Do you know the various genres of literature in the Bible and how to interpret each within its proper context? Are you aware of the many and profound differences between the modern world and ancient biblical cultures; how ancient societies worked, how documents were created, who preserved them and why, the patriarchal nature of all ancient cultures, and, most importantly, how these cultural characteristics should affect our reading of the Bible?

Bible Gateway interviewed Dr. Ben Witherington about his book, Reading and Understanding the Bible (Oxford University Press, 2014).

[Also see, Invitation to the New Testament: An Interview with Ben Witherington III]

For someone who may not know, briefly explain the history and fundamental composition of the Bible.

Dr. Witherington: The Bible was composed over the course of more than a thousand years, counting from the earliest traditions in the Pentateuch, and the latest New Testament compositions. It involved lots of people, prophets, priest, kings, scribes, apostles, elders, teachers.

Who decided (and how) what books would be included in the Bible?

Dr. Witherington: The decisions about the Old Testament books seem to have been determined on the basis of what could be attributed to either Moses, or prophets, or King David and Solomon. Of course many scribes actually contributed to this process, combining older traditions, editing materials, giving us a later edition of some stories which are found now both in 1 Samuel & 2 Samuel / 1 Kings & 2 Kings and in 1 Chronicles & 2 Chronicles as well. By the time of Jesus, the canon of the Old Testament seems to have largely been closed. Notice that no book not contained in the present Old Testament is cited as Scripture in the New Testament, with the possible exception of the citation from 1 Enoch in Jude.

In regard to the New Testament canon, it was decided that the earliest witnesses needed to be privileged, so it was members of Jesus’ family (James and Jude), members of the Twelve (Peter), other eyewitnesses (the Beloved Disciple), those who saw the risen Lord (Paul and many others), and the co-workers of the eyewitnesses and the apostles, who wrote the New Testament books.

How has the Bible been the foundation of much of Middle Eastern and Western culture?

Dr. Witherington: Monotheism and its expression in art and music and architecture obviously shaped much of western culture. More specifically, Christian theology has shaped western culture the most. We would not have Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal Son, Milton’s Paradise Lost, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, or the great cathedrals of Europe, and on and on, were it not for the biblical witness.

Why is it important that people read the Bible?

Dr. Witherington: Because this is the best chance they have to find out: 1) the character of God; 2) his plan of salvation for the world; 3) his will for the lives of individuals and families; 4) the historical foundations of all three monotheistic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Since the Bible is comprised of multiple books written in ancient times, how should it be approached by someone who has not encountered it before?

Dr. Witherington: It must be read carefully with the aid of proper guides, like Reading and Understanding the Bible, otherwise you’re in danger of reading all sorts of modern ideas back into the biblical stories.

What is the grand narrative of the Bible, even though its books were written by so many different authors?

Dr. Witherington: It’s a dramatic story of creation, fall, and redemption in many acts, beginning already at least as early as Abraham and his journey from Ur to the promised land.

Stories in the Bible touch on murder, war, rape, polygamy, lying, cheating, and other unsavory matters. How should readers refrain from calling humanity’s failures ‘biblical’ as if they were part of God’s good intentions?

Dr. Witherington: The Bible teaches us what sort of character God expects of his people, and with the ethical teaching, we have a guide as to how to read the narratives of the Bible. Sometimes it’s a matter of ‘go and do likewise’ and sometimes it’s a matter of ‘go and do otherwise.’

What do you mean the writers were not so concerned with chronological precision?

Dr. Witherington: I mean that they did not walk around with sundials on their wrists. They were content with using more general references to time, and even colloquial expressions. For example, Mark says ‘immediately’ some 40 times in his Gospel but what the context shows that he meant was simply ‘next,’ not the modern notion of ‘instantly.’ Ancient peoples told time differently than we do. Jewish days went from sundown to sundown, Greco-Roman days went from dawn to dawn. And when someone said ‘after three days’ it usually meant just ‘after several days.’

What’s the difference between history and biography and why is it an important distinction?

Dr. Witherington: History focuses on significant or historic events; biographies focus on a particular person and his character. So, biographies may include stories that are revealing of character, but not of larger historical significance; whereas historical monographs focus on deeds and words that changed history.

How should Bible readers approach the different genres in which the Bible is written?

Dr. Witherington: They need to approach them with knowledge, not in ignorance, which requires that one learn the characteristics of ancient literature, and how ancient biographies and historical works differ from their modern counterparts, which they do.

What are a few of the principles of interpretation a reader of the Bible should keep in mind?

Dr. Witherington: A text without a context is just a pretext for whatever you want it to mean; therefore always study the Bible in light of its original historical, archaeological, literary, theological, ethical contexts.

Describe the format of your book and what your objective is in writing it.

Dr. Witherington: The book works through all the different kinds of literature we have in the Bible. It then reviews the usual rules of interpreting the Bible. Finally it shows, using what you’ve learned in the first half of the book, how to do careful detailed interpretation of particular texts.

How would you recommend a person use Bible Gateway to properly read and understand the Bible?

Dr. Witherington: I would recommend them using up-to-date translations of the Bible. The Bible is difficult enough to understand without having to deal with archaic language and translations which do not reflect our earliest and best readings of the original text of the Bible.

Is there anything else you’d like to say?

Dr. Witherington: Apply the whole of the text to yourself; apply the whole of yourself to the text, as [Johann Albrecht] Bengel once said.

Bio: Bible scholar Ben Witherington is Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary and on the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University in Scotland. A graduate of UNC, Chapel Hill, he went on to receive the MDiv degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a PhD from the University of Durham in England. He is now considered one of the top evangelical scholars in the world, and is an elected member of the prestigious SNTS, a society dedicated to New Testament studies.

Witherington has also taught at Ashland Theological Seminary, Vanderbilt University, Duke Divinity School, and Gordon-Conwell. A popular lecturer, Witherington has presented seminars for churches, colleges, and biblical meetings not only in the United States but also in England, Estonia, Russia, Europe, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Australia. He has also led tours to Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt.

Witherington has written over 40 books, including The Jesus Quest and The Paul Quest, both of which were selected as top biblical studies works by Christianity Today. He also writes for many church and scholarly publications, and is a frequent contributor to the Patheos website.

Along with many interviews on radio networks across the country, Witherington has been seen on the History Channel, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, The Discovery Channel, A&E, and the PAX Network.