Biblical Interpretation

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Biblical Interpretation

• Brookes Bible College, Spring 2014
• Robert Thurman, MA

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Presuppositions

• Everyone has presuppositions. Here are the ones
  I am bringing to this course
• I presuppose that we are here today because of
  our mutual love for Gods Word and that you are
  willing to engage in hard work and study to learn
  how to handle the Scriptures properly.
• I presuppose we agree that the Scriptures are our
  ultimate authority and that they are uniquely
  sufficient to provide answers to the questions we
  will wrestle with during this course.

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Presuppositions

1. I presuppose that you will not always agree with
   my understanding of the Scriptures. You are
   always free to disagree, but if you want to
   debate, I presuppose you will make your case
   using the Scriptures and in a loving and
   respectful spirit.

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Presuppositions

1. I presuppose I presuppose that you expect to get
   your moneys worth out of this class, and that
   you expect me to challenge your thinking and to
   stretch you academically.

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Presuppositions

1. I presuppose that you will not always understand
   everything in the assigned readings. I expect you
   to read them anyway and get what you can.
2. I presuppose that you will not always understand
   everything I communicate during lectures. I
   expect you to ask me questions and dont stop
   until Ive made myself clear.

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Presuppositions

1. I presuppose that you want to do your best work,
   and that you want me to tell you how you can
   improve the work you submit to me.
2. I presuppose that you will face many challenges
   as you seek to complete this course. I presuppose
   that you will communicate with me if theres
   something I can do to help.

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Presuppositions

• I presuppose that we will grow in Christian love
  and in mutual respect for each other.
• I presuppose that you are not here for mere
  intellectual stimulation, but to grow in the
  grace and knowledge of our Savior.

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Presuppositions

1. I presuppose that you will desire and make every
   effort to turn your theology into doxology.

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Biblical Interpretation

• Before we talk about the science of Biblical
  interpretation, we need to understand the nature
  of the Bible.
• When we interpret the Bible, we are not
  interpreting an ordinary work of literature, but
  we are seeking to understand the divinely
  inspired and inerrant testimonies of the Lord.

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Inspiration of Scripture

• The doctrine of inspiration
• God carried along the human writers of the Bible
  so that they composed and recorded without error
  His message to mankind in the words of their
  original writings.

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Inspiration of Scripture

• The doctrine of inspiration is not something that
  men have imposed upon the Bible. Rather, it is a
  teaching of the Bible itself.

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Inspiration of Scripture

• Lets look at what the Bible says about
  inspiration...

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Inspiration of Scripture

• 2 Timothy 316 shows us the extent of
  inspiration
• All Scripture is inspired.

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Inspiration of Scripture

• What is Scripture?
• The New Testament uses the word Scripture 51
  times.

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Inspiration of Scripture

• Sometimes it refers to the entire Old Testament
  (Luke 2445 John 1035).

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Inspiration of Scripture

• Sometimes it refers to a particular passage of
  the Old Testament (Luke 421).

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Inspiration of Scripture

• Sometimes it refers to a particular passage of
  the New Testament (1 Timothy 518 cf. Luke
  107).

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Inspiration of Scripture

• 1 Timothy 518 is significant because it combines
  a New Testament passage with an Old Testament
  passage designating them both as Scripture.

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Inspiration of Scripture

• Sometimes it refers to a larger portion of the
  New Testament (2 Peter 316).

20
Inspiration of Scripture

• 2 Timothy 316 also shows us the means of
  inspiration
• All Scripture is God-breathed.

21
Inspiration of Scripture

• 2 Timothy 316 also shows us the purpose of
  inspiration
• All Scripture is profitable to make us fully
  equipped for every good work.

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Inspiration of Scripture

• 2 Peter 121 shows us the process of inspiration
  
• God moved and bore the writers along (cf. Acts
  2715).

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Inspiration of Scripture

• 2 Peter 121 shows us the source of inspiration
• The writers did not write from their own wills.

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Inspiration of Scripture

• Some argue that only the thoughts or ideas
  expressed by Scripture are inspired.

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Inspiration of Scripture

• Some argue that only the thoughts or ideas
  expressed by Scripture are inspired.

26
Inspiration of Scripture

• 1 Corinthians 213 shows us that the actual words
  (not just the thoughts) of the Bible are
  inspired.

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Inspiration of Scripture

• Genres or types of inspired materials in the
  Bible...

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Inspiration of Scripture

• Material that came directly from God (Duet. 910
  1 Corinthians 1123)
• Researched material (Luke 11-4).
• Letters
• Songs, poetry, wise sayings

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Inspiration of Scripture

• Prophetic material (1/4 of the Bible)
• Historical Materials
• Other materials (Gen. 34-5 Titus 112 Rom.
  91-3)

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Inspiration of Scripture

• The Bibles inspiration teaches us something
  about how it must be interpreted.
• The Bibles inspiration tells us that it is a
  human book.

31
Inspiration of Scripture

• Because the Bible is a human book we assume
• That it communicates its message according to the
  normal rules of human language and logic.

32
Inspiration of Scripture

1. That the Bibles meaning is shaped by the
   historical contexts and intents of its human
   authors.
2. The Bibles meaning is going to be impacted by
   the culture and language of its human authors.

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Inspiration of Scripture

• Because the Bible is inspired we also know that
  it is supernatural.
• Therefore we can assume
• That humans need divine guidance and power to
  fully understand its meaning
• That it reveals the nature and character of God
• That it is inerrant.

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• Quiz
• True or False
• Zuck defines hermeneutics as the determination
  of the meaning of the biblical text in its
  historical and literary contexts.
• Zuck says that the work of the Holy Spirit means
  that some interpreters receive meanings different
  from the normal, literal, meaning of the passage.
• Listing
• 3-5. According to the text, what are the three
  steps involved in Bible study?
• Bonus-
• Name one of the gaps an interpreter of
  the Bible has to overcome.

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• The doctrine of Inerrancy states Scripture is
  without error or fault in all its teaching.

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• Inerrancy applies only to the original
  manuscripts. However, this does not minimize the
  importance of this doctrine.

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• There is deductive evidence for the Bibles
  inerrancy.
• A deduction consists of a major premise, a minor
  premise, and a conclusion.

