James Kugel’s “How to Read the Bible” is an excellent guide for the lay reader (and here I include myself) to both the classical and modern approaches to reading and understanding the Hebrew Bible. It compares and contrasts the assumptions underlying the traditional method with that of contemporary scholarship, and concludes that while these approaches are in some ways irreconcilable, they also inform each other. Kugel provides a basis for criticism of the classical understanding without finding in that criticism grounds for disposing of a way of an interpretation that has served for millennia as the basis of two great religions. Most importantly it highlights the futility of the search for the true, “original“ meaning of the Bible, noting that ancient interpreters, beginning in the last few centuries before the Common Era, had already moved beyond this limited view. It’s a long read, but a worthwhile one.

Update: I grabbed a copy off of iBooks at 7AM (overslept) and have noticed that the errata has been fixed, so the eBook is better ... I am very happy having this version now on my new iPad ... Actually, a ten-star reading experience. ================== I have a hard copy, which is a treasure since it is signed by Professor Kugel. I assure you that I will be buying this eBook come 12:01AM, May 1, so that I can immerse myself deeper into his excellent study of the Hebrew Bible.