Aquinas read the Bible in the most literal way that logic would allow, and far more literally than St Augustine’s reading of it.
In Summa Theologica volumes 1 and 2 Aquinas discusses why certain phrases were employed by Moses in writing Genesis and what they actually signify. I, personally have derived great benefit from his insights as a basis to further reflection. However, this further reflection must be done in the light of modern science, not according to the science of the Middle Ages.
Thomas Aquinas believed that none of the Biblical authors erred in composing the Scriptures; if we have the wisdom to understand it, the truth becomes evident. The whole of his theology is based on the Bible and the actual words used. The works of Aquinas read as evangelical as any Protestant Evangelical writings, but he was writing nearly 300 years before the Reformation.
The Principles of Creation 