that Duvall and Hays wanted to write the book to a broadly evangelical audience but a section on those two systems would be beneficial. In closing this author recommends this work both as a text for the class but also for those interested in knowing how to be a better student of the Word of God.

Daniel D. Baltich
Central Baptist Seminary
Plymouth, Minnesota, USA

[Rene Velarde · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars*

Helped me, and can help anyone understand how to read and apply God's word. Very easy to understand. Great metaphors. Very Practical.

[Francisco · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because it is comprehensive and easy to read and understand despite the dryness of the subject ( I don't like Hermeneutics).

[Matt Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable read (doesn't read like a textbook). Best resource I know of for learning how to interpret the Bible.

[Mila · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used this book for my college class and really enjoyed it. It is packed full of insight, and integral study, and interpretive tools and information.

[Sarah Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another 6 star book for this year. Excellent resource. I plan on always having it handy as a reference while studying scripture.

[Fit For Faith 〣 Your Christian Ministry. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is tragic. On the one hand it teaches many great truths, while it on the other hand includes serious erroneous teachings and highly problematic endorsements, while violating a number of times their very own rules they teach. The book plainly rejects the 10 commandments, endorses the Message Bible and books from Rick Warren, and teaches in great detail Lectio Divina, a practice straight from Catholic Mysticism. It could be a great book, but with those transgressions it cannot even be recommended and has to be considered rather highly problematic.

PROS

+ Great that they explained the methodology at the beginning of the book and give a preview.

+ Many great teachings.

+ Great to find some critique on Augustine (his erroneous interpretation of parables), which is rare in those days.

+ Most of the Old Testament's Interpretative Journey (chapters 18-22, except the chapter on Law) is great, especially the chapter on Job.

CONS

- The authors endorse several times the Message Bible as one of the translations 'to choose from'. This is very concerning, firstly for the total absence of any discernment or warning, and secondly for including it in the group of 'Bibles to choose from'.

- We all know of the Moral Law (10 Commandments) and of the 600+ Old Covenant Laws (2 main sets of laws). Now they apply a false dichotomy, by stating, just because some people add some sub-groups to those 600+ laws (Civil / Ceremonial / Sacrificial) and this is rightly said to be a human approach, now all subsets and suddenly even the main sets are invalid. This is a terrible abuse of the Bible and a violation of various of their own principles.

- They essentially state that the 10 commandments are not valid anymore, because everything needs to be read in the narrative, here specifically in the narrative of the Exodus story. What they ignore is their own rule to read the Bible in the overall context. If they would have followed their own rule, they would have noticed that the 10 commandments have originated with creation, as visible through countless passages starting with Genesis (why did Joseph not commit adultery?) and following Bible history for more than 4000 years, until solidified at Sinai.

- When they teach about the Interpretational Reflex, they once again commit the very mistake themselves when using the narrative of CHRISTOS' birth (as generally a good example), by erroneously calling it the 'Christmas Pageant story'. It is crazy that no one saw this rookie mistake in the now 4th edition. To add an extrabiblical Catholic feast ('Christmas' comes from 'Christ's mass') as title for CHRISTOS' birth, is the very definition of the error they try to teach against, of not adding our own cultural or religious interpretations.

- They plainly lied when stating that the Reformers rejected the Apocrypha. This is a very common assertion, but nothing could be further from the truth. Until the reformation never more than 7 apocryphal books had been used (by the Catholics) in a Bible. -ALL- reformers strongly increased the books printed in the Bibles to 11-15 books and the books remained for more than 400 years in our Bibles (and would there be today if it would not have proven to be cheaper in print without it)! THEOS does most probably not care if disguised as a separate section. He will judge all those who included, promoted and even those who did not speak against the inclusion of those books between the 2 covers of His Word.

- They claim that Ruth and Naomi traveled alone, which is nowhere said in the Bible and highly unlikely. They violate their own rules to not add own interpretations to the Bible if not specifically provided as such.

