Why Is That in the Bible?: The Most Perplexing Verses and Stories--And What They Teach Us

by Eric J. Bargerhuff

Providing fascinating historical and scriptural insights, this guide demystifies more than 40 Bible verses and stories, ranging from strange accounts to hard to accept statements. You will learn the context of each passage and how it applies to us today. In all, this book will help you be more confident about interpreting God's Word accurately.

Genres: Nonfiction, Faith, Theology, Christian Non Fiction, Christian

256 pages, Paperback

Published August 18, 2020

About the author

Eric J. Bargerhuff, PhD, has served in pastoral ministry in churches in Ohio, Illinois, and Florida. He received his doctorate in biblical and systematic theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. His passion is to write systematic and practical theology for the purposes of spiritual growth and reform in the church. He is a member of the Society for the Advancement of Ecclesial Theology (SAET) and the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS).

His first publication, Love that Rescues: God's Fatherly Love in the Practice of Church Discipline, explores the grace and fatherly love of God that should be embodied in a church's efforts to restore a brother or sister in Christ who has gone astray.

Eric and his family presently live in Palm Harbor, Florida.

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are certainly some puzzling passages in the Bible. We need help in understanding why they are there and what their significance is. Bargerhuff writes, “...surface readings of Bible verses without understanding the culture, context, and communicative methods of that day can be misleading at times.” (20) So he provides those things for us.

He investigates all kinds of passages. He explores apparent contradiction like those of the faith verses works topic. He reveals insights into often misunderstood passages. An example is Luke 14:26-27. Are we really to hate our family members to follow Jesus? Bargerhuff argues that the use of “hate” was a rhetorical device and is not to be taken literally. We are to understand it to mean “love less” in a comparative sense. (20)

He includes spiritual lessons with his explanations. One of my favorites was from the story of Balaam and the talking donkey. Bargerhuff writes, “...not all who claim to speak for God belong to God.” (32) Another favorite was from 2 Chronicles 20 and King Jehoshaphat's actions in the face of the approaching enemy. Bargerhuff gleans a pattern we are to follow when facing uncertainty: worship God, claim his promises, admit our helpless and need, and profess our faith and trust. (112-113)

There were some surprises. I had always assumed that Jesus speaking about eating his flesh and drinking his blood in John 6:54 was referring the coming Last Supper and the institution of communion. Bargerhuff says it is not, arguing that the promise associated with this statement would guarantee salvation for anyone taking communion. It should rather be taken as referring to having faith in his broken body and spilled blood. (195) That made me chuckle later on when Bargerhuff criticized Bible interpreters who “...neglect the literal reading of the text and opt for more of a symbolic or allegorical meaning at the expense of missing the simple truths of the story.” (210) I guess it depends on what you think a passage should say.

Bargerhuff does a good job of giving the setting, the culture and other background information on some of the most puzzling passages in the Bible. His inclusion of spiritual lessons is an added blessing. I recommend this book to those seeking insight into the Bible in general and those puzzling passages in particular.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

[Jeff Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected a much more scholarly look at the passages presented. This was rarely the case. The author presents the passage and why it's unusual or odd or worth considering, but then typically simply gives an opinion of why it's there.

Was more in line with typical Sunday School lessons than a deep look at the underlying meaning and reasons for the passages.

With that said it's an easy read and the passages chosen are interesting. Just wasn't the book I expected.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why is That in the Bible, Eric Bargerhuff, is filled with scripture stories that have often left Christians scratching their heads in wonder, or confusion. Some of the stories include The Sacrifice of Isaac, Balaam and the talking donkey, The Finger on the Wall and Ananias and Sapphira along with many more.

I like the way that he has the book set up so that the reader can explore Scripture a little and then open the discussion of that section before going on.

This is an amazing book that I believe was written for everyone who wonders about why some things are written about in the Bible. Some of the stories are not generally talked about but they still leave the reader pondering.

Wonderful book.

I was given this book by Bethany House Publishing in exchange for my honest review. All opinions and comments are my own.

