VIRKLER AND AYAYO S SIX STEP PROCESS FOR BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION PRESENTED TO DR. WAYNE LAYTON BIBL 5723A: BIBLICAL HERMENEUTICS BY TREVOR RAY SLONE MANHATTAN, KS SEPTEMBER 27, 2012
In the postmodern, relativistic world that today s westerners, and many easterners live in, there are many, many different ways that people go about interpreting various texts, both biblical and non-biblical. As far as biblical texts are concerned, for instance, many, if not most people these days interpret the Bible in light of their own personal extra-biblical biases and presuppositions, many people assume that there is more than one meaning for any given passage in the Bible, and many people use liberal critical methods when studying and interpreting the various passages of Scripture. 1 However, there is only one appropriate way to go about interpreting the Bible, and that is the grammatical-historical method. This is because communication is fundamentally dependent on the proper understanding of the lexical and syntactical, as well as the cultural context of the language being used in said communication. This paper will outline a six-step process that exhibits this type of method of interpretation. This paper will also focus, when applicable, on one particular genre of biblical literature rather than many different ones, namely prophecy. 2 For the purposes of not having to footnote and cite every single sentence throughout the rest of this paper, let it be known from here on out that the following is an adaptation of the outline that can be found in Henry A. Virkler and Karelynne Gerber Ayayo s book Hermeneutics: Principles and Processes of Biblical Interpretation, on pages 225-228. Step 1: Historical-Cultural and Contextual Analysis The first thing that one needs to do when attempting to interpret a given biblical passage is to determine the historical and cultural atmosphere in which the passage was written. This can be done by searching through commentaries, both traditional and background, Bible handbooks, 1 Robert L. Thomas, Evangelical Hermeneutics: The New Versus the Old (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2002). 2 However, most of this outline is generally fitting for all types of genres, with the exception of the section that specifically discusses prophecy.
and other available resources that provide information regarding the context and history of the world and time in which the Bible was written. After this it is necessary to determine the purpose that the author of the particular biblical book being studied had for writing the book, and more precisely his purpose for the passage within the book that one is attempting to interpret. This is best accomplished by searching for repeated themes and explicit statements of purpose within both the book and the immediate context of the passage being studied. Next it is important to determine how the passage fits into its immediate context. This can be done by identifying the various sections of the book and discovering how they fit together, by showing how the passage fits into the authors overall argument for the book, by determining whether the author is attempting to convey descriptive or prescriptive information, by distinguishing between the incidental and the primary details of the passage, and by identifying the audience for which the passage was intended. Step 2: Lexical-Syntactical Analysis In step two of the interpretation process, the grammar and vocabulary of the passage needs to be thoroughly examined. This is done first by identifying the general literary form of the passage, i.e. poetry, historical narrative, etc. After that is done the theme of the author for that particular book needs to be traced, and it needs to be shown how the passage under consideration fits into the context. This can normally be done by simply reading the entire book carefully and then going back and viewing the passage at hand with what the rest of the book says still fresh in our mind, although reading the entire book may not always be necessary to accomplish this part of step two. Next, one needs to identify the different paragraphs and sentences in the text. This seems as though it is already done, but in the original languages there are no punctuation or breaks in the letters or words, so it is possible that the English Bibles have misrepresented
various biblical texts with their assumptions of where these breaks should be inserted. After that the connecting words in the passage need to be identified. This can be done easily only if one knows at least the basics of the various cases and endings of the original language, since word order is not always precise in the biblical languages. To be sure finding the words themselves would not necessarily require such knowledge, but being able to adequately determine what other words the connecting words are meant to connect to does necessitate such knowledge, whether it is self-knowledge or knowledge borrowed from the appropriate and applicable resources, such as Grammars or morphological aids. Next, and this is basic but vital to the whole process, one needs to determine what the various words in the passage mean. This can be done by discovering the range of meaning for the word in the culture and context that it was used when the passage was written and then choosing which of those meanings the author intended in that particular passage based on the context. Then the syntax, or grammar, of the passage needs to be analyzed, especially since the biblical languages were written differently than the English language is. This is especially necessary in the Greek language of the New Testament, since word order can be very loose at times and where certain words and phrases are placed within a given sentence or paragraph may have added significance that cannot be seen in the English translations. This is another reason why it is important to work with the original languages whenever possible when interpreting Scripture. The final part of step two is to put the results of one s analysis into simple, easy to understand terms that clearly convey the author s intended meaning of the passage.
Step 3: Theological Analysis The first part of step three, theological analysis, is to determine what one s own particular view is regarding the nature of God s relationship to humankind. This will take some deep thought and much contemplative effort, assuming he is not already well educated in the realm of biblical theology, but it is a necessary part of step three nevertheless. After that one needs to identify the implications of his view of this matter for the passage he is studying. For instance, if someone believes that God hates those who are not among His elect due to passages like Malachi 1:2-3, Romans 9:13, and other passages in the Bible, then that has direct implications on how they must understand John 3:16, assuming that such a belief (stated above) is correct, for the Analogy of Faith stipulates that no Scripture can or does contradict any other Scripture, and so these passages must mesh together somehow to form a coherent theological view. Next, one needs to assess the level of theological knowledge available to the people of the time when the passage was written. For instance, when one looks at Moses in the OT and sees that he was faithful to God but that he did not trust Jesus Christ (by name) as his Lord and Savior, while this would be a problem for people today, in Moses day the name of the Messiah had not yet been revealed, and so when we realize and acknowledge this fact we can better understand how Moses, and Elijah, were on the mountain top during the transfiguration of Jesus as we see in Matthew chapter 17, clearly indicating that they are part of God s chosen people, even though they did not trust in the name of Jesus to save them. After this it is necessary to determine what the passage would have meant to the original audience in light of the knowledge that was available to them. This can be done simply by putting oneself in the shoes of the original audience and thinking about what is said in the passage while only utilizing the information that was available to them and disregarding all later revelation and information.
