Serving Up Scripture: How to Interpret the Bible for Yourself and Others

An empowering guide for learning to interpret the Bible.

Have you ever seen the Bible used to hurt someone--or has it been used to harm you? Have you sometimes gotten the feeling that people were misapplying verses but been unable to explain how? Do you wish you could better understand what may look like contradictions in the text, especially those that challenge your understanding of God?

If so, you're not alone. But thankfully, better ways to read and understand the Bible are within your grasp. That's because this user-friendly introduction to biblical interpretation teaches how you can interpret Scripture, both for yourself and for those you love.

Everyone who reads the Bible interprets it, often unconsciously. Learning and practicing key principles of interpretation, however, can empower you to better understand, and to engage more comfortably and responsibly in this process. Using the metaphor of cooking, in which delicious and nourishing meals are created from the ingredients at hand, Serving Up Scripture explains how you, the chef (or interpreter) can whip up solid meals (make trustworthy and insightful interpretations) from the main ingredients (chapters and verses) in your Bible. Just as a cook learns to prepare the same basic ingredients in different ways depending on the context of the meal, you'll learn to ask different questions of the text in order to illuminate aspects of the story or passage you're seeking to understand.

You don't have to rely on other people's biblical interpretations that may feel wrong or questionable. Serving Up Scripture puts the Bible squarely back in the hands of anyone who's ever felt it's been abused or its message mischaracterized. Which is to say, in the hands of up-and-coming chefs, or interpreters, just like you.

Jennifer Garcia Bashaw is a professor at Campbell University and an ordained Baptist minister. She has a PhD in New Testament from Fuller Seminary and is the author of Scapegoats: The Gospel through the Eyes of Victims and John for Normal People: A Guide through the Drama and Depth of the Fourth Gospel.

Aaron Higashi is a public Bible scholar with a PhD in biblical interpretation from Chicago Theological Seminary. He writes Bible commentaries, including 1 & 2 Samuel for Normal People: A Guide to Prophets, Kings, and Some Pretty Terrible Men, and answers Bible questions on Instagram at @abhigashi.

Dr. Peter Enns (PhD, Harvard University) is Abram S. Clemens professor of Biblical Studies at Eastern University, St. Davids, PA. He has taught courses at several other institutions including Harvard University, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Princeton Theological Seminary. Enns is a frequent contributor to journals and encyclopedias, and is the author of several books, including The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It (HarperOne), The Bible and the Believer: How to Read the Bible Critically and Religiously (with Marc Brettler and Daniel Harrington, Oxford University Press), Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and The Problem of the Old Testament (Baker), and The Evolution of Adam: What the Bible Does and Doesn't Say about Human Origins (Baker).