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• God breathed out the words of the Bible (2
  Timothy 315-17).
• God is true.
• Therefore, the Bible is true.

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• God superintended over the transmission of His
  Word (2 Peter 220-21).
• God does not fail.
• Therefore the Bible does not fail to accurately
  transmit His Word to us.

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• There is also inductive evidence for the Bibles
  inerrancy.
• Inductive reasoning bases a conclusion upon the
  examination of evidence.

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• Jesus accepted the plenary inspiration of the
  Bible (Matthew 44, 11-12).
• Plenary means complete.

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Inerrency of the Scriptures

• Jesus accepted the truth of the propositions of
  the Bible (Matthew 44, 7, 10).

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• Jesus referred to historical figures and events
  in the Old Testament as factual.
• For instance...

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• He affirmed that Adam and Eve and Abel were
  actual people (Matthew 193-5 Mark 106-8
  Matthew 2335).

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• He affirmed the Old Testament account of Noah and
  the ark (Matthew 2438-39 Luke 1726-27).

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• He affirmed that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were
  real people (Matthew 811 John 839).

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• He affirmed the story of Lot and his wife and
  Sodoms destruction (Matthew 1015 Luke
  1728-29).

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• He affirmed Moses and his writings Matthew 84
  John 546).
• He affirmed that David was a real person (Matthew
  2245).

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• He affirmed the story of Jonah as true (Matthew
  1240).
• He affirmed that Isaiah was a real person
  (Matthew 1240).

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• He affirmed that Elijah was a real person
  (Matthew 1711-12).
• He affirmed that Daniel was a real person
  (Matthew 2415).

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• He affirmed that Zechariah was a real person
  (Matthew 2335).
• Jesus promised that all the Old Testament
  promises would be fulfilled (Matthew 517-18).

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• Jesus promised that Gods Word will not pass
  away.
• Jesus promised that it will be fulfilled down to
  the jots and tittles.

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• Jesus based an important teaching on one small
  word of an ordinary passage (John 1031-38 Psalm
  82).

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• Jesus based an important teaching on the verb
  tense of a Scripture passage (Matthew 2223-33
  Exodus 36).

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• Jesus based an important teaching on one letter
  of a Scripture verse (Matthew 22441-46 Psalm
  1101).

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• Reading Quiz 2
• True or False-
• Historically, the Jewish people have had a
  singular, unified approach to interpreting the
  Scriptures.
• Those who interpret the Bible allegorically do so
  because they want to emphasize the historical
  background of the text.
• The Antioch school of biblical interpretation
  preferred a more literal understanding of the
  Scriptures.
• Luther emphasized seeing Christ in every Old
  Testament passage.
• Tyndale stressed the literal meaning of the
  Bible.
• Bonus The idea that obscure passages of
  Scripture should be interpreted in light of clear
  ones is called________.

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Inerrancy of the Scriptures

• Christians believe in the inerrancy of Scripture
  because God is ultimately the author of the Bible
  and because God is incapable of inspiring
  falsehood or failing.

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Biblical Interpretation

• If the Bible is inspired and inerrant, logic
  dictates it must also be understandable.
• Theologians refer to this doctrine as the
  perspicuity of the Bible.
• We assume that because God superintended over the
  transmission of the text and guarded its content,
  that God intended to communicate His message with
  clarity.

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Biblical Interpretation

• That God demands that His Word be obeyed (with
  nothing added to it or taken away) also tells us
  that the Bible is understandable.
• This doesnt mean that there will not be
  difficult passages, and it doesnt mean that the
  Bible can be understood without illumination from
  the Holy Spirit.
• However, the Bible must be understandable for it
  to be obeyed.

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Biblical Interpretation

• Definitions-
• Hermeneutics
• The study or practice of interpretive
  philosophies or the study or practice of a
  particular set of interpretive principles

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Biblical Interpretation

• Definitions-
• Hermeneutic
• A set of principles guiding the interpretation of
  a text
• All of us use a hermeneutic every time we read.

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Biblical Interpretation

• Definitions-
• Exegesis
• The process of implementing valid interpretive
  principles.
• Exegesis involves investigation into the history,
  grammar, genre, and literary context of the text.

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Biblical Interpretation

• Definitions-
• Meaning
• The truth intention of the author.
• How many truth intentions can an author have in a
  particular text?
• What is truth?

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History of Western Thought
Pre-Modern Thought (pre 1700s)
Absolute truth exists and it is objective
Absolute truth comes to us via divine revelation
Absolute truth is authoritative and binding
Dependence on the supernatural

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History of Western Thought
Pre-Modern Thought (pre 1700s) Modern Thought (Enlightenment until 1989)
Absolute truth exists and it is objective Absolute truth exists and it is objective
Absolute truth comes to us via divine revelation Absolute truth comes to us via human reason/science
Absolute truth is authoritative and binding Absolute truth is authoritative and binding
Dependence on the supernatural Rejection of the supernatural

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History of Western Thought
Pre-Modern Thought (pre 1700s) Modern Thought (Enlightenment until 1989) Post-Modern Thought (1989-?)
Absolute truth exists and it is objective Absolute truth exists and it is objective Absolute truth does not exist truth is subjective
Absolute truth comes to us via divine revelation Absolute truth comes to us via human reason/science Subjective truth may come from an infinite number of sources
Absolute truth is authoritative and binding Absolute truth is authoritative and binding No truth can be authoritative or binding
Dependence on the supernatural Rejection of the supernatural Open to the supernatural

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Biblical Interpretation

• Definitions-
• Interpretation
• An understanding of the truth intention of the
  author.
• How does your worldview (pre-modern, modern,
  post-modern) impact your ability to interpret a
  text?

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Biblical Interpretation

• Definitions-
• Application
• The use or practice of the authors truth
  intention in the interpreters personal life.
• The application of a text is distinct from the
  interpretation or the meaning of the text.

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Biblical Interpretation

• Definitions-
• It is extremely important to not confuse or to
  muddle these aspects of the interpretive process.
• What potential dangers might come from confusing
  exegesis and interpretation, or from confusing
  interpretation with application, or confusing
  meaning and application?

