John Walton, professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College, Illinois, speaks with Simon Smart about approaching the Bible's creation story from an Ancient Near Eastern perspective. John is a specialist in comparing the culture and literature of the Bible with the Ancient Near-East and says that it is important to read the Bible for what it is; not as a modern science textbook nor as written specifically to 'me', but as an ancient book written to ancient people. This affects how we understand Genesis 1, as the writer used terms familiar to their audience and we must understand this before delving for meaning. The writer's purpose was not to tell his audience how or of what the earth was made, but to tell them of the earth's functions and order. Walton the begins to unpack some of the complexities hidden within Genesis 1, not obvious to the modern reader.