[William · Rating 2 out of 5]

With a steady diet of intellectual baby food like this, it comes as no surprise that many in Christendom remain in a state of spiritual infancy. His supporters will no doubt argue that those in spiritual infancy were likely his intended audience and that he wrote the book to be accessible to them. My counter-argument to that is spiritual infancy is not tantamount to intellectual infancy. By oversimplifying his answers he has undermined both the efficacy of the book and his reliability as a teacher. Moreover, if that is your intended audience why not make it more accessible by posting these as articles for free on a website rather than an inaccessible paid book?

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Why is that in the Bible, Eric Bargerhuff explored scriptures and tried to comprehend why God included them in the Bible and what their purpose was. He begins the book by looking at some of the truths found in Job’s stories and why God allowed satan to test him and what we can learn from his story. He was faithfully following God and he ended up losing his livestock, servants, and his children. He also lost his health and his wife wasn’t happy with him, and friends wasn’t supportive. Some of the stories, he also explored was Abraham and Isaac, Balaam and the talking donkey, Peter cutting off an ear, no one knows the time or hour, Solomon’s many wives, Herod eaten by worms, a youth group is killed by bears, battle for Moses body, Absalom’s head stuck in a tree, bodily discharges, and much more.



One of my favorite chapters that is quite shocking was the chapter that covered the story of David and his son Absalom. As we all remember, David had an affair with Bathsheba and how he tried to cover it up. Prophet Nathan, warned David about how the sword will never depart and leave his house. David had at least eight wives. Eric explained how this was directly a sin because the Bible declared that marriage is between one man and one woman. Next, Eric explored David and Absalom relationship. He was David’s third son with Maacah. One of David’s firstborn sons with another wife of David, Ammon rapes his own half-sister, Tamar. David was angry and he chose to not punish his son. Absalom eventually has Ammon killed for the crime and he fleets for three years. David misses his son so he allows Absalom to return but he can’t be in the presence of the king. He tricks one of the commanders of David’s army into letting him seeing David and he publicly shamed David for his actions. He turned around the hearts of Israel against David. He fleets and Absalom has sex with his harem on the roof where everyone can see. David cries out to God and eventually David’s army prevailed and Absalom’s lost his head while he riding his mule it was caught in the branches of a tree. Eric explained the importance of remembering that sin destroys and how it greatly changed everyone’s life and how it affected the dynamic of David’s family and the tribe of Israel.


I would recommend this amazing book to anyone who is wondering why the Bible covers some difficult topics. I immensely liked how open he was about looking at the topics of rape, incest, suffering, and bodily discharges. There are many stories included in this book that many preachers and Sunday school teachers most likely won’t preach in church because of how graphic they are. I learned a lot about scriptures and stories that I haven’t really seen in detail before. I liked how Eric tried and connected the stories together where readers could understand the background of what was going on around that time. I appreciated how he dived in on how we can interpret the passages and what we can learn from them.




"I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House/ Chosen for my honest review.”

[James Frederick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting book that highlights some of the very strange and challenging parts of the Bible. The author gets high marks in that he courageously tackles some of the strangest and/or most difficult parts of the Bible. He went where most would fear to tread. Many people would like to ignore or gloss over those sections completely and pretend that they do not exist.

The problem I have with his approach is that he is admittedly a Bible literalist. Even when he admits that there are other potential ways to interpret the material, he consistently gives them short shrift, if they are mentioned at all. Many times, he talks about the "fact of the matter." We do not have access to the "fact of the matter." Part of the problem with a literal approach is that the context has changed (often dramatically) over the centuries. He makes it sound as if God dictated the Bible to the writers for once and for all and they wrote down His eternal directions.

In fairness, he explains SOME of the context in some of the stories. Is his explanation possible? Absolutely. And in some of the stories, I think he probably revealed just what we are supposed to take out of it. But his political positions and his evangelical Christian background generally allow him only one possible interpretation. The author's view does not provide a monopoly on "truth," as much as he would like to believe it.

I think that as Christians, we need to have a bit more humility about "the truth" and I think there is reasonable room for healthy and honest debate about the Bible and how it should properly be understood. To me, this book would have been better if there had been others involved in discussing possible other alternative understandings of the texts involved. Clearly, debate is not what the author wanted. I think that a great deal is lost in approaching the Bible in such a one-sided way. We all learn and grow from discussion, questioning and challenging interpretations, much as Jesus did, when HE was teaching in the Synagogues.