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• Quiz
• Listing
• From the axiom, The Bible is a divine book
  stem four corollaries. What are they?
• 1.
• 2.
• 3.
• 4.
• True or False
• 5. The spiritual meaning of the Bible is always
  more important than the grammatical one.
• Bonus
• Give an example of a biblical command that
  was changed later.

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Biblical Interpretation

• Some parts of the Bible are easy to understand,
  but much of it is not.
• There are numerous barriers that every
  interpreter must cross to discover the Bibles
  meaning.

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Biblical Interpretation

• Barriers to the interpretive process
• Pre-understandings- all of us read with biases
  and assumptions. We tend to be more subjective
  than objective.
• It is very difficult for us to approach the
  Scriptures free from prejudices and assumptions,
  but these can prevent us from understanding their
  meaning.

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Biblical Interpretation

• Barriers to the interpretive process
• We must seek to let the Bible speak for itself by
  approaching it impartially and objectively.
• Some examples of how pre-understandings affect
  our interpretation
• If I approach the Bible with the
  pre-understanding that the earth is billions of
  years old, how will that impact my interpretation
  of Genesis 1?

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Biblical Interpretation

• Barriers to the interpretive process
• If I approach the Bible with a pre-understanding
  that the church has replaced Israel how would
  that impact my interpretation of Genesis 121-7,
  the Mosaic Law, or Revelation 74?

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Biblical Interpretation

• Barriers to the interpretive process
• Time/Historical Context- the oldest books of the
  Bible were written almost 1500 years before
  Christ the newest was written less than 100
  years after Christs birth. We dont always
  immediately know why a book, passage, or verse
  was written. We dont always know what was going
  on historically that prompted the writing. We
  also have to keep in mind the progress of
  revelation.

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Biblical Interpretation

• Barriers to the interpretive process
• Does the historical situation of the original
  readers affect how they would have interpreted a
  text?
• How might we interpret Genesis differently if we
  do so remembering that it was written to people
  who had been enslaved in Egypt for 400 years?

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Biblical Interpretation

• Barriers to the interpretive process
• How might we interpret Isaiah 714-16 differently
  if we know the historical context?
• How might not understanding the historical
  situation behind the book of Philemon impact our
  ability to arrive at its meaning?

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Biblical Interpretation

• Barriers to the interpretive process
• Language- the Bible was written in Hebrew,
  Aramaic, and Greek. All three languages use words
  and employ expressions that are difficult to
  translate or understand.
• Why does Colossians 115 say Jesus is the
  firstborn of creation and 118 say he is the
  firstborn of the dead?

79
Biblical Interpretation

• Barriers to the interpretive process
• Culture- the people of the Bible had customs not
  relatable to us. Misunderstanding their customs
  can lead to misinterpreting the text.
• Why did Ruth spend the night sleeping in a barn
  at the feet of Boaz?
• Why did Jonah not want to go to Ninevah?

80
Biblical Interpretation

• What was Elisha asking Elijah for when he
  requested a double portion of Elijahs spirit (1
  Kings 29 cf. Dt. 2117)?
• Why does Amos call the women of Bethel cows of
  Bashan in Amos 41?
• Why did Jesus reject the man in Luke 959?

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Biblical Interpretation

• Barriers to the interpretive process
• Geography- Very often understanding the setting
  for an event helps us to understand the event
  more clearly.
• Why did Jesus speak of a man going down from
  Jerusalem to Jericho in Luke 1030 when Jericho
  is north of Jerusalem?

82
Biblical Interpretation

• What is significant about Jesus calling the
  church in Laodicea lukewarm in Rev. 316?
• Why did Samuel ask God to send rain as a sign in
  1 Samuel 1217?
• Why did David not offer a sacrifice for his sins
  involving Bathsheba? (Ps. 51)

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Biblical Interpretation

• Barriers to the interpretive process
• Religion- The actions of people in the Bible and
  the way they would have understood the events
  recorded in the Bible would be impacted by their
  religious views.

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Biblical Interpretation

• Why did God send the plagues upon Egypt?
• Why did Elijah challenge the prophets of Baal to
  meet him on Mount Carmel?
• Why did the Herodians, Saducees, and Scribes ask
  Jesus the questions they did in Mark 1213-28?

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Biblical Interpretation

• Barriers to the interpretive process
• Genre- We know to read a poem differently than we
  read a science textbook. In the Bible, we
  encounter literary genres that may be unfamiliar-
  laments, parallelism, imprecatory psalms,
  prophecy, etc.
• Literary context- Without understanding how a
  verse or passage fits into the book, it is very
  difficult to be certain youve interpreted
  correctly. The original readers read the entire
  work at once, whereas sometimes we attempt to
  interpret verses isolated from the text around
  them.

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Biblical Interpretation

• Crossing these barriers in study is the work of
  exegesis, which must take place before
  interpretation or application.

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• Quiz
• ________ is the total pattern of human behavior,
  thought, speech, action, and artifacts.
• ________ includes the paragraph and book in which
  verses occur and the historical-cultural
  environment at the time the verse was written.
• 3 4. ________ and _______ are two aspects of
  culture that impact biblical interpretation.
• True or False
• ____ All Scripture should be received as
  normative for every person in all societies of
  all time unless the Bible limits the audience.
• Bonus Name a specific biblical cultural issue
  discussed in the chapter

88
Biblical Interpretation

• Hermeneutical Approaches
• There are four primary hermeneutical approaches
  to Scripture commonly found in Christianity
  today
• Grammatical-historical-mythological- this idea
  assumes that the meaning of the Bible is obscured
  by the mythologies, culture, oral traditions, and
  prejudices, of the writers and later editors.

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Biblical Interpretation

• This is the hermeneutical approach of theological
  liberalism.
• Those who practice it deny the plenary
  (complete)-verbal inspiration of Scripture.
• This method assumes that most Bible books either
  evolved over time through the work of various
  editors or that they were written in times later
  than the books seem to purport.

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Biblical Interpretation

• This hermeneutic relies on higher criticism and
  involves trying to identify distinct voices
  within the text and then trying to determine the
  source of each voice.
• The goal of this approach is not about finding
  Gods message, but in learning about what men
  have thought about God at various times in
  history.

