How Do Biblical Scholars Read the Hebrew Bible? by Sarah Shectman

A quick look at the biblical-interpretation section in any college library will immediately show that biblical scholars read the Hebrew Bible in a variety of ways. What most scholars have in common, though, is that they avoid overtly doctrinal readings based on the idea that the Bible is the “word of God” because such interpretations are based on faith claims that are inherently unprovable. Though there is a place for theology in biblical scholarship, most scholars treat the Bible as a work of literature with human authors and readers who live in particular places and times that affect what they write or how they read a text. Biblical scholars use methods of reading that are critical—that is, they do not take the claims of the Hebrew Bible or of traditional interpreters at face value. These methods fall into a range of historical and literary categories.

Historical-critical interpretation seeks to understand the development and meaning of the Bible in its ancient context. First, scholars use textual criticism to try to determine the correct letters and words of the text in its original language. Because there are no existing copies of the Hebrew Bible from the period when it was written, this can be tricky. Different copies of the same text exist and may contain different versions of a particular verse or chapter—perhaps because over the centuries the scribes copying the text made mistakes, or perhaps because the text existed in more than one version from very early on.

Once the words of the text have been established, biblical scholars turn to the content itself to try to determine its meaning, which often begins with trying to understand who wrote it, when, and why. This is called source criticism, as it is aimed at determining the literary sources that were used to create a particular biblical narrative. Many narratives contain repetitions, contradictions, and gaps indicating that multiple sources have been combined in the text. In the flood story, for example, variations as to the number of animals brought onto the ark (Gen 6:19-20, Gen 7:2-3) and the length of the flood (Gen 7:17, Gen 7:24) show that two separate accounts have been woven together to create a single story. Scholars also use redaction criticism to study the process of redacting, or editing, the text.

Scholars may also use form criticism, which focuses on genres of biblical literature. This approach is especially helpful for the book of Psalms, which contains a variety of types of poetic texts—for example, communal laments (Ps 74), individual laments (Ps 77), hymns (Ps 19), and psalms of thanksgiving (Ps 92). In this case, the form or type of poem tells us much about its social function and purpose. Many genres of biblical literature can also be compared to nonbiblical texts—for example, the biblical flood story bears remarkable similarities to the Babylonian flood story, Atrahasis. This comparative approach helps us understand the Hebrew Bible in its broader ancient context and see potential influences on the biblical texts.

Though not a means of reading the Hebrew Bible, archaeology is another useful tool in the biblical scholar’s toolbox. When archaeologists determine the identity of a site mentioned in the Bible and excavate it, their findings may be important for understanding biblical narratives that mention that place. For example, excavations at the site of Jericho, which according to Joshua 6 had walls in the period of the Israelite conquest, have revealed no walls for the historical period in which the conquest is supposed to have happened, thus indicating that the biblical account cannot be entirely historical.

In addition to historical-critical methods, many scholars use literary approaches that have developed as a result of postmodernist trends in twentieth-century scholarship more generally. This broad category includes methods such as structuralist, deconstructivist, and reader-response criticism, which closely examine a narrative’s literary features, but without the same focus on the historical origins of the text. A related group of methods, also primarily literary, is termed ideological criticism. Literary and ideological methods both reject the idea of objectivity, arguing that all readings are subjective and thus the author’s intent is both unrecoverable and irrelevant. Such scholars instead advocate reading the text from specific, stated ideological stances.

Thus, feminist interpreters use modern understandings of gender roles or patriarchal social structures to reveal new readings of biblical texts, sometimes condemning them as misogynist (for example, validating women’s subordination to men) and sometimes applauding them as empowering to women (for example, depicting female leaders such as Miriam and Deborah). Postcolonial readings examine how the power imbalance between colonizer and colonized may shed light on biblical texts and reveal new readings. Postcolonial interpretation varies from culture to culture; in Latin America, for example, postcolonial interpretation of biblical texts about oppression (such as Exod 1-14) and poverty (for example, in Jesus’s life) led to the development of liberation theology, allowing readers to reject the colonizers’ use of the Bible as a means to maintain their own power. Marxist interpretation may also play a role in such readings, which look at how economics and power function in biblical texts; exposing those dynamics can allow them to be overturned—for example, reading wisdom in Prov 1-9 as a commodity to be acquired and thus accessible only to those with the time and money to pursue it.

