Bible study book recommendations please

[airforsharon]

Hello
I'm interested in studying the bible and, after having a chug through parts of the OT, think i'd benefit from a study book to help guide me/give additional information. I was raised Anglican and attend Quaker meetings occasionally but consider myself atheist - apart from what i remember from childhood (and O level religious studies) i'm coming at it with very little knowledge. Can anyone recommend a good guide that's informative but not overly complicated? Thank you :-)

God's Big Picture by Vaughan Roberts, and
How To Read the Bible For All Its Worth by Gordon Fee.

I've read the second and can recommend it. The first is well reviewed, but I haven't read it myself yet.

That's great, thank you

Etienne Charpentier wrote two excellent introductions which are 'How to Read the Old Testament' and 'How to Read the New Testament.' They were written in the 1980s but hold up pretty well. Simon Jenkins 'The Bible from Scratch' gives you a lot of good solid information in cartoon form.

For something a bit more weighty try a series of books called 'Exploring the Old Testament.' I found the one on the histories really helpful when I got bogged down in those in the past. For one book that covers the Old Testament then John Drane's 'Introduction to the Old Testament' is superb. It is now in its fourth edition and has pictures. There is a companion volume for the New Testament.

The OT is tricky but once you realise that it was mostly written and rewritten during the exile period it does begin to make sense. So it is more a library of mixed editions by different authors than a single book.

@verybusyknitter I'd second God's Big Picture by Vaughan Roberts.

Eerdmans commentary on the Bible is excellent (if massively pricey), might be a cheaper online edition though.

Thanks very much for all the information and recs, plenty for me to look into. Really appreciate it.

The OT is tricky but once you realise that it was mostly written and rewritten during the exile period it does begin to make sense. So it is more a library of mixed editions by different authors than a single book
That's really useful @mostlydrinkstea I hadn't thought of it like that

For the new testament, Tom Wright's 'For Everyone' series is excellent.