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Biblical Interpretation

• Examples-
• The Documentary-Hypothesis theory
• The Jesus Seminar

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Biblical Interpretation

• Grammatical-historical-existential- this approach
  involves reading the Bible for the purpose of
  seeking an existential encounter with Jesus
  Christ.
• The truth intention of the author is not seen as
  important as the experience of each individual
  reader.

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Biblical Interpretation

• This is the approach of Neo-orthodoxy (Barthian).
• Barth denied the plenary-verbal inspiration of
  Scripture and embraced many of the same attitudes
  toward the Bible as theological liberals.
• However, unlike liberals, he did not deny that
  the Bible has a supernatural element.

94
Biblical Interpretation

• Barth distinguished between the words of
  Scripture and the matter of Scripture. He
  described the matter of Scripture as that place
  where the reader encounters Christ.
• This hermeneutic has become very common among
  evangelicals.

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Biblical Interpretation

1. Grammatical-historical-theological method- pays
   attention to the grammar and history of the
   Biblical text, but the interpretation of the text
   is ultimately guided by a set of theological
   pre-understandings.

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Biblical Interpretation

• If the literal or normal interpretation of the
  text is contrary to the theological
  pre-understanding of the interpreter, the text is
  interpreted in an allegorical or spiritual
  manner.
• This approach is used by creedal/confessional
  Christians.

97
Biblical Interpretation

• If the literal or normal interpretation of the
  text is contrary to the theological
  pre-understanding of the interpreter, the text is
  interpreted in an allegorical or spiritual
  manner.
• This approach is used by creedal/confessional
  Christians.

98
Biblical Interpretation

• The most prominent evangelical use of this
  approach is found in Covenant Theology.

99
Biblical Interpretation

• When studying the Old Testament, especially Old
  Testament prophecies, a covenant theologian does
  not ignore grammar or history, but he does not
  allow them to be the ultimate determining factor
  in his interpretation.1 Instead, he filters the
  results of a grammatical and historical exegesis
  through a set of theological pre-understandings.2
  
• 1Duncan, Dispensationalism A Reformed
  Evaluation
• 2Thomas, 66

100
Biblical Interpretation

• This theological method assumes that Christ or
  the New Testament Church has brought fulfillment
  to every Old Testament prophecy.1 Therefore,
  the covenant theologian does not see the original
  contextual meaning of the Old Testament author as
  conclusively authoritative. He believes that the
  New Testament often changes the clear contextual
  meaning of Old Testament passages.2
• 1Duncan, Dispensationalism A Reformed
  Evaluation
• 2Thomas, 66

101
Biblical Interpretation

• "In Covenant Theology there is the tendency to
  impute to a passage a meaning which would not be
  gained merely from their historical and
  grammatical associations
• (Daniel P. Fuller, The Hermeneutics of
  Dispensationalism), 147.

102
Biblical Interpretation

• In other words, the covenant theologian gives the
  New Testament hermeneutical control over any
  interpretation of the Old Testament.1 Covenant
  theologian, Ligon Duncan, affirms this when he
  states Later revelation, by definition,
  controls the final Systematic Theological
  understanding of earlier revelation.2 
• 1Duncan, Dispensationalism A Reformed
  Evaluation
• 2Ibid.

103
Biblical Interpretation

• Since covenant theologians see all Old Testament
  prophecies as ultimately fulfilled in either
  Christ or the church, their theological
  hermeneutical method frequently forces them to
  spiritualize Old Testament promises to
  Israel.1
• 1Showers, 24

104
Biblical Interpretation

• Covenant theologian, Anthony Hoekema, affirms
  this when he states The Old Testament must be
  interpreted in light of the New Testament and
  that a totally and exclusively literal
  interpretation of Old Testament prophecy is not
  justified.1
• 1Anthony A. Hoekema, An Amillennial Response
  to Dispensational Premillennialism, in The
  Meaning of the Millennium, Four Views, ed. Robert
  G. Clouse (Downers Grove, IL InterVarsity,
  1977), 55

105
Biblical Interpretation

• Covenant theologian Lorraine Boettner provides an
  excellent example of what it means to
  spiritualize an Old Testament prophecy when he
  gives his commentary on Isaiah 1169.
• A normal literal-grammatical-historical
  interpretation of this passage would conclude
  that this is a prophecy about the restoration of
  creation to a pre-fall state that will take place
  during the yet future millennial reign of Christ
  on the earth. However, using his theological
  presuppositions to interpret this text, Boettner
  says that it refers to a spiritual
  transformation as in Saul of Tarsus, who was
  changed from a vicious wolf-like persecutor to a
  lamb-like follower of Christ.1
• 1Lorraine Boettner, The Millennium (Grand
  Rapids, MI Baker Book House, 1958), 90

106
Biblical Interpretation

• Literal-Grammatical-Historical- seeks to
  interpret the Bible without pre-understandings
  following the normal rules of language and logic.
• This hermeneutic is the most traditional
  evangelical approach to Scripture, but today is
  usually associated with Dispensational Theology.
• It assumes plenary-verbal inspiration of the
  Bible.

107
Biblical Interpretation

• "The aim of grammatico-historical method is to
  determine the sense required by the laws of
  grammar and the facts of history. Thus, the
  grammatical sense is the simple, direct, plain,
  ordinary, and literal sense of the phrases,
  clauses, and sentences.  The historical sense is
  that sense which is demanded by a careful
  consideration of the time and circumstances in
  which the author wrote.  It is the specific
  meaning which an author's words require when the
  historical context and background are taken into
  account"
• Kaiser, Toward an Exegetical Theology), 88.
•  

108
Biblical Interpretation

• A literal-grammatical-historical hermeneutic is
  literal in that it seeks to understand the normal
  or plain sense of each Bible passage.
• Robert Thomas describes this method when he
  states Take each statement in its plain sense
  if it matches common sense, and do not look for
  another sense.1
• 1Robert L. Thomans, Evangelical Hermeneutics
  The New Versus the Old (Grand Rapids, MI Kregel,
  2002), 155

109
Biblical Interpretation

• According to this method every Bible passage,
  regardless of genre, according to the same
  method.
• The biblical passage is interpreted normally
  according to the normal laws of human language.

