Our first step of Bible study was observation. Hopefully we have worked hard and answered
many questions regarding the passage at which we have been looking. If we have worked hard these observations
help us to know what is in the passage. Knowing
the content of the passage that we have been observing is our first step of interpretation.*
We then must consider how this passage is placed in the
Bible. This is called context. How does it fit with the rest of the verses
around it? Is it part of a large
sentence and extended paragraph? How does
it fit with the surrounding paragraphs and the rest of the book? Then how does it fit in with the entire
Bible? These questions help us to
determine literary context.
We also must consider when was this taking place? What was going on at the same time
politically, socially, and technologically in the world at this time. This is the historical context.
Closely associated with the historical context would be the
cultural context. How people
communicated and lived in their time helps us to understand the scriptures
more.
In some passages an understanding of the geographical
context will help with a clearer interpretation of the passage.
It is also important to see how the passage one is studying
fits into the greater framework of Scripture?
God through the ages slowly revealed more of His plan. What did the writer and the recipients
understand and know about God. What was
the primary religion of the culture to which the writer was ministering?
As we come to an interpretation of a passage we must compare
it to other passages that speak to the subject.
God is not the author of confusion so He will not give us two messages
that fully contradict.
There are several tools that can be used to help us in our
interpretation of the Scriptures. A
concordance helps us find other passages that use the same words or similar
words. Many of them also have short
definitions. A Bible dictionary is
helpful for finding the definitions of key words or words that we might not
fully understand. There are various
types of Bible dictionaries of which some are much more in depth than
others. Your depth of study and your
knowledge of the original languages may affect the type of dictionary you want
to get. It is often helpful as well to
read a passage in multiple translations to see how the different translators
handled the passage.
Once you are pretty certain of the meaning of the text it is
wise to check some commentaries to see if you are interpreting in a similar way
to well known men whose interpretations and lives have proven faithful. Some that have been helpful to me and that
are often available both digitally and in book form are “Matthew Henry’s
Commentary”, Warren Wiersbe’s Expositor’s Bible Commentary”, Albert Barnes – “Barnes
Notes on the Bible”, Jameson-Fawcett Brown, John Gill’s Commentary, along with
John MacArthur’s Commentary have all been helpful to me at different points in
my life and ministry. I don’t know that
I agree with everything any one of them say, but they give me a great
foundation for which to compare my final interpretations.
We cannot stop with interpretation but must go on to
application, but we will save that for another day.
*Note: I am grateful for the work of Howard and William Hendricks in "Living by the Book". This article reflects much of what I learned through their study. For an in depth lesson on Bible study please get this text.