- They badly confuse adultery with fornication. They read into the verse "Mat 5:28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." an application for singles and specifically mention premarital sex in their conclusion, which is a gross abuse of biblical exegesis. This verse speaks of adultery, meaning that it relates to married people, while there are many other much more suitable passages to teach against fornication. I have always wondered why so many authors stated the very same error in the past years, but now it has become clear where it (also) comes from.

- While they speak a lot about Word Studies, they just brush off Topical Studies with the reasoning of being in conflict with not taking Bible passages out of context. But the very same problem appears in every single Word study. This is a highly problematic counsel.

There is sadly not a single paragraph in the Bible sufficiently describing abortion, alcohol, baptism, clothing, fasting, food, free will, giving, marriage and divorce or especially sexual sin. We urgently need responsibly conducted studies on all those topics, but the advice of the authors just says no to it. This is a very tragic advice and explains in parts why pastors today struggle to teach those concepts properly, when being discouraged by academics like them.

- While it might be ok to use Sherlock Holmes as an example for explaining methods of Bible study, they definitely cross the red line when using the Wizard of Oz for such a purpose. You cannot mix evil with the holy.

- They state that a woman abandoned by an unbelieving husband can remarry. This is a false teaching. They can separate physically, but the Bible nowhere equates this with divorce, and they can therefore not remarry.

- The authors are at least favorable to Catholics. They consider Catholicism as a part of Christianity. They mention the Catholic Bible as just one more version, without any discernment on the evil nature of its religion. They go in one example even as far as to prioritize 'a Catholic blue collar worker' over 'a Protestant blue collar worker'.

- Introduced through the name of Eugene Peterson, they teach in detail all the steps of the heretical practice of Lectio Divina. This is plain Catholic Mysticism and they even specifically include Contemplation. Once again they violate their own rules they teach in the book, by endorsing a practice which teaches us to approach a Bible passage rather subjectively than objectively.

- They recommend Rick Warren's 'Personal Bible Study Methods'.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

- They over and over endorse the Proto-Masoretic text (Hebrew OT), while widely ignoring the Greek OT which was the Scripture received by Early Christians, and hundreds of years before and after them. It gets comical when they state that Psalm 145 has 22 acrostic verses, although the Hebrew text clearly has only 21 of those, while only the Greek OT shows the 22 verses.

- The only time they even mention the Septuagint, is of course, to use it as a scape goat for the inclusion of the Apocrypha. This is very strange, because they correctly mentioned the writing dates of the Apocrypha and would have had only to look up the writing date of the Septuagint. Then they would have very quickly realized that it was written centuries earlier and could have therefore impossibly included the Apocrypha. It is tragic that this very same error is reflected in many subsequent books such as 'Evidence That Demands a Verdict' or 'Why I Trust the Bible' and the authors have to seriously repent for misleading others.

- They state that the ESV is a Word-for-Word translation, which is a highly misleading claim. I would rather call it the English simplified version, as it is one of the worst versions in regards of the immense amount of biblical text being cut out - whenever they think that it does not add to the sense (e.g. "and answering, He said" > He said). The version also ignores habitually grammar forms (Participle almost always, Subjunctive often, sometimes even the Passive) which are elsewhere deemed relevant in this book. Word-for-Word is definitely a gross exaggeration for this translation.

- They recommend the NIV 2011 for serious Bible study, which is ridiculous: "But for serious Bible study, we suggest the NASB, NRSV, the ESV, the HCSB, the NET and the New International Version (2011), depending on the audience and situation."

- When teaching from Revelation they speak of 3 waves, while ignoring the secret scroll which results clearly in 4 waves including the Thunder Judgments (Rev 10:1-4). Once again they violated their own principles, by following the common tradition of man rather than a straightforward reading of the text.

