Basics of Bible Interpretation - RayStedman.org

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Communicating through Symbols Languages are basically symbolic, whether spoken or written, and if one does not have an understanding of how the symbols are employed to communicate thoughts and concepts, there is no communication. If you have ever visited a foreign country where you did not understand the language, this fact comes home to you with a bit of a shock. All communication in human language is based on a common understanding of the symbols used, and includes a mutual understanding of words in their meaning and also in their grammatical relationships. In familiar surroundings and in a familiar tongue, we ordinarily take this common information for granted and never consciously apply the rules that govern our expression. Most of us who studied English grammar thought it was a bore and tried to forget it as soon as we passed the course. Nevertheless, all our communication in English is based on this foundational content. But if we seriously study the English Bible with any confidence that God is speaking through it in verbally-inspired tones, we had better pay conscious attention to language in its detailed use of words, sentences, paragraphs, idioms, grammatical structure, and all. For those of you who feel the need of a quickie refresher course on English grammar, Appendix A in the back of the book will be of interest. We need to remember that originally the Bible was not written in English but in Hebrew and Greek. What we are reading today are simply translations into English. In this connection, we must also recognize that each language has its peculiar word usage and grammar, and that knowledge of these peculiarities will enhance our understanding of the text. We should also recognize that languages are living, growing things—constantly changing with changes in usage. Words start with a root meaning, are adapted to various derived meanings, and sometimes end up expressing the very opposite of their original content. We can see that the Bible interpreter’s task is complicated by these facts: (1) the Bible was recorded centuries ago in what are now ancient languages; (2) most of us don’t read it in its original language; and, (3) it was delivered to people with widely different cultural backgrounds from ours. Thus, we must be careful to hear the word in its cultural and temporal setting: yet its truth transcends all temporal, racial, language, and cultural boundaries. Some Encouraging Words In case you’re getting discouraged, let me hasten to add that there is ample source material in English for you to delve into the Hebrew language without knowing Hebrew, and the Greek language without knowing Greek. How does that strike you? To me it adds an additional element of intrigue, and encourages me to be a good word detective. It’s amazing what one can discover with a little bit of diligent research. Which Version? People often wonder which English translation of the Bible they should use, and they are troubled by the multiplicity of versions available today. I’d like to suggest that this is not a problem, but a blessing. Each translation represents untold hours of careful scholarship through which the translators endeavored to carry over the best sense of the original language. No translation is a perfect expression of the original, simply because there are often no word-forword equivalents in the two languages. That’s why biblical scholars study Hebrew and Greek, plus a number of related languages, to get as close as possible to the original intent. All of the scholarly translations, however, are sufficiently accurate to be trusted to give us an understanding of the truth. So, whether you choose to study the New American Standard Basics Of Bible Interpretation – page 16
Version, the Revised Standard Bible (NASB), the New International Version (NIV), or the older King James Version (KJV), you can hear God speak to you through any of them. The most practical way to resolve a problem in the English text is to compare translations when in doubt, even utilizing the paraphrases, such as Phillips’ New Testament, The Living Bible, and The Message by Eugene Peterson. When using these, however, it is wise to rest your confidence more heavily on the standard versions. In my opinion, the Phillips translation has stayed much closer to the original language than The Living Bible, but either paraphrase is useful if you are careful to compare and weigh the different renderings. Basics Of Bible Interpretation – page 17
Page 1 and 2: Basics of Bible Interpretation W O
Page 3 and 4: Basics of Bible Interpretation WORD
Page 5 and 6: Contents Introduction .............
Page 7 and 8: Introduction I hope that this book
Page 9 and 10: Phase 1 Back to Basics Basics Of Bi
Page 11 and 12: Notice, in the same way God blesses
Page 13 and 14: 2 Is Anybody Listening? God still
Page 15: easily explain our lack of agreemen
Page 19 and 20: But at the third paragraph I was di
Page 21 and 22: commentary; or a concordance. But h
Page 23 and 24: 4 Interpretive Principles So you h
Page 25 and 26: may write his thoughts. If we can u
Page 27 and 28: What CHRIST said…in the Upper Roo
Page 29 and 30: The Problem: Failing to respond to
Page 31 and 32: …Jesus our Lord…was put to deat
Page 33 and 34: And when we read “God came down
Page 35 and 36: 5 The Interpretive Process Four ma
Page 37 and 38: Let’s Try It! For example, our Lo
Page 39 and 40: of ministry this verse represents i
Page 41 and 42: approach to Bible study. It has uni
Page 43 and 44: Jesus, the Messiah ‣ The Anticipa
Page 45 and 46: B. THE EPISTLES The Explanation of
Page 47 and 48: But regarding Ammon, the entrenched
Page 49 and 50: The Microscopic View Now we come to
Page 51 and 52: DISCOVERING GOD’S TRUTH Step 3 Ge
Page 53 and 54: Now choose a single verse of script
Page 55 and 56: DISCOVERING GOD’S TRUTH - STEP 2
Page 63 and 64: f. In relation to worldlings 4:5, 6
Page 65 and 66: the flesh, to gratify its desires,
Page 67 and 68:
Verse 25 of Chapter 3, I decided, g
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7 Figures of Speech One of the mos
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Metaphor By contrast, a metaphor is
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Apostrophe This is a strange but gr
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In his Notes on the Miracles and Pa
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It is clear that our Lord intends a
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things of a loving Father’s house
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9 Allegories and Types A considera
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3. It is illustrative and explanato
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types—to make an unforgettable im
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point of analogy? Is each Israelite
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Biblical Symbols and Types Rules fo
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10 The Greeks Had a Word for It Th
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so. However, there are other factor
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The Indicative Mood In English this
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Greek Conditional Clauses CLASS EXP
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Diagram of the Directive and Local
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I have found this chart so helpful
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old man and new man. This is mislea
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So I sense there is meaning in both
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the Old Testament; new meanings for
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Most translations take these verbs
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Behold, the day of the Lord comes,
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1) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordanc
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12 Getting It All Together Up to n
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E. How God Works vv. 8-10 1. By per
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14 Now, as many as are led by the S
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B. Our Conclusions 7:21-25 1. I fin
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The Last Word There are some who be
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Appendix A Basic Grammatical Data A
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2. Find relationships between units
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*Thompson’s Chain Reference Bible
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Wilgram, George, The Englishman’s
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Metzger, Bruce M., The New Testamen
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8. Verse 7 begins with the conjunct
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26. Paul is quoting a portion of an
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A Song of Confidence - Psalm 62 A.
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V. The keynote of Jehoshaphat’s p
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4. The Rest of Faith 5. His Priestl
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Chart 2. Setting Historical/ Cultur
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