I think it is important to remember that the Bible is God's Word in human words. That is to say it is a significant gift of his self-communication to us, appealing to us in that distinctive human feature of language, reaching us through the intelligible word.
It is not, however, a straightforward procession from his "mouth" as it were, and this is in significant contrast to how Islam understands revelation and its holy scripture the Qu'ran (and a core reason for the subliminal superiority of the Christian faith, IMO). The great prayer of the Church, the Psalms, are revered as Scripture, but they are hymns to God, songs of praise, longing, despair, hope and repentance all coming from the mouths of men. What does it mean to say then that the Psalms are Scripture? It is to say that the Bible represents the rising up of man to God after he has been first lifted up by his Spirit (so there is a dynamic of descending and ascending) - that it is, importantly, a dialogue of man with his Creator. The Word of God in Scripture is not the text itself but rather the very thing that the text records. It is, as it were, the elongated version of Abraham's debate with God over Sodom, of Jacob's wrestle with the angel, of Job's agony, of Israel's pleading with Moses to return to Egypt- conversely, all the promises and great victories that are wtinessed to. It is a conversation rather than a strict dictation, it is the story of Israel that is, at the same time, the story of the whole world. All narratives throughout all the different cultures and religions find their perfection, fulfillment and purification in this story of the one nation that was elected to stand before God, represent humankind to him and, conversely, represent in himself [Israel], in his obedience and trials, God to the world. This vocation reaches its climax when the One emerges who really represents in himself all of humankind to the Father and at the same time reveals to that same humankind the Father himself.
I suppose what I am saying is that Israel is a type of Christ, that it and the bible from it, pre-figure the hypostatic union and that many of the major biblical figures function in that same way.
The Bible, we must affirm, is not that Word itself which mingles among man and God and, in fact, is the in-person dialogue of the human and divine life. Rather the Bible bears witness to the unfolding of that Word in history. But, and for that reason, it can not err on those matters pertinent to its only objective; the salvation of souls, the drawing in of people to God. But we need to rid ourselves of the illussion that this text stands alone, and rather allow it to do its work- to let its words lead us and open us up to the Word Himself.
