How to Read the Old Testament

by Etienne Charpentier

This book is for those who want to read the Bible but don't know how to go about it. It is a modest, yet ambitous guide to the Old Testament geared toward the adult learner.

Genres: Christianity, Church, Religion, Scripture

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

Reviews

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

My local priest lent this book to me so I hoped I would love it. Really, it's not as good as it might have been. At times very insightful, at others kind of boring. It does offer a more history-based explanation of how the Old Testament came to be written, but it might prove - despite being a Catholic book - somewhat disillusioning for readers who are of a more literalist stance regarding the Word of God. I am not exactly of that camp, and it should be known if much of the OT was compiled from all over the place, condensing many events into more symbolically-charged mythologies - indeed, it makes much more sense to think of it that way - but I still found it a sometimes unpleasant experience seeing just how wrong (if this book be right) so many Christians are regarding popular Biblical stories.

Does it affect my love of the Old Testament: Of course not.

Does it enrich my love of the Old Testament: Well, not really. I just have a more historically-informed, if less grandiose idea of how it all (allegedly) came together.

Is it worth reading: Probably. But there are likely better books of this sort available now.

[Ibrahim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was drawn to this book because of its title, as it begins with these two words “how to read…”. It’s part of a series of books that start with “how to understand …” in their titles. It’s like understanding the Bible for Dummies approach, and I love books that can take any deep, complex concept and make it easy to understand for a 5 year old child. Originally I enjoyed a book in the series entitled How to Understand the Bible, especially in its Old Testament part. I loved it and ate it up because it helped me understand how revelation in the Bible works and it was not anything like mechanical dictation; God unveiling himself using man’s frailty, culture, mythology, etc. to express a deep, rich spiritual concept. This kind of a book is the perfect Christian answer to an atheist or agnostic who has been bogged down by Christian fundamentalist reading of the Bible and sadly cannot get into the Bible because of that.

[Jean Marie Angelo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a slow and ponderous read for me. I took it on to help with seminary studies. While I found it dry, it did help in framing the stories and giving a sense of where they fit in history.

[Zoe Hartley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amaising