Matt Bennett » interpretation http://mattbennett.ca Passionately Pursuing Truth Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:07:07 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Interpreting Old Testament Narratives http://mattbennett.ca/interpreting-old-testament-narratives/ http://mattbennett.ca/interpreting-old-testament-narratives/#comments Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:28:36 +0000 Matt http://mattbennett.ca/?p=275 How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth

Here are ten principles to assist in properly interpreting Old Testament narratives. These are taken from How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth.

  • An Old Testament narrative usually does not directly teach a doctrine.
  • An Old Testament narrative usually illustrates a doctrine or doctrines taught propositionally elsewhere.
  • Narratives record what happened – not necessarily what should have happened or what ought to happen every time. Therefore, not every narrative has an individual identifiable moral application.
  • What people do in narratives is not necessarily a good example for us. Frequently, it is just the opposite.
  • Most of the characters in the Old Testament narratives are far from perfect – as are their actions as well.
  • We are not always told at the end of a narrative whether what happened was good or bas. We are expected to be able to judge this on the basis of what God has taught us directly and categorically elsewhere in Scripture.
  • All narratives are selective and incomplete. Not all the relevant details are always given (cf. John 21:25). What does appear in the narrative is everything that the inspired author thought important for us to know.
  • Narratives are not written to answer all of our theological questions. They have particular, specific, limited purposes and deal with certain issues, leaving others to be dealt with elsewhere in other ways. 
  • Narratives may teach either explicitly (by clearly stating something) or implicitly (by clearly implying something without actually stating it).
  • In the final analysis, God is the Hero of all Biblical narratives.
]]> http://mattbennett.ca/interpreting-old-testament-narratives/feed/ 0 10 Tips from Grudem on Bible Interpretation http://mattbennett.ca/10-tips-from-grudem-on-bible-interpretation/ http://mattbennett.ca/10-tips-from-grudem-on-bible-interpretation/#comments Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:07:48 +0000 Matt http://mattbennett.ca/?p=271 Grudem’s chapter in Preach the Word offers some helpful reminders on correctly interpreting the Scripture.

  1. Spend your earliest and best time reading the text of the Bible itself.
  2. The interpretation of Scripture is not a magical or mysterious process, because Scripture was written in the ordinary language of the day.
  3. Every interpreter has only four sources of information about the text: 
    1. The meanings of individual words and sentences
    2. the place of the statement in its context
    3. the overall teaching of Scripture
    4. some information about the historical and cultural background.
  4. Look for reasons rather than mere opinions to give support to an interpretation, and use reasons rather than mere opinions to attempt to persuade others.
  5. There is only one meaning for each text (though there are many applications).
  6. Notice the kind of literature in which the verse is found.
  7. Notice whether the text approves or disapproves or merely reports a person’s actions.
  8. Be careful not to generalize specific statements and apply them to fundamentally different situations.
  9. It is possible to do a short or long study of any passage. Do what you can with the time you have, and don’t be discouraged about all that you cannot do.
  10. Pray regularly for the Holy Spirit’s help in the whole process of interpreting the Bible.
Grudem goes on to encourage his readers to keep the “big picture” in mind with 6 other reflections.
  1. The Bible is a historical document. Therefore, always ask, “What did the author want the original readers to understand by this statement?”
  2. The original authors wanted the original readers to respond in some way. Therefore always ask, “What application did the original author want the readers to make to their lives?”
  3. The whole Bible is about God! Therefore we should always ask, “What does the text tell us about God?”
  4. The center of the whole Bible is Jesus Christ. The entire Old Testament leads up to him and points to him, and the entire New Testament flows from him. Therefore, we should always ask, “What does this text tell us about the greatness of Christ?”
  5. All history can be divided into several major “ages” or “epochs” in salvation history. Therefore, we should read every passage of the Bible with a salvation history timeline in our minds and constantly remember where every passage fits on the timeline.
  6. Themes: Because the Bible is a unity (it has one divine Author though many human authors), there are many themes that develop and grow from Genesis to Revelation. Therefore, for each significant element in any text, it is helpful to ask, (a) Where did this theme start in the Bible? (b) How did this theme develop through the Bible? and (c) Where is this theme going to end in the Bible?
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