A Compact Guide to the Whole Bible

“This compact guide is a true vade mecum: ‘Walk with me.’ The authors cordially invite you to accompany them into the drama of faith through Christian Scripture. Especially if you are new to biblical study and desire to read the Bible seriously and faithfully, it’s an invitation I encourage you to accept.”—C. Clifton Black, Otto A. Piper Professor of Biblical Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary

“A Compact Guide to the Whole Bible is unique in its sweeping, fast-paced, accessible invitation to read the Bible—the whole Bible—in all of its wonderful, challenging presentation of the God who meets us in this ancient, tough, revealing, and relevant book. Perhaps the greatest gift of A Compact Guide is that it dares to present the Bible as Scripture. Generations of people have lived and died by this book, have met a living God through its stories and pronouncements, and have been taken places they could never have gone without Scripture taking them there.”—Will Willimon, professor of the practice of Christian ministry, Duke Divinity School

“It’s easy to find introductory textbooks that overwhelm students with information and theories about the Bible—textbooks that complicate rather than open up the Bible to its readers. The promise of this slender volume is its commitment to genuinely invite students into the Bible by giving readers a keen sense of how each section of Scripture contributes to the whole and by identifying key landmarks for making sense of the biblical materials. This compact guide is the obvious choice for undergraduate courses concerned with the Bible as the church’s book and for congregational use.”—Joel B. Green, dean of the School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary

“Those of us who teach Scripture often long for a concise and accessible way to present the whole scope of Scripture to students. This book is an answer to those longings. It is clear, theologically acute, and written with beginning students in mind. These colleagues have brought their scholarly expertise and their commitment to reading theologically to bear on the whole Bible. The result is a work that is unified in its approach, uniformly accessible, and of immense value to the rest of us.”—Stephen Fowl, professor of theology, Loyola University Maryland

“This book is written by authors deeply committed to and engaged in both the life of faith (church) and the life of the mind (academy). They deftly weave the two together as they guide readers through the Bible. The inclusion of the intertestamental history and literature is a real gift and distinguishes this compact guide from even lengthy introductions to the Bible. If you are concerned with biblical illiteracy among Christians, this would be an excellent choice to give a solid grounding in God’s dynamic drama.”—Nancy R. Bowen, professor of Old Testament, Earlham School of Religion

“It is notoriously challenging to write a brief, thoughtful, one-volume introduction to the Bible. I commend the editors and chapter writers for succeeding admirably in facing such a challenge. They have written an exceptional text whose primary (but not exclusive) target audience will be undergraduate students enrolled in an introduction to the Bible class. Were I to teach such a course, this would easily be the volume I would use in such a class.”—Victor P. Hamilton, professor emeritus of Old Testament, Asbury University

“Wall and Nienhuis have assembled a concise and readable guide to the Bible as Christian Scripture. This is not your typical historical and literary introduction but a guide to the Bible as the church’s sacred canon. It is an outstanding resource for learning to read the biblical texts theologically and a gift both to the church and to the academy.”—David F. Watson, academic dean and vice president for academic affairs, United Theological Seminary

“Many Christians, from college students to laypersons in Bible study groups, need a quick overview of the whole Bible to better understand this sacred text. These scholars have provided an easily understandable, comprehensive, and yet well-grounded introduction to the Bible. For those who read Scripture as God’s Word for God’s people, this is a very helpful book.”—Scott J. Jones, bishop, Great Plains Area, the United Methodist Church

“In a world where people go to war in the name of God and Scripture and where matters of law, morality, and ethics often lack foundation and context, a biblical people must master—and be mastered by—Scripture’s story. This volume presents that story in a way that helps us grasp its major themes and movements and thus provides light for interpreting, assessing, and applying the Bible today. I commend it highly to those charged with communicating the story, to those whose lives should reflect the story, and to all seekers for whom the story begs to be told.”—David W. Kendall, bishop, Free Methodist Church–USA