Arguments abound over how we interpret (understand) the most important book of all time, the Bible. And, indeed, this is a real problem among all people who come in contact with what we call “The Word of God”. In this 2-part post, I’d like to share my own way of understanding God’s message to the world.
I call my interpretation method the “Plain Meaning” method. I’m not the first to call it this, and I couldn’t tell you who its major proponents are. Neither could I go into the history of it and all of that sort of geek fodder that really does nothing for our actual understanding of the Bible. I will say that this area of knowledge is called “hermeneutics”.
“Hermeneutics is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts.”
Wikipedia
We might say that following good hermeneutics is like following the law. But who determines which hermeneutical method is the right one?
Words have meaning. That’s pretty foundational to communication. If we all simply agree on what a word means and go with that it makes communication a lot simpler and more effective. Unfortunately, when we begin to run words together in sentences, paragraphs and books we start having problems catching what the person who strung those words together was actually trying to convey. Communication is not perfect when it comes from or involves imperfect humans.
One interesting thing about this book, called the Bible, is that it tells us that it comes from a perfect being, and that it too is perfect. It also tells us that it is the final authority in all things that it speaks of.
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
2 Timothy 3:16
When Paul wrote that message to Timothy, he was referring to the only scriptures at that time—the Old Testament. This is where I could launch into a study about the way that we received the Bible as we have it today, but that’s not where I’m going with this. All I’m saying right now is that we can trust the Bible if we don’t mess up the way that we interpret what it says. So let’s look into ways to interpret scripture and see how we can keep from going astray in the process.
Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.
2 Peter 1:20-21
Rules of Interpretation
Yep. There are rules for how we are to interpret words that we read. Not just while reading the Bible, but all the time. Authors are supposed to know these things and follow them too, that way we can all be on the same page (so to speak). Here is a quick list of 8 rules for interpretation:
- Definition
Sometimes we need to break out the Dictionary, Lexicon, or Concordance to see what a word actually means. And with the Bible, we may need to go back to the original Hebrew or Greek, or even the intermediary language between those and our own (like Latin). Not all translations use the same words for any given passage of text. In fact, that’s the point of having many versions to choose from. For the most part, though, they are all saying the same basic thing in one way or another. But be careful to investigate passages that are particularly important or tricky. If there seems to be some sort of inconsistency between passages, that’s a good time to dig deeper. - Usage
This is a major area where error creeps in (or breaks down the door). As we read, we need to be paying attention to the message by way of the literary devices used by the authors. And what are the literary devices (you may ask)? They are ways that a story teller makes the story more engaging for the recipient. The Bible is stuffed full of literary devices. So it is up to us to do a little study and know when an author is being literal (for example) or poetic (for another example).
Here’s a quick and dirty (undefined) list of 33 literary devices:
Metaphor, Simile, Imagery, Symbolism, Personification, Hyperbole, Irony, Juxtaposition, Allusion, Allegory, Ekphrasis, Anaphora, Conceit, Apostrophe, Metonymy/Synecdoche, Enjambment, Zeugma, Repetition, Rhyme, Alliteration, Consonance/Assonance, Euphony/Cacophony, Meter, Parallelism, Foil, Diction, Mood, Foreshadowing, In Media Res, Dramatic Irony, Vignette, Flashback, and Soliloquy.
You can look them up as you have time. I don’t know for sure, but you can probably find all of them being used in the Bible. I will bet that the most prevalent reason for interpretive discord is found in not clearly (properly) understanding or identifying the literary device used in any given passage.
