When modern readers ask, Were Adam and Eve real? Did the flood really happen? Was Jonah literally swallowed by a great fish? they are subconsciously wondering “Can I trust the Bible?”

But can the Bible trust us to listen to it on its terms and from the perspective and voices that composed and preserved the text? When we ask modern questions of the Bible we are often asking a different question than the biblical authors intended to answer. We are asking about modern historical verification. The biblical writers are instead inviting to hear trustworthy witness.