Reading the Bible

A Literary Guide to Scripture

By: William C. Creasy, Roma Downey - introduction

Narrated by: Dr. Bill Creasy, Mhairi Morrison

Read by the author.

Learn how to read the Bible as literature and fall in love with God's Word.

We all want to read the Bible verse-by-verse, cover-to-cover, but what happens when you can't get past Leviticus or bog down and quit in Chronicles? How can you make the journey through the Bible spring to life with unforgettable characters, drama, and glittering poetry and prose?

In Reading the Bible: A Literary Guide to Scripture, Dr. Bill Creasy leads you on an unforgettable adventure book-by-book, Genesis through Revelation. Stemming from his popular course at UCLA, The English Bible as Literature, this work delves deeply into the text of the Bible, unveiling its rich literary genres and ancient Near Eastern origins. Recognized as among the top two percent of educators in the U.S., Creasy challenges the notion that the Bible is simply an anthology, instead revealing it as a collection of 'little books' that warrant meticulous exploration.

In this book you will learn how to:

• Read the Bible as a unified literary work
• Engage each book of the Bible in its proper literary genre
• Meet biblical characters as unique people
• Discover the subtle techniques of scriptural storytelling
• Understand the drama of redemption

With the aim of nurturing "knowledgeable readers of Scripture" who can both comprehend and apply its teachings within their own life, Reading the Bible serves as an indispensable guide for those seeking a profound understanding of the world's most influential text.

Reference material and the bibliography can be found in the audiobook companion PDF download.

The Bible’s Story, Told with Warmth and Wisdom

Listening to Reading the Bible on Audible felt like sitting in a room with Dr. Bill Creasy himself—warm, funny, and deeply insightful. His narration brings the Bible’s big story to life, making it both approachable and profound. Whether you’re new to Scripture or have read it for years, this audiobook will help you see, understand, and love God’s Word in a whole new way.

Great detail and perspective.

Dr. Creasy has an ability to open up the details of each section and provide perspectives I have not considered. I’m already planning how we can start a church study group with this book.

Reestablishing the Grace of God's Word

Dr. Bill Creasy offers a masterful, back-to-the-text reading that resists modern and classic distortions and puts God’s Word back at the center. Treating Scripture as literature, he builds on four foundational pillars that make the Bible’s structure, themes, and storyline far easier to follow. The result is clear, compelling, and faithful—God’s Word heard as God’s Word. For deeper study, his extensive lectures and resources at Logos Bible Study (logosbiblestudy.com) are an excellent companion.

Excellent Voicing of the Written Work

Dr. Creasy himself reads his book to you. It is clear and easily digestible in articulation and cadence. The content itself is an excellent summary of his teachings, and his approach has given me the intellectual schema I need to scaffold my personal biblical study. This is a very good way to deepen your relationship with God. And though Dr. Creasy encourages his students to learn from the approaches other good teachers take, this is the teaching that first got me hooked on studying the Bible. God bless you as you discern the next steps in your own journey to a closer relationship with Him.

History

I enjoyed the historical context being able to visualize what was happening in the world at the time.