Forward by J.J. Packer
1. Why study the Bible
Two myths
The clarity of Scripture
The problem of motivation
The Biblical basis for Bible study
The Bible as revelation
Theory and practice
The sensuous Christian
A matter of duty
2. Personal Bible study and private interpretation
Martin Luther and private interpretation
Objectivity and subjectivity
The role of the teacher
3. Hermeneutics: The science of interpretation
The analogy of faith
Interpreting the Bible literally
Literal interpretation and genre analysis
The problem of metaphor
The medieval quadriga
The grammatico-historical method
Source criticism
Authorship and dating
Grammatical errors
4. Practical rules for Biblical interpretation
Rule 1. Like any other book
Rule 2. Reading existentially
Rule 3. The historical and the didactic
Rule 4. The implicit and the explicit
Rule 5. The meaning of words
Rule 6. Parallelism
Rule 7. Proverb and Law
Rule 8. The spirit and the letter
Rule 9. Parables
Rule 10. Predictive prophecy
5. Culture and the Bible
Cultural conditioning and the Bible
Cultural conditioning and the reader
Principle and custom
Practical guidelines
6. Practical tools for Bible study
Bible translations
Annotated Bibles
The King James Bible
Commentaries
Concordance, Bible dictionaries and atlases
Foreign translations
Bible reading program for beginners
What about Greek and Hebrew?