[Nelson Banuchi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This is an excellent book on how to study the Bible. Authors give clear, simple, and basic instructions for the layman on how to uncover the Bible message. This book seems to cover every area of the exegetical method scholars use. It is also a reference tool to look back and check any method you need to brush up on or any areas may have forgotten within a method. There are also exercises to do after each chapter that are really challenging. Shucks! I was stuck on the first challenge question which was to "Find a minimum of thirty observations in Act 1:8." The instructions further read that these are not theological observations that are being requested but observations on the passage itself, "For example," the authors instruct, "an observation would be to note that the passage starts off with a conjunction." Not that easy for me. I kept on thinking of how it should interpreted.

Note, there is also and excellent workbook with challenging exercise and also 3 DVDs with 22 lessons, and both workbook and DVD's which I highly recommend along with the book.

This is an excellent book not only for beginners, for whom it is specifically written, but also for the seasoned self-study laymen to review, remind, and further ground one in the proper method of interpreting Scripture.

[Stephen James Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grasping God's Word, written by J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays, is an introductory hermeneutics text designed for the average Christian reader to deepen their understanding of the interpretation of Scripture. Duvall and Hays present a centrist evangelical approach to Bible interpretation, remaining uncontroversial and faithful to Christian orthodoxy.

The best chapters of the book are the first two, detailing the various translations of the Bible and providing an incredibly helpful step by step process for interpreting and rightly applying Scripture. Other chapters were a bit simplistic, reducing complex topics to bare bones and frequently repeating similar concepts on application.

Its accessibility in writing style and basic approach make it a great undergraduate text or reference guide for small group leaders, Bible study leaders, and lay leaders. I recently used it as the basis for a Sunday school class on Bible interpretation. Those who are looking for scholarly and intellectually challenging writing will be left disappointed but Grasping God's Word never aimed to be a read for the academician.

[Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been hearing about GGW for several years now and even started reading it several years ago (though I stopped for some reason). I finally got around to reading all the way through it in preparation for a class I’m going to teach.

I think GGW is great. It is long, but it sets out to do exactly what the authors intended to do. It bridges the gap between entry-level Bible study books and more technical books on hermeneutics. The metaphor of the Interpretive Journey is not only a useful analogy, but it’s an accessible methodology for students all over the world.

I also appreciate the topics covered in this book. The book is well-organized, logical, and easy to read. I am especially thankful for Parts 4 and 5, in which the authors describe the application of the Interpretive Journey to each of the major genres of the New and Old Testatments, respectively.

In conclusion, while the text is long, I would have no reservations about recommending this book to anyone serious about learning more about how to study and appropriately discover (not determine) the meaning of God’s Word.

[Trevor Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was assigned to me in college, and I never read it. I thought I should give it a go a decade later. Pedagogically this book is well constructed. The pattern of introduction, explanation, several examples, and several assignments for practice is a great format for hermeneutical texts. The book is clear, easy to follow, and full of helpful examples and metaphors for how biblical hermeneutics functions. My biggest issue with this book is that, despite trying not to do so, the book perpetuates the Protestant “me and my Bible” way of viewing scripture. Sure, the authors appeal to commentaries in one chapter, but where is the totality of understanding from the Church? How did the Early Church Fathers address this passage? Aquinas? Augustine? Ambrose? Athanasius? What about the ecumenical councils, particularly the one that gave us the 66 book Bible that we have today?

Other than that issue, I found the book to be helpful and a good tool for beginning hermeneutical work.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the high points of the book was Chapter 1 on Bible Translations, which includes a good explanation of translation theory and why the various modern English translations differ. It also has a solid, though concise refutation of KJV only dogma.

Chapters 12 (lectio divina) and 13 (application) were very poor, undoing much of the solid hermeneutical theory laid down in previous chapters.

The remaining chapters were adequate. There was some solid teaching regarding the grammatico-historical hermeneutic, but nothing that could not be found in other books that addressed the same issues more thoroughly or convincingly.