Geoghegan: “Reading the Bible in any translation is like kissing through a veil.” Photograph: Gary Wayne Gilbert

Your scholarly focus is the study of the history and religion of ancient Israel. What led you to embark on The Bible for Dummies, which is geared very much toward a general audience?

I got into the field to have an impact. Very few people will read my academic books, but people around the world will read this book and be informed by what I hope is an accessible, appealing, and balanced approach to the Bible.

You characterize the book in the introduction as a “one-stop reference for understanding the Bible and its continuing impact on the political, religious, and artistic landscapes of our world.” How do you cover this vast territory?

My coauthor, Michael Homan, a theologian at Xavier University in New Orleans, and I preface the book with chapters on the provenance of the Bible and its influence, and an overview of the biblical story. We then explicate the narrative book by book, interspersing asides about archaeological discoveries, common misinterpretations, and important philosophical questions with daubs of humor and trivia. We conclude with a few “top 10” lists of essential names and dates that you can use to improve your score on the TV quiz show Jeopardy.

I imagine humor is a sensitive issue in a book about the Bible. How did you approach it?

Delicately—we’re talking about a sacred text held in high regard by several of the world’s religions. And yet, there are aspects of life and history within it that just seem to require a humorous eye. For example, in the Song of Songs, that beautiful love poem from the Hebrew Bible, the poet describes his beloved’s beauty by saying that she has a nose like a “tower of Lebanon” and a full complement of teeth. In the modern context, these are not recommended pickup lines.

You have a section on how the Bible has influenced the arts, from literature (e.g., Moby Dick) to film (Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Matrix).

Yes, we include that highest expression of art, Hollywood movies. We even list the best and worst biblical movies ever made.

Name the best.

The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston. In the mid-1950s, when the film was made, civil rights was becoming preeminent in the American mind, and the film represents the great liberation story.

And the worst?

The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston. No one will ever forget how Moses went up Mount Sinai looking dapper and slick-haired and came down with a mane completely white and poofed out. Apparently, when you’re in the presence of God, your hair goes wild.

What are some insights from your close study of the Bible that you’ve tried to pass along?

People tend to think of the Bible’s main characters almost as statues who have always been and always will be the same. But we see character development in the lives of Moses, Abraham, and others. It takes these individuals time to develop their faith. Jacob is a classic example. He lies, cheats, and steals his way to the top, only to find that he’s now at the bottom. Then he begins the process of spiritual discovery.

You used your own translation of the Bible. Why?

We translated as we went along on an as-needed basis from the original languages—Hebrew in the Hebrew Bible, Greek in the New Testament, and a little bit of Aramaic sprinkled in both—to get as close as we could to the authorial intent. Reading the Bible in any translation is like kissing through a veil: It’s not as good as the real thing but better than nothing at all. The most beautiful translation of the Bible in English is the King James version, but because it’s such antiquated English, reading it can be like kissing through a two-by-four.

You talk in the introduction about wanting to make this book accessible to readers of all faiths. How did you approach that task?

We tried to give readers the evidence that they need to come to their own conclusions about the text. For a specific passage, we might provide different Jewish, Islamic, Christian, and scholarly perspectives on the same issue. A more concrete example would be our handling of the divine name. For many devout Jews and some devout Christians, to pronounce that name is an offense. And yet, most scholars now feel they know how God’s personal divine name was pronounced in ancient Israel. In The Bible for Dummies, the name appears only in a passage describing its historical development.

The Dummies series began more than 15 years ago with the how-to computer guide DOS for Dummies. Why a turn toward the Bible?

Actually, I’m surprised this didn’t come earlier in the series. Wiley Publishing had previously commissioned someone to write the book, but it didn’t work out. After 9/11 they realized this was a particularly important book to have on the shelf.

According to Wiley, the book has sold more than 125,000 copies.

It’s been published also in German, Dutch, and Spanish. In Spanish it’s called La Biblia Para Dummies; in Dutch it’s De Bijbel voor Dummies. That English word in the title is a trademark. And it makes an important point. We all need to have humility when it comes to approaching any subject. And what greater subject to approach with humility than the Bible?

Read more by Cara Feinberg