100 Books Like Reading the Bible Again for the First Time

I’ve read a number of books about the Bible over the years, from academic monographs to commentaries to popular and devotional reads. Hands down, Rohr’s Things Hidden is my single favorite book about scripture.

It’s accessible—not academic, although clearly informed by good scholarship. It celebrates the Bible for its spiritual meaning, rather than getting mired in dogma, philosophy, or moralism.

Most important of all, it provides insight into how the Bible tells a centuries-long story of how people (first, the Jewish community, and later on, the earliest Christians) over time grew to understand God as an infinite, loving creator.

I truly was inspired by Jennifer Bird’s intelligent yet inviting introduction to the Bible—and her explanation of why ordinary people can read it for personal spiritual benefit.

For many years, I felt intimidated by Biblical commentaries because they were written by brilliant scholars and researchers who devoted their entire lives to the Bible. How could I ever reach their depth of knowledge?

But along came Jennifer Bird, who reminds readers like me that it’s okay to bring a layperson’s perspective to scripture. As her title indicates, she gives everyone permission to mind our own ways of relating to this ancient text.

She’s not promoting fundamentalism, but rather gives us permission to balance an academic appreciation of Biblical knowledge with a personal encounter with the Spirit of love who truly inspired the Biblical writers.

Growing up as a Christian, I learned a Christian understanding of the Bible, but my appreciation of scripture took a quantum leap when I was exposed to Jewish perspectives, including this brilliant study of the Hebrew Bible (the Christian “Old Testament”) as a guide to meditation.

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan unpacks how instructions for meditation are often carefully encoded in the ancient writings, thereby revealing not only how the Bible supports a meaningful spiritual practice, but also how it is filled with subtle mystical teachings.

I’ll never accept the criticism that “mysticism isn’t in the Bible ever again”—this book shows how that perspective is based on misunderstanding Biblical wisdom.

Just as Aryeh Kaplan helped me to read the Old Testament through Jewish (mystical) eyes, Amy-Jill Levine introduced me to a new understanding of Jesus and the New Testament, which once again completely revolutionized my understanding of the Bible and my appreciation for its wisdom.

Levine reminds us that Jesus lived and died as a Jew; his words and his teachings come alive in new and surprising ways when we take seriously his Jewish identity.

What I love about this book is not only how much it enriched my understanding of Jesus, but it also helped me to see how context is crucial for a careful reading of the Bible: knowing the social and historical background makes it so much easier to appreciate the spiritual wisdom in the sacred text.

Even if you are not a person of faith, evangelicalism in America has caused great division. Thus, understanding how conservative Christianity looks differently in white and Black communities is a good place to start being introduced to issues of race and justice. Many leaders in the church say Divided by Faith is the next most influential book for them—next to the Bible! 

The most common kind of book club in America is a Bible study. And while lots and lots of people have opinions about how you should read the Bible, or who is doing it wrong, no one delves into how real readers read the sacred text like James Bielo.

An ethnographer who is interested in American religion, Bielo is a careful and kind observer, who does everything he can to understand what people are doing when they read the Bible together. He takes you with him and you’ll see the world differently because he did.

As its title implies, this book is accessible to the entire family and would be a great resource for Sunday school teachers who want to provide their students with a larger understanding of the life and times of peoples in ancient Palestine and Rome. The book is broken down into easy-to-find categories such as "The Home," "Warfare," and "Travel and Communication," to name a few. There are stunning photographs on every page with detailed and clear explanations. The back of the book has timelines of the Bible and a map of Palestine in New Testament times with highlights of key events in the New Testament. There is also an alphabetical index that makes it easy to find information on specific topics.

I found it very difficult to put this book down!

The author takes you on a journey of discovery through the Scriptures from beginning to end, focusing on the scarlet thread that runs through the whole story. The book is a very quick read, filled with incredible insights and symbolism that unveils the Bible’s central message in all its beauty.

This is also recommended for anyone, regardless of their knowledge of the Bible.

The Thomas Nelson Study Bible is my second favorite commentary to use. It shares many similarities with The MacArthur Study Bible. There are helpful charts and maps. The commentary is clear and understandable. The cross-references are helpful as are the other study tools. The images and charts are done wonderfully. There are over 1,000 articles and notes spread through the commentary, which provide a greater understanding of certain passages and topics. Again there are also book introductions and the outlines can be very helpful. The word studies, the Strong’s numbers in case you want to do further study. The indexes and concordances at the back are helpful and easy to use. One point to consider is while John MacArthur’s commentary is Calvinistic, The Thomas Nelson Study Bible doesn’t seem to lean toward Calvinism or Arminianism, probably to reach multiple denominations.

I live in a Western culture. I’ve visited Israel twice and read through the Bible a few times. But what do I really know about the ancient Hebrew language and heritage? My knowledge is limited to what I’ve learned through researching rabbinic interpretations of the Tanakh, Legends of the Jews, Josephus, and other Jewish sacred texts.

The Jewish Study Bible gives me expert rabbinic commentary on every verse from a Jewish perspective! I finally understood Abraham’s and his descendants’ vital role in preserving God’s story—His story, history—from Creation to present.

A dear friend told me the Bible was a single Love Letter written to me—Genesis to Revelation—and I’d find Jesus was the Messiah in Genesis, not only in the New Testament. So I opened my Bible—the Love Letter—and found God waiting there. Every day, He’s waiting there to chat.