110
Biblical Interpretation

• That the text is approached literally does not
  mean that he ignores symbols, figures of speech,
  or types.

111
Biblical Interpretation

• Charles Ryrie states Symbols, figures of
  speech, and types are all interpreted plainly in
  this method, and they are in no way contrary to
  literal interpretation. After all, the very
  existence of any meaning for a figure of speech
  depends on the reality of the literal meaning of
  the terms involved. Figures often make the
  meaning plainer, but it is the literal, normal,
  or plain meaning that they convey to the
  reader.1
• 1 Ryrie, 80-81

112
Biblical Interpretation

• Roy Zuck concurs when he states Figurative
  language then is not antithetical to literal
  interpretation it is a part of it.  Perhaps it
  is better not to speak of figurative versus
  literal interpretation, but of
  ordinary-literal versus figurative-literal
  interpretation.1
• 1 Roy B. Zuck, Basic Bible Interpretation, A
  Practical Guide to Discovering Biblical Truth
  (Wheaton, ILVictor, 1991), p. 147

113
Biblical Interpretation

• The method is grammatical in that it pays close
  attention to the normal rules of grammar and
  communication when interpreting the Bible.
• Adherents interpret the Bible as one would any
  other form of written communication.

114
Biblical Interpretation

• This method assumes that Gods revelation follows
  the rules of the human language it employs, and
  he assumes that God communicated his word in a
  way that would be clear and understandable to
  humanity.

115
Biblical Interpretation

• Charles Ryrie states If God is the originator
  of language and if the chief purpose of
  originating it was to convey His message to
  humanity, then it must follow that He being
  all-wise and all-loving, originated sufficient
  language to convey all that was in His heart to
  tell mankind. Furthermore, it must also follow
  that He would use language and expect people to
  understand it in its literal, normal, and plain
  sense.1
• 1Ryrie, 81

116
Biblical Interpretation

• This hermeneutical method is historical in that
  it seeks to understand each Bible passage in its
  historical context.1
• It seeks to understand each passage as the human
  writer and the original readers would have
  understood it.
• Using the rules of grammar and the facts of
  history, the dispensationalist looks for a
  singular meaning in each passage that is
  determined by what the human writer intended to
  communicate.2
• 1Thomans, 242
• 2 Ibid., 242

117
Biblical Interpretation

• "The aim of grammatico-historical method is to
  determine the sense required by the laws of
  grammar and the facts of history. Thus, the
  grammatical sense is the simple, direct, plain,
  ordinary, and literal sense of the phrases,
  clauses, and sentences.  The historical sense is
  that sense which is demanded by a careful
  consideration of the time and circumstances in
  which the author wrote.  It is the specific
  meaning which an author's words require when the
  historical context and background are taken into
  account"
• Kaiser, Toward an Exegetical Theology), 88.
•  

118
Biblical Interpretation

• The most fundamental principle in
  grammatico-historical exposition is that words
  and sentences can have only one significance in
  one and the same connection"
• This does not mean that later revelation cannot
  provide a fuller meaning for earlier passages,
  but it is to say that later revelation does not
  change the original plain meaning of the older
  revelation.
• Kaiser, Toward an Exegetical Theology), 88  

119
Biblical Interpretation

• Beginning the Exegetical Process-
• Before determining what the text means, we must
  first determine what it says.
• How to read carefully
• The Sentence Level- Look for the following
• Repetition of words
• How many times does the word occur in the
  passage?
• Is the word used in the same way each time (noun,
  verb, etc.)?
• Is the word modified the same way each time
  (articles, adjectives, adverbs)?
• Is the word connected to other words the same way
  each time (prepositions)?

120
Biblical Interpretation

• Example Passages-
• 1 John 215-17 (look for world)
• 2 Corinthians 13-7 (look for comfort)
• John 151-10 (look for remain)
• Matthew 61-18 (look for Father)

121
Biblical Interpretation

• Beginning the Exegetical Process-
• Before determining what the text means, we must
  first determine what it says.
• How to read carefully
• The Sentence Level- Look for the following
• Repetition of words
• Contrasts- Look for items, ideas, and individuals
  that are contrasted with each other.
• Example Passages
• Psalm 11-6
• Proverbs 1431
• Proverbs 151

122
Biblical Interpretation

• Romans 623
• Ephesians 58
• 1 John 15-7
• How to read carefully
• The Sentence Level- Look for the following
• Repetition of words
• Contrasts-
• Comparisons- Look for ideas, items, individuals
  compared with each other
• Example Passages Proverbs 2526 James 33-6
  Isaiah 4031

123
Biblical Interpretation

• How to read carefully
• The Sentence Level- Look for the following
• Repetition of words
• Contrasts
• Comparisons
• Lists- When you encounter more than two itemized
  things, you can identify them as a list
• Example Passages- 1 John 216 Galatians 522-23
  519-21

124
Biblical Interpretation

• How to read carefully
• The Sentence Level- Look for the following
• Repetition of words
• Contrasts
• Comparisons
• Lists
• Cause and Effect- Look for the effect of each
  cause and the cause of each effect. There may be
  more than one effect from a single cause in the
  text
• Example Passages- Proverbs 151 Romans 623
  Romans 122 John 316 Psalm 136 Colossians 31

125
Biblical Interpretation

• How to read carefully
• The Sentence Level- Look for the following
• Repetition of words
• Contrasts
• Comparisons
• Lists
• Cause and Effect
• Figures of speech- these are images in which
  words are used in a sense other than the normal,
  literal sense.
• Example Passages- Psalm 119105 Matthew 2327
  Psalm 182 1 Corinthians 36 Luke 1334

126
Biblical Interpretation

• How to read carefully
• The Sentence Level- Look for the following
• Repetition of words
• Contrasts
• Comparisons
• Lists
• Cause and Effect
• Figures of speech
• Conjunctions- Look for words like but, therefore,
  for, since, because, etc. and find out what they
  contribute to what the verse says.
• Example Passages Romans 623 121 Hebrews
  121 2 Timothy 17-8 Genesis 68

127
Biblical Interpretation

• How to read carefully
• The Sentence Level- Look for the following
• Repetition of words
• Contrasts
• Comparisons
• Lists
• Cause and Effect
• Figures of speech
• Conjunctions
• Verbs
• Identify what kind of verb is used- past,
  present, future tense?