In between this focus on ancient and modern contexts for readings sits reception history, which studies how the Bible has been read and received over the centuries. This can begin in the canon itself, with references in one biblical text to another (for example, Dan 9:1-2 refers to Jer 25:11-12 and Jer 29:10-14), and extends into the modern period, covering the use of the Bible in other religious writings, in literature, in the arts, and in communities. This approach is broad (covering historical and literary aspects) and can shed considerable light on the many meanings that biblical texts have had through the ages.

Akin to reception history, canonical criticism is a way of studying how the Bible functions theologically in various communities of belief, from ancient Israelites to modern Americans. Unlike the other methods discussed above, canonical criticism takes the final form of the text as its starting point and focuses on how the text as a whole functions as sacred Scripture. Because canons assume audiences of faith communities, this approach is inherently theological, though it aims more to discover theologies in the text than to apply theologies to the text.

Most scholars use a combination of these methods, as each reveals different aspects of the text, whether historical, cultural, sociological, literary, or theological. And when scholars of different backgrounds, faiths, and cultures weigh in, they bring their own unique experiences and questions to the text. Some scholars discuss literary approaches as though they are completely separate from historical-critical ones, but in fact the two overlap in significant ways. The fullest understanding of the biblical text is gained by trying to see the text from as many perspectives as possible.

Sarah Shectman, "How Do Biblical Scholars Read the Hebrew Bible?", n.p. [cited 25 May 2018]. Online:


Sarah Shectman

Sarah Shectman
Academic Editor, Freelance





An authoritative collection of texts generally accepted as scripture.




The application of critical models of scholarship to a text.

Related to a type of literary criticism attributed to philosopher Jacques Derrida that denies any stable relationship between a term and its definition.

Of or related to beliefs held by an institution, such as a religion.







A movement within Roman Catholicism that first arose in the 1950s in Latin America and reads Scripture through the eyes of the poor, seeking redress for unjustness through political and social activism as well as worship.


Of or relating to the writings of Karl Marx, a 19th-century German philosopher, historian, and economist who advocated for a radical rethinking of social stratification and monetary policy.

A written, spoken, or recorded story.

Free of bias, a philosophical ideal.

A social hierarchy based on men and paternity.



Tracing the reactions and uses of a given text throughout history.



Having a qualitative basis or being influenced by point of view rather than objective.

Relating to thought about the nature and behavior of God.



Gen 6:19-20


Gen 7:2-3

2Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and its mate; and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and its mate;3and seven pairs of ... View more

Gen 7:17


Gen 7:24

24And the waters swelled on the earth for one hundred fifty days.

Ps 74

Plea for Help in Time of National Humiliation
A Maskil of Asaph.
1O God, why do you cast us off forever?

Ps 77

God's Mighty Deeds Recalled
1I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, that he may hear me.2In the day of my tr ... View more

Ps 19

God's Glory in Creation and the Law
To the leader. A Psalm of David.
1The heavens are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.2Day t ... View more

Ps 92

Thanksgiving for Vindication
A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath Day.
1It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;2to declare ... View more

Exod 1-14

1These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household:2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjam ... View more

Prov 1-9

1The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2For learning about wisdom and instruction,
for understanding words of insight,3for gaining inst ... View more

Dan 9:1-2

Daniel's Prayer for the People

Jer 25:11-12

11This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.12Then after seventy years are completed, I w ... View more

Jer 29:10-14

10For thus says the Lord: Only when Babylon's seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this plac ... View more

 NEH Logo