Reading and understanding the Bible (A helpful guide to basic Biblical interpretation.) We are so privileged to have access to a Bible, and in our own language. If you do not have a Bible, please make sure you get one today. Stop by the Connect Center or ask an usher because we consider it an absolute joy to give one to you. But, here the problem. Reading the Bible and interpreting what it means seems to be a little more complicated than reading any other book off the shelf. There are so many different approaches to Biblical interpretation which makes it seem even more difficult. Yet, here s the thing, the Bible is God s word, to us, and He wants us to read it to get to know Him, and form a lasting relationship with Him. So, there must be some basics to reading and understanding the Bible we can all follow. After all, we don t all have the same education; the same knowledge; experience; or life context. We want to provide you with some basics for interpreting the Bible as you read it. We hope this will be helpful. This is not a complete treatment or the final word on Biblical interpretation. We hope to have a workshop here at SEMC in the near future to explore this in more depth, but for now, here is a helpful guide to basic Biblical interpretation: 1. What am I looking at? What are some basics about the Bible? a. By the numbers. There are 66 books, 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. b. Authors and time. The Bible was written over approximately 1500 years, and 40 authors from every walk of life. Fishermen, soldiers, poets, monarchs, and tax collectors. It was written in a variety of places; wilderness, palace, and prison; and numerous continents like Asia, Africa, Europe; in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. c. Reliability. When scholars and historians are assessing the reliability and credibility of literature they consider how closely related the author was to the events being recorded. The authors of the New Testament books were either eye witnesses or associates of eye witnesses to the events they write about. Their credibility is further attested by the fact they express doubts and include material in their SEMC Page 1 10/28/2014
writing which does not always hold them in good light. d. Manuscripts. To the best of our knowledge no original writings, often referred to as autographs of the books of the Bible exist today. Years after those autographs were written, copies were made of those autographs. Eventually copies of those copies were also made. The table in Appendix A, shows the number of copies we have for various historical people and writings; and then also the New Testament. There are by far, more manuscripts and materials supporting Scripture than any of these other books and historical figures which society accepts as objectively valid. e. In 1947 manuscripts were discovered in the area west of the Dead Sea (known as the Dead Sea scrolls). Walter A. Elwell, in the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2 nd Edition, writes, About 100 of the 400 are biblical texts. All the OT books except Esther are represented, some of them several times over. These biblical manuscripts date from the closing centuries B.C. and the first century A.D. The discovery of these manuscripts has reduced the gap separating the autographs from the oldest extant copies by about 1000 years and is of great importance for the textual history of the OT (p. 323). f. Dual nature: But, you say, I can accept the Bible being inspired by God. But, if it is written by human beings, then how can it be without errors and also infallible? I agree. That is a very good question and I m glad you asked. Think about this for a moment. The Bible is inspired by God. He is the source. So it has a divine nature. But it is penned by human beings, so it also has a human nature. The Bible has a dual nature; divine and human. Now, what does that remind you of? Or shall I say, who does that remind you of? Jesus has a dual nature. He is both divine and human. Just as Jesus was free of sin; so too Scripture is kept free of error. Perhaps the greatest revelation the Bible conveys to us is this dual nature. g. The language of the Bible. i. Original language. The Old Testament was written primarily in Hebrew. The New Testament was written primarily in Greek. ii. Translation. There are several different methods of translating Bible from the original languages to our language (e.g. English). 1. Essentially Literal translation (a.k.a. formal equivalent). Attempts to keep the exact words and phrases of the original (ESV). 2. Dynamic equivalent translation (a.k.a. functional equivalent.). Updates the writing style and grammar while attempting to keep to the closest natural equivalent (NIV). 3. Free translation (paraphrase). Attempts to recapture the Word in the words we use today. ("The Message"). SEMC Page 2 10/28/2014