128
Biblical Interpretation

• How to read carefully
• Verbs
• Identify what kind of verb is used- past,
  present, future tense?
• Is the action expressed ongoing?
• Is it imperative (Be, Go, etc.)?
• Example of imperative verb- Ephesians 42-3
• Is the verb active or passive?
• Examples of active and passive verbs- Colossians
  31 Ephesians 111 Genesis 123
• Pronouns- Find the antecedent
• Examples- Ephesians 13 Philippians 127-30

129
Biblical Interpretation

• How to read carefully
• The Paragraph Level- In addition to looking for
  the things we learned to look for in sentences,
  we need to look for the following
• General and Specific- Sometimes an author will
  introduce an idea with a general statement, and
  then follow this general statement with specifics
  of the idea.
• Example passages- Galatians 516 (General),
  519-21 (Specific), 522-23 (Specific) Romans
  121 (General), 129-13 (Specific) 1 Corinthians
  1313 (General), 1 Corinthians 131-12 (Specific)

130
Biblical Interpretation

• How to read carefully
• The Paragraph Level-
• General and Specific-
• Questions and Answers- Sometimes biblical writers
  ask a question and then answer it.
• Example passages- Romans 61 (Question), 62
  (Answer) Mark 27 (Question), 210 (Answer)
  216 (Question), 217 (Answer) 218 (Question),
  219 (Answer) 224 (Question), 225, 27
  (Answer) 34 (Question), 36 (Answer)

131
Biblical Interpretation

• How to read carefully
• The Paragraph Level-
• General and Specific-
• Questions and Answers- Sometimes biblical writers
  ask a question and then answer it.
• Dialogue- Note that dialog is taking place. Ask
  the following
• Who are the participants?
• What is the setting?
• Who is speaking to whom?
• Are other people around?
• Are they listening?
• What is the tone of the dialog (friendly,
  argumentative), etc.
• What is the point of the dialog?

132
Biblical Interpretation

• How to read carefully
• The Paragraph Level-
• General and Specific-
• Questions and Answers-
• Dialog-
• Example passages- Habakkuk 11-4, 5-11, 12-21,
  22-20
• Purpose Statements- These are phrases that
  describe the reason, result, or consequence of
  some action. They are frequently introduced by
  conjunctions like that, in order that, so
  that, and to.
• Example passages- Eph. 210 John 316 John
  1516 Duet. 63 Ps. 11911

133
Biblical Interpretation

• How to read carefully
• The Paragraph Level-
• General and Specific-
• Questions and Answers-
• Dialog-
• Purpose Statements-
• Means (by which something is accomplished)- When
  an action, result, or purpose is stated, look for
  the means that brings it about.
• Example passages- In Romans 813, what is the
  means by which the misdeeds of the body are put
  to death? In Psalm 1199, what is the means by
  which a young man keeps his way pure?

134

• Quiz- Chapter 8, Basic Bible Interpretation
• True or False
• ___ An antitype is the opposite of a type.
• ___ A type represents something to come, but a
  symbol has no time reference.
• ___ A person would not normally associate a
  symbol with what it symbolizes.
• ___ When a prophetic passage clearly uses some
  symbols we should assume that everything in that
  passage should be understood as symbolic.
• ___ Since many numbers in the Bible have symbolic
  connotations, we know that we should not
  interpret numbers literally.
• Bonus ___ We should always look for symbolic
  meanings in the names of people in the Bible.

135
Biblical Interpretation

• How to read carefully
• The Paragraph Level-
• General and Specific-
• Questions and Answers-
• Dialog-
• Purpose Statements-
• Means (by which something is accomplished)-
• Conditional Clauses- (usually if then
  statements)- always determine exactly what the
  required conditional action is (the if part) and
  what the result or consequence is (the then
  part).
• Example passages- 1 John 516 2 Cor. 517 James
  126 Duet. 281

136
Biblical Interpretation

• How to read carefully
• The Paragraph Level-
• General and Specific-
• Questions and Answers-
• Dialog-
• Purpose Statements-
• Means (by which something is accomplished)-
• Conditional Clauses-
• The Roles/Actions of People the Roles/Actions
  of God- What does God do in this passage? What do
  people do in this passage?
• Example passage- Ephesians 51-2

137
Biblical Interpretation

• How to read carefully
• The Paragraph Level-
• General and Specific-
• Questions and Answers-
• Dialog-
• Purpose Statements-
• Means (by which something is accomplished)-
• Conditional Clauses-
• The Roles/Actions of People the Roles/Actions
  of God-
• Emotional Language- Look for words and phrases
  with emotional overtones like Father, Mother,
  Son, Daughter, Beloved and plead.
• Example passages- Jer. 319-20 Gal. 412-16

138
Biblical Interpretation

• How to read carefully
• The Paragraph Level-
• General and Specific-
• Questions and Answers-
• Dialog-
• Purpose Statements-
• Means (by which something is accomplished)-
• Conditional Clauses-
• The Roles/Actions of People the Roles/Actions
  of God-
• Emotional Language-
• Tone- what is the tone of the passage? Angry,
  gentle, loving, sorrowful, hostile, scolding?
• Example Passages- Col 31-4, Gal. 31-4 Matt.
  2333-35 Lam. 31-6

139
Biblical Interpretation

• How to read carefully
• The Paragraph Level-
• The Pericope Level- A pericope is a distinct unit
  of thought longer than a paragraph- a story, an
  episode, a sermon, a chapter. At this level, we
  use all the skills weve learned so far, but we
  add a few more.
• Connections between Paragraphs and Episodes- look
  for connections between paragraphs, and look for
  connections between episodes in narratives.
• Example passages- How is Mark 822-26 connected
  to 814-21 and to 827-30? How is Colossians
  11-8 connected to 19-14?
• Story Shifts (Breaks and Pivots)- A major break
  is a shift in topic, we look for these primarily
  in teaching passages like those found in the NT
  letters. A pivot is an episode that changes the
  direction of a narrative.

