Bible in Ten - any book of the Bible cracked in ten minutes or less, by David Kitchen

'Some minor quibbles, but overall a very useful short book for many readers of the Bible'

Bible in Ten - any book of the Bible cracked in ten minutes or less
By David Kitchen
BRF
ISBN 978 1 80039 151 2
Reviewed by Pieter Lalleman

The cover of this book states: ‘Quite how people made the Bible sound so dull is a mystery. This is the book that proves it’s anything but.’

The book does live up to this claim: Using only a few pages per book of the Bible, Kitchen presents the contents of each of the 66 books. His style is fresh and attractive. He nearly always brings out the essence of the biblical book, paying little attention to questions of authorship and date. He seldom refers to chapter and verse numbers, allowing the text to be read continuously, and he adds helpful contemporary applications. The tone of the summaries is light-hearted and pleasantly positive, even for the less ‘attractive’ parts of the Bible, but each sentence is full of information so one has to read attentively. Paragraphs have six lines or less, but the lines are long due to the square shape of the book (7 by 7 inch).

My minor quibbles include the chapter on Revelation: it’s too short and fails to mention Jesus as Lord of history. Hebrews also deserves better. The chapter on the Psalms merely offers samples, nothing on types of Psalms. Like all quotations in the book, these are probably in Kitchen’s own translation, although this is never stated.

I could mention some more quibbles, but my overall verdict is that this is a very useful book for many readers of the Bible, regardless of age and background. Let me finish with a random sample from Amos:

It's at about this time that the leaders decide they want a more positive message. Amos is told to make money in his own country and leave them alone. ‘I don’t do this for cash,’ he replies. ‘I actually run a sheep business… plus I’ve got a few fig trees. I do this because I have to – for God. Getting rid of me doesn’t get rid of the bad news.’

This short piece brings out the strengths of the book: sparkling language and a good grasp of the Bible.

The Revd Dr Pieter J. Lalleman is the pastor of Knaphill Baptist Church, Surrey

Baptist Times, 08/09/2023

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