Recommended Books

These are taken from my post here, where I comment on each book. These are all Amazon links, and you’re supporting me and my research by purchasing through these links.

Bibles (If you can only get one book, get one of these top two. A modern translation really helps.)

• The New Revised Standard Version, or NRSV. This translation is available in a multitude of versions, including hardcover, and The New Oxford Annotated Bible with notes.
•  The Jewish Study Bible. A translation and notes from an academic Jewish perspective.
• NIV Study Bible This is a conservative Evangelical translation and notes, and is sometimes problematic (especially in the NT). I like comparing the Old Testament notes with those of the Jewish Study Bible above.

If you can only get two books, get a new Bible and a copy of Jehovah and the World of the Old Testament. This is a very good volume to come out of Deseret Book with lots of sidebars, pictures, etc., and is a good first intro to the Old Testament. See my review here.

The Short List
This is a list of general books that I wish every LDS would read to get some basic background, wrap their minds around the Israelite mindset, and how it differs so much from the modern world and Mormonism, and avoid so many problems we create for ourselves by approaching it from the wrong assumptions.

• Peter Enns, Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament
• Richards and O’Brian, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible
• Marc Brettler, How to Read the Jewish Bible
• Hershel Shanks (ed.), Ancient Israel: From Abraham to the Roman Destruction of the Temple (Revised & Expanded)
• Alternates to Shanks would be either Miller/Hayes, A History of Ancient Israel and Judah
  or Michael  Coogan, The Oxford History of the Biblical World

Academic Introductions
These tend to be used in a university intro courses and cover every book, talking about their background, authorship, history, and interpretation.

• Michael Coogan, The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures. A shorter, more pedagogical version of this is available as A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament: The Hebrew Bible in Its Context
• John Collins, Introduction to the Hebrew Bible A second edition will be available July 14.

Who Wrote the Bible? (Or at least, Genesis-Deuteronomy?)

• David Bokovoy, Authoring the Old Testament: Genesis–-Deuteronomy. Bokovoy is LDS, PhD from Brandeis, and is writing two more books in the series.
• Richard E. Friedman,Who Wrote the Bible?
• Friedman’s follow-up, a translation with highlighted sources and commentary. The Bible with Sources Revealed

From Lesson 21

• Robert Alter, The David Story: A Translation with Commentary of 1 and 2 Samuel
• Robert Alter,   The Art of Biblical Narrative
• Peter Enns, Inspiration and Incarnation: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testament
• The Anchor Bible Dictionary, 6 Volumes Complete
• Stephen McKenzie, How to Read the Bible: History, Prophecy, Literature–Why Modern Readers Need to Know the Difference and What It Means for Faith Today
• Nahum Sarna, the chapter in Ancient Israel: From Abraham to the Roman Destruction of the Temple (Revised & Expanded)
• Sarna, JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis
• Sarna, The JPS Torah Commentary: Exodus
• Sarna, Understanding Genesis (The Heritage of Biblical Israel)

From Lesson 24

• Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Poetry
• James Kugel, The Idea of Biblical Poetry: Parallelism and Its History
• And for the advanced student looking to dig, no Hebrew is necessary but its helpful. Adele Berlin, The Dynamics of Biblical Parallelism 
• Robert Alter also has a translation and commentary on Psalms- The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary
• Nahum Sarna, On the Book of Psalms: Exploring the Prayers of Ancient Israel
• Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament Like several books above, it’s available for Logos as well as paper.