140
Biblical Interpretation

• How to read carefully
• The Paragraph Level-
• The Pericope Level-
• Connections between Paragraphs and Episodes- look
  for connections between paragraphs, and look for
  connections between episodes in narratives.
• Story Shifts (Breaks and Pivots)-
• Example passages- a major break occurs when Paul
  moves from Colossians 1-3 to chapter 4. A pivot
  in the narrative about the life of David happens
  in 2 Samuel 11-12. Look at Davids life before
  and look at his life afterwards.

141
Biblical Interpretation

• How to read carefully
• The Paragraph Level-
• The Pericope Level-
• Connections between Paragraphs and Episodes- look
  for connections between paragraphs, and look for
  connections between episodes in narratives.
• Story Shifts (Breaks and Pivots)-
• Interchange- interchange involves contrasting or
  comparing two stories at the same time as part of
  the overall development of a narrative.
• Examples- 1 Samuel- Eli and his worthless sons
  are compared to Hannah and her godly son. Why?
  The writer wants us to see how Samuel is
  different than the corrupt leadership he
  replaces. Acts- 1-7 are about Peter, Acts
  758-83 is about Paul, 814-25 is about Peter,
  Acts 9 is about Paul, but Acts 101-111-18 is
  about Peter. Acts 1119-30 is about Paul, but
  Acts 12 is about Peter, the rest of the book is
  primarily about Paul.

142
Biblical Interpretation

• How to read carefully
• The Paragraph Level-
• The Pericope Level-
• Connections between Paragraphs and Episodes-
• Story Shifts (Breaks and Pivots)-
• Interchange-
• Chiasm- a common feature of Hebrew literature

143
Biblical Interpretation

• Example- Genesis 111-9
• the whole world (1)
• had one language (1)
• Shinar and settled there (2)
• Come, lets make bricks (3)
• Come, let us built (4)
• a city with a tower (4)
• but the Lord came down (5)
• to see the city and the tower (5)
• that the men were building (5)
• Come, let us go down and confuse their language
  (7)
• Babel-because there (9)
• the Lord confused the language (9)
• the whole earth (9)

144
Biblical Interpretation

• Determining Historical/Cultural Context
• Since God spoke His message in specific
  historical situations (i.e., to people living in
  particular places, speaking particular languages,
  adopting a particular way of life) we should take
  the historical/cultural background of each Bible
  passage seriously.
• Scripture was Gods Word to other people before
  it was Gods Word to us.
• For our interpretation of a text to be valid, it
  has to be consistent with the historical-cultural
  context of the text.
• Historical/cultural context involves the Biblical
  writer, the original audience, and any historical
  or cultural elements that will help you
  understand the text.

145
Biblical Interpretation

• Determining Historical/Cultural Context
• The following questions can help you investigate
  the historical cultural context of a Bible book
  or passage
• Who was the writer? (Read Philippians 3 and 1
  Timothy 116. How does knowing about Pauls
  background add to your understanding of these
  verses?)
• What was the writers ministry?
• What is the relationship between the writer and
  the people? (compare Galatians 1 with 1
  Thessalonians 1).
• Why did the writer write this portion of
  Scripture? (Why did Moses write Genesis? Why did
  Luke write his gospel and Acts?)

146
Biblical Interpretation

• Determining Historical/Cultural Context
• Who was the Biblical audience?
• What were the circumstances of those in the
  audience?
• How was their relationship to God? (Consider the
  Judeans during the time of Jeremiah, the
  Galatians, etc.)
• What kind of relationship did they have with each
  other (Consider the division in the Corinthian
  church how were Philemon and Onesimus related?)
• What was happening at the time the book was
  written?
• Are there any other historical/cultural factors
  that might shed light on the book?

147
Biblical Interpretation

• Resources for investigating Historical/Cultural
  Context
• Bible Handbooks
• Commentaries
• Old Testament/New Testament Surveys
• Bible Atlases
• Special studies in ancient life and culture
• Computer software like Logos and BibleWorks
• Word Studies
• We must always try to understand as precisely as
  possible what the author meant to convey by his
  use of his words in their context.
• Common Word Study Mistakes-
• English Only Mistakes- Because the Bible was not
  originally written in English, it must be
  translated into English from Hebrew, Aramaic, and
  Greek.

148
Biblical Interpretation

• Common Word Study Mistakes-
• English Only Mistakes- Because the Bible was not
  originally written in English, it must be
  translated into English from Hebrew, Aramaic, and
  Greek.
• Therefore, you may not realize that a word in
  Hebrew or Greek may be translated into English
  with a number of different English words. For
  example paraklesis is sometimes translated
  comfort, but other times it is translated
  exhortation. Comfort and Exhortation can mean
  different things in English.
• You may not realize that several different Hebrew
  or Greek words might be translated into English
  with only one English word. For example there are
  6 Greek words all translated comfort in English.
• The English Only mistake occurs when you base
  your word study on the definition of the English
  word rather than on the definition of the word in
  the original language.

149
Biblical Interpretation

• Common Word Study Mistakes-
• Root Mistake- It is a fallacy that you can always
  determine the meaning of a word by understanding
  its root. This is true even in English. Is a
  butterfly made of butter? Do pineapples grow on
  pine trees? Context is more important than
  etymology.
• Time-Frame Mistakes- Sometimes word meanings
  change over time. Often we try to take the more
  modern meaning of the word and insert it into the
  text (the reverse is possible, but happens less
  frequently). For instance, how many of you have
  heard that the word translated power in Romans
  118 is the word from which we get our word
  dynamite. Was Paul thinking of dynamite when he
  wrote Romans?
• Overload Mistake- Most words can have more than
  one meaning depending on their context. Dont try
  to attach all the possible meanings to a word in
  one instance. Context determines meaning.

