---
product_id: 135630614
title: "How to Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now Paperback – October 21, 2008"
brand: "james l. kugel"
price: "₪135"
currency: ILS
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 5
category: "Books"
url: https://www.desertcart.co.il/products/135630614-how-to-read-the-bible-a-guide-to-scripture-then
store_origin: IL
region: Israel
---

# How to Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now Paperback – October 21, 2008

**Brand:** james l. kugel
**Price:** ₪135
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** How to Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now Paperback – October 21, 2008 by james l. kugel
- **How much does it cost?** ₪135 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.il](https://www.desertcart.co.il/products/135630614-how-to-read-the-bible-a-guide-to-scripture-then)

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## Description

Review
        	
        	
        		
        		
	        		
						
			        		&#x201C;Kugel has a fine ear for narrative, a lifelong scholar&#x2019;s discipline, and a wonder and confidence fed by his beliefs. His gathering up of a life&#x2019;s work gives readers a chance to brush up against genius, and perhaps examine those beliefs we claim for ourselves.&#x201D;&#xA0;&#x2014;The Seattle Times&#x201C;Who should we believe about the Bible&#x2014;our Sunday-school teachers or our university professors? James Kugel cuts through this dilemma with a breathtaking new look at the world&#x2019;s most popular book...No writer on the Bible has wrestled so profoundly with the most basic, important questions raised by our conflicting knowledge and desires.&#x201D;&#xA0;&#x2014;&#x201C;The Best Books We Read in 2007,&#x201D; The A.V. Club&#x201C;To say that this would be the college course you never got to take about the Bible would be damning with faint praise; it would be the college course, the graduate seminar, and reading for comprehensive exams you never got around to, all in one. It may be the most popular book about these modern critics ever written; it&#x2019;s certainly one of the best popular books on the Bible in many years.&#x201D; &#x2014;Haaretz
						    	
					    	
						
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        		About the Author
        	
        	
        		
        		
	        		
						
			        		James L. Kugel served as the Starr Professor of Hebrew at Harvard from 1982 to 2003, where his course on the Bible was regularly one of the most popular on campus, enrolling more than nine hundred students. A specialist in the Hebrew Bible and its interpretation, he now lives in Jerusalem. His recent books include The God of Old, In the Valley of the Shadow and the forthcoming The Great Change.
						    	
					    	
						
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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Only worthless, low, power-hungry scoundrels are interested in ruling
            
*by H***R on January 2, 2017*

A fascinating look at ancient and modern biblical scholarship. It leads us through the Hebrew Bible/ Old Testament and reports on interpretations as well as results of historical, archaeological, and linguistic research into its stories. This is given by a man who categorizes himself as an Orthodox Jew. I could imagine he is not entirely popular in that camp. He will certainly not have friends in literalist Christian circles.The book explores origin, historicity, and interpretations of the familiar stories and words. Linguistics and archaeology have made significant contributions, but many important questions seem not to have been answered once and for all. Maybe they never will. Questions like 'who wrote these texts?' have been answered in too many different ways to leave us with a clear conclusion. We don't know for sure, if key persons like Abraham, Moses, Joshua, or even David really existed, or if they are mere giants of mythology. Or if anything like the exodus happened. Or the conquering of Canaan by an invading Israel. Or if the alleged wisdom of King Solomon has a base in truth. (Mustn't he rather have been quite a loser, in view of the breaking up of his kingdom as soon as he was gone?)What about the beginnings of monolatry and monotheism? No definite answers.Which child did Isaiah's prophecy, about the child that will be born, that Christmas lore likes to emphasize, refer to, actually? And more of the kind.I recommend this book if you want to update yourself on the various disputes about biblical interpretation.How does the author reconcile the findings, that he reports here, with his personal religious attitude? He doesn't. '...modern biblical scholarship and traditional Judaism are and must always remain completely irreconcilable.'In the last chapter, the author admits to his personal contradiction: his religious self considers modern Bible research irrelevant. A split mind.My headline is a quote from page 411. The chapter deals with the kingless period of Israel. Whether the author meant to comment on modern politics in Israel or the US is not clear to me.
  

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Faith vs. Science: You be the Judge
            
*by S***3 on July 11, 2018*

This book is written in order to explore two broad themes: how did faithful Jews and Christians read the Bible in the centuries leading up to the beginnings of modern archaeology and textual criticism; and how has the work of these technical experts put a new spin on the texts and challenged what we believed? Kugel does not try to reconcile the two. But if you would like a clearly written, concise explanation of the differences between those two camps, this book does a bang-up job.
  

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great Book on Understanding the Old Testament
            
*by J***. on February 8, 2019*

A better title for the book would be "How to Read the Old Testament." The book only covers the Old Testament and is very informative. A fascinating study of the Old Testament of the Bible, which is considered the books for the Jewish religion, and a preface for the Christian religion. This is a great book and I am glad that I took the opportunity to buy and read this book. The author writes in a very understandable book about a difficult subject. Highly recommended to anyone who wants to know and understand the Jewish religion and what influenced the Christian religion. One of the very few books that I consider worth rereading over and over again.
  

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*Product available on Desertcart Israel*
*Store origin: IL*
*Last updated: 2026-03-04*