N88 is a neutral, scholarly map of biblical interpretive views.
For each contested passage of Scripture, N88 lays the major interpretive views side by side — fairly summarized, tradition-tagged, and linked to sources you can read for yourself. The editorial quality target is the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, applied to biblical interpretation.
The name comes from Nehemiah 8:8 — they read from the book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read. That verse is the editorial brief. We do not arbitrate which view is correct. We summarize each view in its own strongest form, identify its proponents and traditions, and point to where you can read further.
Editorial method
Every entry follows the same structure: a passage in its scriptural text, a one-paragraph editorial framing of what is contested, and then each credible view as its own scholarly card. Each card states the view in N88's neutral voice, names its strongest argument, tags the traditions that hold it, and lists primary or open-access sources. A separate “common misreadings” section flags popular misunderstandings without being snide about them.
Editorial neutrality does not mean false equivalence. A view earns inclusion by being credibly defended in serious scholarship — not by being widely held. The goal is the spectrum of credible readings, not a survey of the marketplace.
Sources
N88 launches with public-domain works (CCEL, Internet Archive, classical and patristic commentary), Creative-Commons-licensed Jewish primary texts (Sefaria), Vatican documents, and freely-distributed open-access scholarship (BioLogos, biblicalstudies.org.uk, BibleProject). Modern copyrighted scholarship is named in the prose where appropriate but is not yet cited in source lists; that will change once the affiliate-link infrastructure is in place and we can drive book sales to publishers cleanly.
Scope
The first book is Genesis. New entries are added on a steady cadence. If a passage you care about is missing, that is a planned future entry, not an editorial omission. If a view you consider important is missing from a passage that is otherwise covered, submit it and an editor will review it.
What N88 is not
- It is not a confessional product. Reformed, Wesleyan, Catholic, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Dispensational, and Jewish positions are all represented in their own strongest form.
- It is not a devotional. The voice is editorial, not pastoral.
- It is not a commentary. We summarize what others have argued; we do not advocate.
- It is not a wiki. Every entry is editorially reviewed before publication.