Cracking Old Testament Codes: A Guide to Interpreting the Literary Genres of the Old Testament

by D. Brent Sandy (Editor), Ronald L. Giese

A guide to the various kinds of literature in the Old Testament-narrative, history, law, oracles, and more-and how to interpret them. Contributors include Eugene Merrill, Walt Kaiser, and Tremper Longman, III.

Genres: Theology, Biblical Studies, Nonfiction, Old Testament, Christian, Reference, Religion

336 pages, Paperback

First published June 6, 1995

Reviews

[Andrzej Stelmasiak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Assigned by Richard P. Belcher Jr. (from the Reformed Theological Seminary) for his OT class.

I have read only Tremper Longman III on Lament here, and this was just superb. If I will read the rest of it, then my rating may change.

[Nathaniel McVay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on Old Testament genre. Goes well with Fee and Stuart's How To Read the Bible For All Its Worth.

[Jerome · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-read for anyone striving to read the biblical text contextually and intelligently.

[Michael Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A regrettable title! It sounds like a search for hidden messages in Hebrew Bible, but it is nothing of the sort. It’s a scholarly yet accessible introduction to an important concept in biblical interpretation: literary genre.

The book begins with three essays laying the groundwork for understanding genres. Recognizing literary form is not a luxury but a necessity for sound exegesis. The first essay clearly defines what genre is (and isn’t) and offers a helpful framework for categorizing Old Testament genres, organizing them broadly into Prose, Prophecy, and Poetry. This structure (with a helpful graphic) helps us to see the big picture before diving into the ten following chapters, each exploring a specific genre in detail.

The third essay addresses an important theological question: how do literary forms relate to divine inspiration? Far from being incidental or stylistic, the use of genre is part of God’s intentional communicative design. Recognizing how He used different genres helps us understand not only the message but also the method of His revelation.

The final chapter offers practical, valuable insights for preachers and teachers. It examines common misunderstandings of Old Testament genres and how to avoid them. It encourages more faithful, informed teaching that takes literary form seriously. Because it is not overly technical, it’s a great resource even for those without formal training in biblical studies.

In short, Cracking Old Testament Codes is a concise, serious introduction to a topic that is often ignored. By understanding the function and significance of genre, we can guard against the interpretive errors that lead to misapplication and confusion. For anyone who wants to read and teach the Old Testament more faithfully, this book is a worthwhile guide.

[Sophie Smekens]

I’m a liar, I didn’t finish this book. After six months of reading a few pages every morning, I’m putting down the effort to read this entire textbook cover to cover and using it as a reference instead. And exited to do so in the future! This is a book I’m glad to have on my shelf for dissecting biblical literature down the line.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book regarding the importance of middle context and genre when examining Old Testament passages. The authors do a great job at unifying different writers and creating some good basic interpretive principles for each of the genres addressed.

[John Yelverton · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are many things in this book which are very important for pastors especially to take into consideration when reading the Old Testament; however, there's some definite liberal Christianity veins in some of the chapter, which will set an more orthodox Christian's teeth on edge.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful guide for the variety and density of genres in the OT. A number of helpful gems to return to, although not the most approachable in readability.

[Michael Schmid · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book discussing the importance genre in the Hebrew OT: how to recognise which genre a certain text belongs to and how to best understand and interpret the meaning of the text.

[Gustavo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent resource!!

The autor explains very well every genre and the steps to interpret it with responsibility that the word of God require!

[Rodney Harvill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15 (NASB)

Do not become teachers in large numbers, my brothers, since you know that we who are teachers will incur a stricter judgment. James 4:1 (NASB)

The above command and warning always weigh heavily on me, a layman. My work as a nuclear engineer impacts nuclear power plant safety, but that responsibility pales in comparison to handling the word of God. Consequently, I have a deep hunger to better understand the scriptures albeit fully aware of the biases all men, myself included, bring to the table. So, I truly appreciate books such as this, which teach us how to interpret scripture for ourselves.

As stated in the subtitle, the focus of the book is the impact of genre on the meaning of different parts of the Old Testament, and the book starts out with a discussion of genre and its importance in determining the meaning of a passage. Historically, I have been well aware of the importance of the biblical language and context, but I don’t remember a lot of emphasis on genre. That said, the authors make a strong case for its application in hermeneutics.

The genres addressed in the book are:

• History
• Narrative
• Law
• Oracles of salvation
• Announcements of judgment
• Apocalyptic
• Lament
• Praise
• Proverb
• Non-proverbial wisdom

One chapter is devoted to each genre and consists of three parts:

• Description of the genre and features by which it can be recognized
• Guidelines for interpretation
• An example interpretation of a biblical passage featuring that genre

Furthermore, each chapter includes a recommended reading list for those who want to dig deeper.

One thing that stood out to me was the fact that multiple genres can be found in a single book of the Old Testament. Consider Judges, which is mostly narrative or history, yet contains praise (Song of Deborah, Judges 5) and non-proverbial wisdom (Jotham’s fable of the trees and kingship). For all I know, there may be others of which I am unaware. At any rate, I can easily see myself periodically reviewing this book as I engage in Bible study.

[Eleasa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A textbook for my OT Theology for Ministry class - so helpful to get into the details of why understanding the genre of an Old Testament book is crucial for its correct interpretation.

[Jonathan Klimek · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, I found it especially helpful in learning good hermeneutical principles for interpreting different genre's of Scripture.

[Brendan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cracking Old Testament Codes is a great, easy to read guide to interpreting literary genre in the bible. So often, our reading of the bible is limited by our knowledge of history, or it is reduced because we don't know how to handle things like prophecy or apocalyptic literature. This book does a great job of describing the genres and offering solutions about how you should read these genres in the bible.

What I loved most about this book were the chapters on wisdom literature, particularly, non-proverbial wisdom literature. How do you approach the books like Job? Or Ecclesiastes? Sandy gives some good insight into those subjects.

My suggestion for anyone reading this is to read the chapters along with your own study of the bible and apply the ideas presented in your own daily bible readings. If you want to read the bible with a deeper sense of understanding, this is a great read.

[Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty essential for gaining an understanding of the genres found throughout the Old Testament and how to interpret them properly. I learned much insight from this book and look at the Old Testament in a completely different light now.

[Loraena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a seminary class on using the Old Testament for ministry. It’s somewhat of a deep dive, but I found it pretty interesting and very helpful for understanding all the various genres & sub genres in the OT.

[John Weathersby]

It's ok, not a leisure read. Not overly complex either. Just a book about different genres of scripture int he Old Testament.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good for the most part.

[MrWalterN · Rating 4 out of 5]

A valuable tool in considering genre for the Old Testament hermeneutical process

[Scott Greening · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of basic biblical genres and their implications for teaching and preaching.

[Mike Jorgensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this more of a skim than a true read. It has some helpful content, but I'm not sure its worthy of a full read.

[Sean McGowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Really helpful!