The Bible was written by dozens of human beings that lived thousands of years ago. Did they know they were writing the Bible? Most of them did not. So to insist that their words written for their time and in the context they were written are to be applied literally to our time in the same way is not reasonable. The flip side to that is that these words were written thousands of years ago and they STILL have profound meaning to people, today! It is not necessarily the SAME meaning. But it still speaks to us. So there continues to be wisdom and great value. But to insist that we are all described in those same stories is a stretch.

I am reading another book, "Why I Take the Bible Seriously, but Not Literally," which speaks to some of these issues. A back and forth discussion between the two authors (and others) would be fascinating to me. THIS book was not that in any way, and I think it suffered from its one-sided approach.

[Meagan Myhren-Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why is That in the Bible?
By Eric J. Bargerhuff

The most perplexing verses and stories--and what they teach us

The Bible often has passages that can leave a reader scratching their head and wondering what it was all about and even at times why it is in the Bible. But sometimes the meaning of the passage is twofold. It has bearing on the participants and the time in which they lived and it has an alluded to future bearing on the world that was and is still come.

This book is in no way an exhaustive overview of what one can find perplexing but rather it deals with some of the more well-known passages of both the Old and New Testaments. For instance, Abraham's sacrifice of Issac, who would willingly take a long-desired child and offer them as a sacrifice. Yet this is what Abraham did and he did it with a belief that he would still have a son afterward. This one of those instances of present and future meaning. And then there is the story of Jesus cursing the non-bearing fig tree. Reading passage one can be confused - why curse a tree that is not bearing fruit? But there is a deeper message that if directed at those who profess belief in Christ and His salvation - words are like the leaves of the fig tree and actions are like the fruit. Without actions behind our words, we are like a fruitless leafed-out tree.

These various examples take the reader on a journey of discovery, one that can open the eyes, mind, and heart to the greater meaning found within the Bible. One just needs the means to see deeper and this book offers one help in doing so. This book as the author offers in his conclusion is to help combat the biblical illiteracy that is growing and to help "Christians to be known as people of the Book" for without this we will never God as He intended us to. Are you ready to understand God's story more fully?

This book is one that you will want to have on hand for looking back on what you read or even to reread sections when you come across these passages in your daily Bible readings. Would make an excellent gift for those with questions about why something is in the Bible.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations. All thoughts expressed are my own.

[Tyler Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

As someone who has made a hobby out of studying (in detail) some of the Bible’s most strange and subtle passages, Bargerhuff misses the mark on almost all of them, willfully (and knowingly) ignoring certain nuances, in order to continually arrive at the least challenging, and least offensive conclusions to his own doctrinal presuppositions.

In a text where each chapter has had scores and scores of entire books written on their own subjects, his citations are sparse. I judge a book on what it tries to accomplish however, and what Bargerhuff attempts is admirable; to provide concise and comprehensible answers to questions many believers have after a cursory reading of the whole Bible. The issue is that some of these passages simply cannot be condensed as such, and others could be, if the author were willing to engage them.

I find Bargerhuff’s explanations of “the most perplexing verses” to be more perplexing than the verses themselves; because I’m intimately familiar with them, what frightens me is that audiences UNfamiliar with them will read a book like this and walk away worse off than they were before.

In the same breath he criticizes cheap grace, the author claims Ananias and Sapphira were carried into heaven upon the Holy Ghost striking them dead for abominable sin. He addresses Jude’s “dispute over the body of Moses” without even referencing the apocryphal tradition behind it (leaving his audience MORE vulnerable to those who abuse the apocrypha, not less). He seems to bizarrely interpret seminal emission’s uncleanness in Levitical law as a deterrent for married couples to avoid having too much sex (what???).

The handful of good explanations contained herein can be readily found elsewhere. For goodness’ sake, GotQuestions.com has richer, more charitable and honest, accurate responses to most of the questions raised by this book. One of the worst I’ve read all year. Thankful I only paid $1.99.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Wonder….

PLEASE READ THIS REVIEW ON MY BLOG: http://bookreadingtic.com/2020/09/20/... THANK YOU!

Have you read something in the Bible that caused you to want more details, but didn’t know where to find them? This book tries to help you with that. Forty subjects are covered such as the fight for Moses’ body, the dead people resurrected and seen walking throughout Jerusalem at the time of Christ’s death, and looks for an answer to who the Nephilim were.

