Introduction: A Noble Calling
1. Fall in Love
2. Have More Stuff and Less Fluff
3. Hold Your Horses
4. Don't Play Marbles with Diamonds
5. Speak the Local Language
6. Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing
7. Don't Get Puffed Up
8. Remember that Biblical Studies is an Equal Opportunity Vocation
9. Stay the Course
Conclusion: Don't Miss the Forest For the Trees
Name and Subject Index
Scripture Index

Many young Bible scholars are passionate for the Scriptures. But is passion enough?In A Little Book for New Bible Scholars, Randolph Richards and Joseph Dodson encourage young students of the Bible to add substance to their zeal-the kind of substance that comes from the sweat and toil of hard study. "Just as we should avoid knowledge without love," they write, "we should also avoid love without knowledge."Aimed at beginners, this concise overview offers a wealth of good advice, warns of potential pitfalls, and includes wisdom from a variety of other biblical scholars as well as stories from the authors' own long experience in the guild. Full of warmth, humor, and an infectious love for Scripture, this book invites a new generation of young scholars to roll up their sleeves and dig into the complex, captivating world of the Bible.

Joseph R. Dodson (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is associate professor of biblical studies at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. He is the author of The 'Powers' of Personification: Rhetorical Purpose in the 'Book of Wisdom' and the Letter to the Romans and the coeditor of Paul and the Second Century: The Legacy of Paul's Life, Letters, and Teaching (with Michael F. Bird) and Paul and Seneca in Dialogue (with David E. Briones). Dodson also teaches courses at Eternity Bible College in Simi Valley, California, and Ecola Bible School in Cannon Beach, Oregon. He serves as an associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and as an itinerate speaker with Transform Ministries in Houston, Texas.
E. Randolph Richards (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is dean and professor of biblical studies in the School of Ministry at Palm Beach Atlantic University. He is a popular speaker and has authored and coauthored dozens of books and articles, including Paul Behaving Badly, A Little Book for New Bible Scholars, Rediscovering Jesus, Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes, Rediscovering Paul, The Story of Israel, and Paul and First-Century Letter Writing. Early on in their ministry he and his wife Stacia were appointed as missionaries to east Indonesia, where he taught for eight years at an Indonesian seminary. Missions remain on the hearts of Randy and Stacia. Randy leads mission trips and conducts missionary training workshops and regularly leads tours of the Holy Land, Turkey, Greece, and Italy. He has served as interim pastor of numerous churches and is currently a teaching pastor. He and Stacia reside in Palm Beach, Florida.