150
Biblical Interpretation

• Common Word Study Mistakes-
• Word Count Mistakes- It is a mistake to think
  that a word must have the same meaning every time
  it occurs. (ex. kosmos). Again, word meanings are
  determined by context in the passage.
• Word Concept Mistakes- Dont think that because
  youve studied a one word that you have studied
  the entire concept represented by that word. For
  example, studying the Greek word ekklesia will
  not tell you everything you need to know about
  the New Testament church.
• Selective-Evidence Mistakes- Sometimes you will
  be tempted to dismiss evidence so that you can
  define a word according to what you want it to
  mean. The Scripture should change our views our
  views should not change the Scripture.

151
Biblical Interpretation

• For help with word studies use, concordances,
  Bible dictionaries, lexicons, and commentaries.
• You dont need to do a word study on every word
  in a passage. Choose words carefully. Choose only
  those words that have meanings crucial to
  understanding the passage.
• Never forget that context determines meaning.

152
Biblical Interpretation

• Meanings or Meanings-
• A major debate in hermeneutics today is who
  controls the meaning. Is the meaning controlled
  by the author or by the reader?
• All of us at times reinterpret literature to make
  it mean what we want it to mean.
• For example
• We listen to songs at times and the only way we
  can enjoy them is to ignore what the author
  wanted to communicate (I Get by with a Little
  Help from My Friends Let Freedom Ring)
• We read stories and watch movies and we are often
  ignorant or we ignore what the author intended to
  communicate (Wizard of Oz, Star Wars).
• We often do this with the Bible, but is this
  right?

153
Biblical Interpretation

• Those who hold to authorial intent argue that the
  meaning of a text is the truth intention of the
  author. They believe in what we call authorial
  intent.
• However, others hold to the idea that the reader
  controls the meaning of a text. This idea is
  called reader response.
• If we are reading something that does not
  communicate an important or authoritative message
  to us, it may be harmless for us to make what we
  are reading mean what we want it to mean.
• But if we are reading something that contains
  important or authoritative truth, it is dangerous
  not to grasp the meaning.

154
Biblical Interpretation

• If we fail to understand the meaning of the
  Biblical text, we could be in grave danger. The
  Bible communicates to us what God requires.
• Therefore, we are saying in this class that the
  only valid meaning of a biblical text is the
  truth intention of the author.
• Our understanding of the authors meaning is our
  interpretation.
• What we do with the authors meaning is our
  application.
• It is vitally important that we not confuse these
  terms.

155
Biblical Interpretation

• Does the Bible contain levels of meaning?
• All of us are tempted at times to look for
  different levels of meaning in a biblical text.
  We have all seen this modeled.
• People try to assign various levels of meaning to
  the Bible through the following means
• Spiritualizing- those who do this see a dichotomy
  between the literal meaning of a text and its
  spiritual meaning. However, there is no such
  dichotomy, because the spiritual meaning of the
  text cant be different than the literal meaning
• Examples Luke 158-10
• What does this passage mean? How many meanings or
  layers of meanings can you devise?

156
Biblical Interpretation

• Does the Bible contain levels of meaning?
• We could come up with many spiritual meanings of
  the text. Some of them might be theologically
  true. However, all of them miss the point that
  Jesus was communicating.
• We need to seek the meaning God intends and not a
  meaning created in our imaginations.
• Prior to the Reformation spiritualizing the text
  was considered virtuous and proper by many in the
  the church.
• Spiritualizing the text was seen as a way of
  making every text speak directly of Christ and
  directly to our lives.

157
Biblical Interpretation

• Does the Bible contain levels of meaning?
• This fuller meaning is referred to as sensus
  plenior.
• A few centuries after Christ there was a popular
  four-fold system of biblical interpretation. The
  system saw four levels of meaning in every
  biblical text- literal, allegorical, moral, and
  spiritual.
• For example, the word Jerusalem could mean 1)
  literal- a city 2) allegorical- the church 3)
  moral- the human soul 4) spiritual- heaven.
• Hopefully, you can see how dangerous this
  interpretive scheme could be.
• The Reformers took the Protestant church away
  from this kind of scheme, but there are still
  other ways of missing the authors intent.

158
Biblical Interpretation

• Does the Bible contain levels of meaning?
• Spiritualizing
• Allegorizing- an allegory is a story that uses an
  extensive amount of symbolism.
• The Bible occasionally uses allegories. For
  example Isaiah 51-7.
• However, it is dangerous to interpret a
  nonallegorical text as if it were allegorical.
  Doing so takes us away from Gods intended
  meaning.

159
Biblical Interpretation

• Does the Bible contain levels of meaning?
• Some examples of allegorizing Exodus 2719
• The pins, or nails, tent pegs of the
  Tabernacle were made of brass therefore they did
  not rust. As they withstood every desert storm,
  even so Christs holy life withstood every
  onslaught of Satan. How minutely the details of
  the God-given pattern for the Tabernacle in the
  wilderness foreshadow the glories of our
  crucified and risen Lord! Louis Talbot, Christ
  in the Tabernacle (Wheaton, Il. Van Kampen,
  1942) 89

160
Biblical Interpretation

• Does the Bible contain levels of meaning?
• We repeat the pins were buried in the ground,
  but also emerged from the ground, and it speaks
  of the death and resurrection, that which is
  buried, and that which is above the ground. The
  part of the pins beneath the ground becomes a
  symbol of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ the
  part above the ground suggests His resurrection.
• Martin R. Dehaan, The Tabernacle (Grand Rapids
  Zondervan, 1995), 65

161
Biblical Interpretation

• The Bible does use symbols frequently, but the
  symbols cannot mean something that would have not
  been understood (at least in part) by the
  original audience.
• We have a tendency, especially with the Old
  Testament to attach New Testament meanings to
  symbols in the Old Testament without paying
  attention to what that symbol would have meant to
  the original audience.
• This is certainly what weve seen in the
  preceding quotes from Talbot and Dehaan.
• Heres another example. The four major colors
  found in the Tabernacle were white, purple, and
  blue.

162
Biblical Interpretation

• Talbot in his book, Christ in the Tabernacle. P.
  38, says that blue speaks to us of our Lords
  deity, for blue is the heavenly color.
• Note his apparent line of reasoning. Blue is the
  color of the sky. Another term for the sky is the
  heavens. Jesus came from heaven. Blue must refer
  to His heavenly origin.
• Now this is not far off, but its not on tar