The author points to places in the Bible that might help explain these stories, along with what scholars and theologians have said. He gives incites to help us understand the occurrences, but states some things are still up for debate. He also adds that the point to some these incidents might have been nothing more than to show God’s glory.

The author has been in church ministry more than twenty years, as well as, is currently a professor and dean at a Christian college. I enjoyed hearing about these amazing events. This 5-star book is easy to read, and the details fun to ponder. I recommend it to anyone who wants to know the rest of the story. Remember, too, you will never go wrong by asking the Lord for greater understanding.

Bethany House Publishing has provided Tickmenot with a complimentary copy of, Why is That in the Bible?, for the purpose of review.

[Nancy Larimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why Is That In the Bible? by Eric J. Bargerhuff is a Christian living book. Dr. l Eric Bargerhuff is a professor of Bible and theology and the associate dean of academic affairs at Trinity College of Florida.. He was a pastor for twenty years in Ohio, Illinois and Florida.. He received his doctorate in biblical and systematic theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. This book is a helpful tool for any pastor or any Christian. He explains and interprets a verse in each chapter. He writes about verses people to do understand the meaning or the reason the event , situation or decision took place. He explained why Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son. The explanations tell the reader the context of life at that time and why the situation happened. The explanations give a new viewpoint and understanding for this situations. I appreciate Bethany House for allowing me to read and review this book. The opinions are my own. I look forward to sharing my review on social media and with church staff.

[Julie D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an interesting book, full of great information that clears up so many things in the Bible that are confusing. Eric does a good job of breaking things down and explaining these things.

My favorite part of the book is at the end of each chapter, he gives us the Scriptures and then questions so that we can gain more understanding of what we have just read. I like when an author lets us dig into the Scripture ourselves and doesn't just spoon feed us information. Yes, he gives us the information we need to start our journey of understanding but he helps us to really get into the Scriptures.

There are so many questions answered in this book. If you've ever wondered about something that seems strange or odd in the Bible, you'll most likely find the answer to it in this book. I also like that this book was easy to read and not dry as dust. It was a pure joy to read!

I highly recommend this book as it is very informational. I give it 5 stars.

[Mercy Lyman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever been reading something in the Bible and thought “hmm I wonder what that means? Why is this here?” I know I have and while my family studies a lot of things out together it’s always nice to be able to look stuff up on my own. Well, now I don’t have to google things anymore! Eric J. Bergerhuff recently wrote a book that has the answers to questions many of us have wondered about. From The Finger On The Wall to Death At Communion. If you’ve wondered about it and can’t seem to find an explanation elsewhere in the Bible this book would probably be as great a help to you as it is to me.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have hard questions about the Bible, you aren't alone. This book covers many grey-area areas in the Bible. I enjoyed the author's conservative, biblically-supported views to back up his explanations. He also writes in a winsome style which is relatable. Each short chapter has two or three takeaways to help you understand the lesson's application for your daily life. Even though I consider myself very familiar with the Bible, I learned plenty of new things from this valuable book.

I received a preview copy of Why Is That in the Bible? from Harvest House.

[victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fascinating writing and compelling to read with that also inspiring and helping to fully understand the massage the had in the Bible to the clarity of Scripture with the most perplexing verses and stories to leading us to out of suffering and stock in life and in his world form our sin. I highly recommend to everyone must read this book. “ I received complimentary a copy of this book from Bethany House for this review”.

[Lisa Lewis Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It looks at 40 difficult-to-understand Bible accounts and gives the story behind the story. Great for anyone who desires a deeper understanding of the Bible.

[Amy Brandau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very insightful into strange passages in the Bible. Some I had heard before and some I don’t ever remember reading.

[Caitie Sweet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I was expecting long, drawn out dissertations on a few topics. What I got were short glimpses at various points in the bible covering about 40 topics. Bargerhuff really had no rhyme or reason to the order he covered the topics either. But because he kept his chapters so short with varying subjects, it made it more readable and enjoyable in my opinion. I wouldn't say he went exceptionally deep with his discussions, but it was still quite educational and always kept God and HIS reasoning at the forefront.

My only complaint really would be the audio narrator. His voice made it more dry than it probably would have read on the page. So if you read this, I recommend to read the physical copy. Highly recommended, though.