Before ever launching into a study of a book in the Bible, the first thing a reader needs to know is what that book’s author meant it to be. In other words, what kind of literature was he writing? What literary form did he employ?

The Bible contains literature at all these levels: some parts any reader can follow, some parts that require help, and some that are difficult enough that even seasoned scholars struggle to comprehend them.

One of the most important aspects of the human side of the Bible is that, in order to communicate his word to all human conditions, God chose to use almost every available kind of communication: narrative history, genealogies, chronicles, laws of all kinds, poetry of all kinds, proverbs, prophetic oracles, riddles, drama, biographical sketches, parables, letters, sermons, and apocalypses.

The individual books are literarily disparate—some authors are Jews, at least one is a Gentile, some are highly educated, others apparently not so at all.

It is naïve to think that the Bible differs from other literature in being automatically comprehensible, or that our good intentions and love of God will overcome our need to study in order to appreciate the quality of the ideas He has put into writing for us.

An exposition is a straightforward argument or explanation of a body of objective truth. It is a form of writing that appeals primarily to the mind. The argument usually has a tight structure that moves from point to point in logical fashion.

Expositional books are ideal if you’re just getting started in Bible study

The individual books are literarily disparate—some authors are Jews, at least one is a Gentile, some are highly educated, others apparently not so at all.

The individual books are literarily disparate—some authors are Jews, at least one is a Gentile, some are highly educated, others apparently not so at all.

It is naïve to think that the Bible differs from other literature in being automatically comprehensible, or that our good intentions and love of God will overcome our need to study in order to appreciate the quality of the ideas He has put into writing for us.

It is naïve to think that the Bible differs from other literature in being automatically comprehensible, or that our good intentions and love of God will overcome our need to study in order to appreciate the quality of the ideas He has put into writing for us.

Beginning Bible students need a method that will work with every genre before they learn the special steps necessary for advanced work