Interpretation

Accurate interpretation does not exist outside of context.

Even in everyday conversation, we use context to understand what someone means by what they say. For example, the word “trunk” can signify an elephant, a suitcase, or a swimsuit. The context of the sentence and story, used before and after the word "trunk," would clarify if someone is opening the trunk of a car or going swimming. Likewise, we use the text of Scripture to interpret words, verses, and larger passages and ideas. Taking a verse out of context can lead us to interpret it incorrectly, and believe something about God that He never said, and that is untrue.

OVERARCHING CONTEXT
Crucial to all Bible study is the overarching context and story of Scripture - God in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, and creating a people for His own glory. The Bible is a book about God, and we must start with Him in any verse or passage we study. All of Scripture orchestrates the grand narrative of Creation - Fall - Redemption - Restoration/Re-creation.

In addition to reading all of Scripture with God at the center, we must consider the original audiences of the text. God spoke through over 40 people who were writing in a specific time and location for specific people. While chariots of iron or the parable of the sower may sound foreign to modern ears, how would the original audience have heard these details? Instead of discounting portions of Scripture that fall strangely on modern ears, consider who first heard these words, and remember that God gave His written word for all people in all places at all times. When you're tempted to dismiss, dig deeper.

IMMEDIATE CONTEXT
Beyond the overarching context of Scripture, use the immediate context - the surrounding verses and chapters - to understand what the author is talking about. Consider Psalm 46:5:

5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns."

If you only read this verse, you may assume that God is talking about a woman and quickly apply the verse to yourself or an individual having a stressful day. However, by simply reading the verse before, we gain helpful context that interprets who the "her" is:

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High.

5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.

Notice that by observing a key "who" in these verses, we learn that the "her" is referring to one's self to the corporate people and city of God. The text says something different than it may have seemed at first glance, and thus means something different as well. Instead of interpreting the verse as a personal promise from God to an individual, we notice that the psalmist moves the scope outside of one's self to the corporate people and city of God. Observing the rest of the chapter would provide even further context and application.

SURROUNDING CONTEXT
In addition, consider the surrounding context of the book of the Bible the passage is situated

in. For instance, many places of Scripture talk about "the world" or "light and darkness." However, how does the gospel of John define these words, versus Genesis? Topical study is very helpful, but God ultimately organized the content of Scripture in coherent letters, books, and narratives. Understanding how words, verses, and passages fit into the larger book is incredibly enlightening when it comes to interpretation.

LITERARY CONTEXT
Additionally, consider the literary context of a book - are you reading poetry or history? Prophecy or a letter? The Old Testament is divided into History, Poetry/Wisdom Literature, and Prophecy. The New Testament is divided into History, Letters, and Prophecy. We would read a letter from a friend differently than we would read a history book, and rightly so. Understanding what kind of text we are approaching makes a significant difference in how we interpret the meaning of the original author.

Scripture interprets Scripture, and never contradicts itself.

God interprets Scripture through Scripture itself. Therefore, we use other portions of Scripture to gain further understanding of the verse or passage we are studying. Cross references are especially helpful when doing topical studies (i.e. - what does the Bible say about forgiveness across all of the Old and New Testaments?) and when trying to discern the significance or meaning of a portion of Scripture. Instead of inserting our own options or presumptions about why or how something happened, we first turn to the Bible as our primary source to see if God tells us more. If He does not, we do not insert our own reasoning but trust that He has given us all we need to know.

For example, in Genesis 4 we read the historical narrative of Cain killing Abel.

However, God does not tell us why Cain murdered his brother in this passage, or why Abel's sacrifice was accepted. Instead of assuming reasons for these events, we turn to Hebrews 11:4 and 1 John 3:12. Observe these verses; why was Abel's sacrifice better? Why did Cain slay his brother?

Hebrews 11:4
By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.

1 John 3:12
not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.

From these cross references, we learn that Abel offered his sacrifice in faith and was counted righteous. Cain, on the other hand, was of the evil one and slew his brother because his own deeds were evil. This murder was no mere act of jealousy. Instead, Cain who was of the evil one killed Abel who was righteous by faith.

Study tools such as Bible Gateway, Blue Letter Bible, and Bible Hub offer tools to search words and concepts across the entire Bible. In addition, many inductive studies will include cross references throughout the study to aid in the process of interpretation. Many Bibles, such as the New Inductive Study Bible, include cross references phrase-by-phrase to assist your personal study.

Word studies allow the reader to understand the author's original meaning of the word.

Word studies shed light into the meaning of the text because they show us what a word meant in the original Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic that Scripture was written in. Because these original languages are so complex, and because many Bible students are not proficient in these languages, word studies should be done with care, and entire theologies should not be built around the meaning of one word. Rather, using observation, context, and cross references, the reader can use word studies to further understand a nuance in the meaning of text or more fully comprehend how the original audience would have heard the word. For example, note the word "adequate" in the NASB version of 2 Timothy 3:16-17:

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

To modern ears, the word "adequate" may signify competence or a sense of being "good enough." However, a quick Greek word search on "adequate" shows that it means to be complete. This helps us understand that all Scripture enables the man of God to be complete, ready for every good work instead of "good enough."

To do a word study, follow this link and adjust the Scripture at the top to the correct verse. BibleHub will automatically search when you adjust to the correct book, chapter, and verse. Once it updates, click the number above the word you are looking up and use the first several definitions to gain further insight into the word. Blue Letter Bible is also a helpful search tool for Hebrew and Greek word studies.