What are some books where i first have to read the Bible to fully

>>9558305

biblical commentary? the bible will definitely help understandings of literature but usually the works themselves are self-contained enough to the point that the bible isnt necessarily prerequisite. you'll just be able to understand the imagery a little better.

reading genesis alone will help your understandings of paradise lost and faust (goethe), so i would probably at least start there.

The Greeks

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>>9558320
No no. Sorry for expressing myself wrong. I was wondering which novels have Biblical references, which without reading the bible couldn't be understood. It's like "you must read the Odyssey before you read Ulysses." In a thread below I saw how they said that Demons by Dostoievsky had a lot of biblical references, and that's why I made this thread.

>>9558305
I just finished the Brothers Karamazov and really regret not brushing up on my biblical knowledge for it. There seemed to be a reference literally every other page at times

The better part of the western canon

>>9558475
haven't read that book but, do you think you had to have read the entire bible or only the more well-known parts of it to get references from other books that reference it.

Hijacking this shitty thread.

What's the best Bible commentary/scholarly book? Looking to read it for literary, historical, and cultural value. Not for religious purposes

>>9558903
No one's says noting about religious purposes, dugh

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>>9558305

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>>9558903
>"Not for religious purposes"

>>9558475
Hmm my brother gave me that book yesterday and I was planning on reading it. I guess I need to read the bible first.

I've only read Genesis, Mark and John.

I'm guessing it's alot of Old Testament references though...?

Pretty much everything written by Jews, Christians, Muslims (Qur'an included), and people who interpret or criticize them or the Bible itself.

Which means only books older that the Bible and/or from non-"Abrahamic" religions can be really free of its influence.

>>9558903
How many times must the New Oxford Annotated Bible be mentioned, lol.

>>9558336
Keked.

Literally the one body of work in Western Literature where this is NOT true

>>9559847
>Not realising the Greeks are literally one half of the bible

>>9558305
Canticle for Liebowitz. And a few years in RCC wouldn't hurt

>>9558305
u don't fully unnrstand them tbhhh

>>9560102
>Not realizing that the Bible's weren't actually Greek they just spoke the language

>>9561224
Mark is even written in pretty bad Greek and it's abundantly obvious the author is not writing in his native language

>>9558305

Which version of the bible? I admit I havn't read the bible and I'm not religious. Its on the same level as greek mythology or fantasy to me. I've thought about reading it but I saw someone claim the King James version has references to fucking unicorns. Is that true? What english version of the bible should an atheist read for the purpose of background information to understand other literature better?

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Biblical knowledge makes everything more rewarding.

>>9561458

The King James version is an archaic translation. The unicorn stuff comes from an inaccurate rendering of the Hebrew word re'em, or auroch, which is a large horned cow that's now extinct. Modern translations use "wild ox" instead. There's a lot of silly stuff like this that's mostly unique to the KJV. Protestants have a weird and almost cult-like obsession with this translation so they'll constantly recommend it but you should ignore them and go with something more modern like the RSV.

If people were reading something like the Odyssey they wouldn't purposely choose a Middle English translation because what's the point in making it needlessly more difficult to comprehend?

Portrait & Ulysses, I'd say.
Finnegans Wake inasmuch as you'll still understand nothing.

>>9561821

I can't find a download for the RSV edition. I keep finding NRSV which appears to be a SJW version of the bible for feminists and queers.

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>>9561921

I found a PDF of the Oxford bible here. I never used it but I hear it's alright. For commentary and notes I use the Ignatius bible myself, but that's only the New Testament.

http://libgen.me/view.php?id=1294855

>>9561984

That New Revised Standard(NRSV). The one with gender neutral crap in it.

>>9561997

Oh I didn't even see that. I always thought it was RSV.

>>9561850
Did Joyce go back to Christ?
>>9558305
Divine Comedy, Confessions, Dosto, Tolstoy, Machado, Saramago, Antonio Vieira, Lagerkvist, etc.

>>9562007
RSV version looks like this.

>>9561921
You can get a used one online for like $5.

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>>9562038
Forgot pic.

>>9562038

I'll check my local thrift store first but thriftbooks.com has it if that fails.

>>9559847
Maybe it's just my translations but I can see a few parallels between the Greek literature and poets I've been reading and the Bible. Also isn't a lot of the New Testament as well as early Christianity based on neoplatonism?

>>9562110
>New Testament as well as early Christianity based on neoplatonism?

I don't know about that but Christian philosophers have certainly borrowed heavily from the Greeks. Christians throughout history could be described as "philosophical cannibals" because they took from everyone.

>>9562085

this is the RSV red cover 2nd edition with both old and new testaments

http://libgen.me/view.php?id=1636645