Then, the final part of this step is to determine what information about the topic discussed in the passage is available now due to later revelation that came after the writing of the passage being studied. This can be done by viewing and assessing the books of the Bible that were written after the one being studied. Step 4: Literary Analysis This step is primarily only going to discuss the genre of prophecy, although there are certainly other genres to consider. The first thing to do in this step is to look for explicit statements from the author indicating what literary method/genre he was using when he wrote the passage or book. For instance, Revelation 1:3 states that the book is prophecy, and so one knows right away that he should interpret the book in light of the fact that it is prophecy. If such an explicit statement is not made then one needs to study the characteristics of the passage to determine whether or not it is prophecy. The characteristics to watch for when attempting to determine if a passage is prophecy are: figurative and symbolic language and style; supernatural elements such as angels, visions, and information conveyed by means of these things; an emphasis on the unseen world; and the announcement of a sovereign intervention by God. If one finds these things in a passage then he should most likely consider it to be prophecy, and so interpret the passage in the following way: First, study the historical context surrounding the writing and then establish whether or not the prophecy has been fulfilled since it was written. This latter part of this first step can be done by studying intervening history, while the former part of this step can be done by using the method seen in step 1 (Historical-Cultural and Contextual Analysis) at the beginning of this paper. Second, study parallel passages to attempt to gather further information about the prophecy. Third, analyze and determine whether or not this prophecy is part of a larger prophetic scenario.
Step 5: Comparison With Others This step is important, especially for those who are not scholars in the fields of Bible and/or biblical theology, although it is important for scholars as well. Basically in this step one needs to compare the results of his own analysis with the analysis of other interpreters. For instance, if someone is interpreting the passage regarding the Millennium in Revelation 20, when he is finished with the first four steps of the interpretation process mentioned above, he needs to then check out what several commentaries say about that passage. This will help him better determine whether or not his interpretation is on the right track. Of course a general knowledge of whom the liberal and the conservative scholars are will help one make more noble decisions when comparing his work with that of the various scholars who have written on that passage. Then, if one determines based on this comparison that his interpretation must be wrong, he needs to modify his interpretation so as to make it proper, which may mean that he needs to start the interpretive process over, or redo several of the steps in the process. Step 6: Application The first part of applying one s interpretation of a biblical passage is determining the principles that are taught in the passage that he has interpreted based on the first three steps of the process discussed above. This includes determining the principles that the passage was intended to teach and which of those principles are still relevant today. For instance, the main principles of the parable of the good Samaritan are that one should love his neighbor, no matter who he is, and that one s neighbor is anyone who treats him kindly. While these principles are still technically relevant, Jesus also said in Matthew 5:44 that people are not just supposed to love their neighbor, but also their enemies. So the two principles listed above for the parable of
the good Samaritan are both still relevant today, but one must go beyond these principles in light of Matthew 5:44 and love his enemy as well as his neighbor. The final part of step six is to determine whether or not the commands in certain passages are transcultural or culturally bound. There is not really an agreed upon way to do this these days, so to some extent this part of the process is up to the interpreter, although they should keep in mind that just because there is no consensus on how to do this that does not mean that any decision is a correct one. The law of non-contradiction still applies. A biblical command cannot both be transcultural and culturally bound, no matter what anyone thinks. It must be one or the other. The main point here is that one should proceed with caution when attempting to complete this final part of step six whenever it is applicable. Conclusion In conclusion, this paper has regurgitated the outline for the six step biblical hermeneutical process as found in Virkler and Ayayo s book Hermeneutics. It has been shown that the six steps, in succession, are: determine the historical-cultural context of the passage; do a lexical-syntactical analysis of the passage; do a theological analysis of the passage; determine what type of literary form/genre the passage is; compare one s conclusions with the conclusions of others (hopefully more knowledgeable of the issues than himself); and apply the appropriate principles taught in the passage to one s current situation where and when it is appropriate to do so. Although this may be a time consuming endeavor, it is nevertheless the lack of such intensive and scholarly biblical interpretation that has led to most of the modern day heresies that are floating around in the vast majority of churches these days, both evangelical and otherwise. It should therefore be asserted that either this method or one similar to it must be used when
interpreting the Bible if one is to come to appropriate and orthodox conclusions regarding the proper interpretation of the various passages of Scripture. Bibliography Thomas, Robert L. Evangelical Hermeneutics: The New Versus the Old. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2002. Virkler, Henry A., and Karelynne Gerber Ayayo. Hermeneutics: Principles and Processes of Biblical Interpretation. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.