4. General explanation: There are "formal equivalence" translations and "functional equivalence" translations. The first type, for example, the New Revised Standard Version, (NRSV) try to follow the words and order of the words in the ancient language as closely as possible. If there is a strange idiom or expression, they just translate it literally. That is a valid thing to do, but an expression that means one thing in one language may not mean the same in another, which can lead to confusion. Translations of the "functional equivalence" type, for example, the Contemporary English Version (CEV), try to choose words that will have the same function in the translated language as they do in the original. This allows people to understand the text without having to learn as much about the original language and culture. 5. Sources include: BibleGateway.com, Evangelicalbible.com, Easton s Bible Dictionary, Harper s Bible Dictionary, Bible Society, Zondervan, geocities.com (other sources available). 2. What is the big picture? a. It s about Jesus. All of God s words in the Bible are His revelation to humankind. The climax of His revelation is Jesus Christ Himself. No wonder than, for example, Mark begins by saying His book (the Gospel of Mark) is the good news about Jesus, and then naturally follows it up by making a reference to the Old Testament book Isaiah. Jesus is the primary subject and focus of the entire Bible. Scripture is essentially a semi-autobiography. It is about God in Christ and also about humankind, and what we mean to Him. I believe Jesus is the subject of Scripture and I also believe Jesus is central to interpreting Scripture. b. Redemptive movement. God is working to redeem His people; the church; to restore a right relationship with Him; each other and creation. The Bible must be read and understood in light of God s plan to redeem not destroy His entire creation (including humankind). c. Progressive elaboration. Genesis to Revelation is a progressive (moving forward, positively) elaboration (explanation) of Himself; His will and His plans. All scripture, and especially the Old Testament needs to be understood based on what has also been revealed to us in the New Testament and even more specifically what has been revealed to us in Jesus. d. 2 questions: In light of this, we can ask one or both of these questions of a passage: What does this reveal about Jesus? What is the meaning of this passage based on what I already know about Jesus? SEMC Page 3 10/28/2014
3. What kind of literature am I reading? a. Books in general: There are many different types or genres of documents and books, for example: poetry, stories, songs, letters, biographies, autobiographies, recipes, contracts, and legal documents. These are samples. If you go to the library you are likely to see many more. b. Books in the Bible. There are many different types or genres of books in the Bible. There are stories (e.g. Nehemiah); there is poetry and songs (e.g. Psalms); there are letters (1 & 2 Corinthians); there is apocalyptic literature (e.g. Revelation); there is prophesy (e.g. Jeremiah or Haggai); and even more technical writing or dissertations (e.g. Romans). c. Genre matters. The type of book you are reading matters because it determines how the messages and meanings are being conveyed to you. It also matters because it determines how you approach the book. For example, you read a poem differently than you read a story book. You look for the message of a poem differently than you look for the message in a story. d. Know the genre. It is absolutely vital that you know the type of book you are reading and approach it properly. If you approach Revelation, which is apocalyptic and largely symbolic in nature the same way you approach Nehemiah, you will make big mistakes. You will miss the message and meaning. 4. Meaning before application. a. It can never mean what it never meant. Gordon Fee conveyed this sentiment in his book How to read the Bible. It is important to understand what the meaning and message of the text you are reading first before applying the meaning or message to your life. This means accepting the text was written at a certain time in history and a certain place geographically. b. Silence is not the answer. The message or meaning from the Bible should be taken from what is written. The message or meaning cannot be derived from what is not said; or put another way, the message or meaning cannot be based on silence. Also avoid making conclusions about the message or meaning by guessing what is in one of the Biblical character s mind. c. Internal consistency. You can use the Bible to interpret the Bible too. For example, there are many places in the New Testament where Old Testament texts are referenced and further explained. Jesus does this too, by telling a parable and then sometimes taking the disciples aside to explain it to them. d. Time and place. It is very valuable to learn about timelines, chronologies, history, and even geography to help better understand the meaning of text you are reading. e. Without borders. The message of the text will not be tied to a specific time or culture and will be consistent with other passages of scripture. SEMC Page 4 10/28/2014
Appendix A Author Title Date Earliest Interval # of copies Written copy available for comparison ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Herodotus History 450 BC 900 AD 1,350 yrs 8 Caesar Gallic Wars 50 BC 900 AD 950 yrs 10 Tacitus Annals 100 AD 1100 AD 1,000 yrs 20 Piny Natural History 100 AD 850 AD 750 yrs 7 (Various) New Testament 50-100 AD 250 AD 200 yrs 5,000+ SEMC Page 5 10/28/2014