- Context
A lot of confusion can be detoured by simply paying attention to the other words in the sentence or paragraph. What comes before and after a word has much to do with how we interpret that word. And not only that, but we must also take into account other messages from the same author to see how that author says things. And even further yet, since the Bible is a compilation of works from numerous authors, from numerous backgrounds, over a very long period of time, we need to make sure we understand what the entire Bible has to say about what we are reading (see Unity, below). Context is extremely important to factor in to your understanding of scripture. - Historical Background
Knowing the circumstances of the author at the time of his writing will help us to see where he was coming from. Although the biblical message transcends time and geography, society and culture, we must consider these things at the time of the author’s life (often) to get a clearer picture of how to apply the message to our own time and place. This isn’t always important, but sometimes it is. - Logic
Since God is a god of reason, order, and truth, we must believe that what we are reading is meant to be true, logical, and ordered. If something doesn’t make sense to us, we may need to dig a little deeper to logically think through the message. For instance, if an all-powerful Being can speak matter into existence, then, logically, He can enter into that matter that His created beings are made of and interact with them, as one of them. And in such a state, He can do all kinds of things that they cannot—like raise people from the dead, heal all kinds of ailments, command unseen spirits to do what He wants, and so forth. We call these things “miracles”. Miracles, for example, are logical in the context of Who God is and what He’s done. - Precedent
When a word or concept comes up in the Bible, we would do well to investigate how that word or concept has been used in prior and subsequent usage. Precedent, in this case, is really a search for consistency—which also touches on our next item, Unity. - Unity
Although the Bible was written by fallible men, they were all led along by the infallible God of all creation. Therefore, what we can expect to find—and actually do—is that the message from this Book will be consistent throughout its full length.
Of the 40-some authors who wrote the 66 books of our canonical Bible, very diverse individuals can be seen among their number. Slaves, kings, poppers, and the filthy rich, as well as all kinds of professions such as scribes, fishermen, shepherds, cupbearers, singers, and the unemployed are just some of those represented in the people who “authored” the Bible.
But since the Bible tells us that God is the true Author of the Bible’s message, we expect (and find) a unity in the pages that would be impossible if anything else were the case. It’s hard enough to establish unity among God’s followers in a single country at a single point in time, much less from the diversity of folks we see as those led along by the Holy Spirit in writing God’s Word. It’s partly the Unity of the Word that makes it stand out above the rest of literature in the world. Amazing. - Inference
When all of the above things come together, showing the logical essence of the text, its unity, its truthful handling of the material, we can come to the conclusion—the inference—that it is trustworthy. Inference is a necessary element in rightly handling the message of the Bible. With all of the factors being in place, which show its authenticity, we can and must infer (with all logical, moral, and ethical powers being employed) that the message is not only true, but is necessary and authoritative. This is why we APPLY the message to our lives. Inference is the logical conclusion of what we receive from a reliable source.
Plain Meaning
The hermeneutic that I employ, Plain Meaning, takes into consideration all of the literary devices (Metaphor, Simile, Imagery, Symbolism, Personification, Hyperbole, Irony, Juxtaposition…), the contextual ramifications (History, Geography, Society, the larger message of the Author…), and all of the rest of the things you just read about here.
If someone approaches the entire Bible with just one (or a only a few) of these literary or communicative approaches, they will leave with only a partial understanding of the text, or no understanding at all. At the core of any cult in America, for example, you will find use of an improper hermeneutic. In fact, the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are just silly with it. They each have so many examples of incorrect handling of the Bible that entire books have been written trying to corral them all together into a single work, respectively. And the same can be said of ANY religion that claims a method of restoring a right relationship with the Creator based on human effort.
Conclusion
Why do I go on so about these things? It’s because the Bible tells me how very important its message is. And since I believe that the Bible is true, and because the Lord has touched my heart with concern for my fellow man, I am relentless in attempting to help as many people as possible come to a full understanding of Who God is and what His message is. I care very little about nearly anything else, respectively.
Having the wrong idea about the message of God is tough enough without getting the wrong idea through something as simple as a misunderstanding. I mean, we should at least understand His message before we completely dismiss it. And understanding comes from using a competent hermeneutic. Let the Bible speak to you as it is written, without trying to force an interpretation that says what you WANT it to say. With God, ignorance is no excuse. And the stakes are way too high for us to not pay attention to His message.
When you read the Bible, please take the time to research what you think that it says. Observe the context (immediate and larger), the grammar (or literary style), and the logic of what it’s saying. But more importantly, infer (conclude) that God loves you and wants you to be with Him in paradise. He isn’t trying to trick you into submission for some nefarious, ulterior motive. He is very upfront and honest about the condition of your heart and His means to remedy it. And it doesn’t come through religious human effort. It comes by way of the Cross of Christ.
In His love,
Gary
To learn about some other models of biblical hermeneutics, you may continue on to page 2.
