Read the text with an open mind.
Come willing to learn, your attitude that of the boy Samuel: “Speak, for your servant is listening” (1 Sam 3:10, NIV). We must not seek to read our ideas into the text, which is called “eisegesis.” Exegesis, to the contrary, means to bring the meaning from the text. Seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance to discover not only its meaning but also its applicability to our life today.
Ensure a correct text.
How can we determine what a text says when Bible versions themselves differ on what the original language means? Further, the translation that sounds best to you may not be the most accurate. I would suggest that you (1) compare good translations, which often complement one another; and (2) recognize that no translation can capture every nuance of the original text..."
Seek to understand each word in the text.
Words are the smallest unit of a sentence. Their meaning cannot be determined only on the basis of etymology; context may be definitive. What do we do when a word is used only once in the Bible? For example, sabbatismos in Hebrews 4:9. We turn to extra-biblical literature. There studies show that the term consistently denotes literal seventh-day Sabbathkeeping. Thus the correct translation of the Hebrews passage is: A seventh-day Sabbathkeeping has been left behind for the people of God." ..."
Determine the literary nature of a word or phrase.
Words in the Bible, as in modern literature, are often used symbolically, metaphorically, or typologically. For example, the phrase "Horn of salvation" or "horn of my salvation" (2 Sam. 22:3; Luke 1:69) is a metaphor used to characterize God as a "Great Saviour." The metaphor derives from the horns of animals that connoted strength and power (Ps. 132:17; Jer. 48:25)...."
Seek to understand the whole sentence.
To interpret a sentence, we must consider its grammatical and syntactical construction. Grammatically, one needs to define the subject, the tense of the verb, the object of the sentence; syntactically, the relationship of words to one another. The syntax of a verb pays attention to the tense, the voice, the stem, and so on. In interpreting poetry we must remember the correspondence of thought in successive lines, known as parallelism. The basic thought may be repeated, contrasted (Ps. 59:1), or paralleled (Ps. 55:6). The parallelism may be within lines and between lines...."
Seek to understand the unit.
A text's meaning often is clarified by the theme of the unit, which may consist of one or more paragraphs. A good example of interpreting a text in the light of its larger unit is Romans 6:14, perhaps the most frequently quoted Pauline text to prove that Christians have been released from observance of the law. The text reads: "For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under the law but under grace" (NRSV). The common interpretation of this text is that Christians are no longer under the Mosaic law as a rule of conduct because their moral values derive from the principle of love revealed by Christ.
The problem with this popular misinterpretation is that it ignores the immediate and larger context of the text, in which Paul contrasts the dominion of sin with the power of God's grace. "Under law" simply means that Christians are no longer under the dominion of sin and, consequently, under the condemnation of the Law. The grace of Christ has liberated them from both. Paul goes on to say that believers should not transgress the Law simply because God's grace has "set [them] free from sin" (Rom. 6:18, NRSV). It is only the sinful mind that "does not submit to God's Law" (Rom. 8:7). Christians, on the other hand, have the mind of the Spirit, who enables them to fulfill "the just requirement of the law" (Rom. 8:4), the moral principles of which still govern them. Thanks to God's grace, believers become obedient from the heart to the teachings (Rom. 6:17).
Determine if the unit is descriptive or prescriptive.
The Bible teaches us principles explicitly through positive commands and implicitly through positive and negative stories. Thus we must determine whether a passage is descriptive of what people did or prescriptive of what God wanted them to do. A good example is the story of Noah becoming drunk (Gen 9:20-24). Does this incident teach that God approves of the use of alcoholic beverages or demonstrate the negative consequences of drinking them? This descriptive passage teaches us that drinking weakens the moral sensitivity of even good people.
Discover the historical and situational context of the passage.
Since the books of the Bible originated in a historical context, they can be understood only in the light of that context. A good example is Jesus’ offer of living water made in the context of the drama of the water-drawing ceremony that took place at the Feast of Tabernacles. “On the last day of the feast [of Tabernacles], the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me, drink. As the Scripture has said “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water”’” (John 7:37, 38, NRSV)....
Consider the theological meaning.
After understanding the passage grammatically and historically, we must understand it theologically, remembering that no part of the Bible was written in a theological vacuum. On the contrary, each passage contributes to understanding the progressive revelation God has given, and each must be placed in the context of a developing theology...."
Compare Scripture with Scripture.
After examining the text in its immediate and larger context, the next step is to compare it with the entire testimony of Scripture on a particular topic. Biblical doctrines must not be developed out of isolated statements. And we must remember that God's revelation is progressive. For example, in the Old Testament we find only hints of the doctrine of the Trinity. Thus any Old Testament text suggesting plurality or unity of the Godhead must be interpreted in the light of the fuller revelation of the New Testament.
A number of issues troubling the Adventist Church might be closer to resolution if this basic principle of interpretation were followed. Among them: the ordination of women, which in some forums has had only a cursory examination. Whatever the conclusion, we would be closer to fulfilling God's creation design for the harmonious functioning of humanity. And such issues as the one I spent my Sabbath afternoon examining would surely be eliminated as worthy of lengthy scrutiny. Particularly we could expect end-time scenarios based on futurist assumptions to be readily discarded.
Seek to harmonize apparent contradictions.
...the Bible contains numerous apparent contradictions. The proper method of biblical interpretation insists that we seek to understand them, not by fabricating artificial harmonizations but by seeking rational resolutions. God, we should recall, is a God of sense rather than nonsense. ..start with the following apparent contradictions in Paul's statements about the law. He says: The law is good and has been fulfilled in Christ and also that it is bad and has been abolished in Christ (see Ephesians 2:15 and Romans 3:31). In Romans 7:6 he says "we are discharged from the law" (NRSV), but a few verses later writes that "the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good" (7:12). In Romans 3:28 he maintains that a person is "justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law," yet in 1 Corinthians 7:19 he says that neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but obeying the commandments of God.
How can Paul view the law both as "abolished" (Eph. 2:15) and established (Rom. 3:31); unnecessary (Rom. 3:28) and necessary (1 Cor. 7:19); Eph. 6:2, 3; 1 Tim. 1:8-10)..."
Distinguish between the principle and its cultural application.
Principles are permanent; the cultural application can vary in different cultures. A good example is the Sabbath commandment, which contains both a principle and a cultural application. The principle is: "Every human being has the right to rest on the Sabbath." In Bible times the cultural application required that servants, strangers, and even the cattle also were to rest.
Allow Bible scholars to evaluate your interpretation.
...far too many Christians are propagating new "truths" that have not been evaluated by scholars in their church. We must remember that the task of biblical interpretation belongs not only to the individual Christian but also to the church at large. This corporate principle demands that we be sensitive to what competent fellow believers have to say about our interpretation of Scripture....."
Don't expect interpreting the Bible to be easy.
If it were, we would not be plagued by so many conflicting interpretations espoused by hundreds of denominations and scores of individuals within the Adventist Church itself. Discerning truth requires an open mind, receptiveness to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, self-discipline, and willingness to master history, archaeology, culture, grammar, and language skills. But the effort is rewarding. It enables us to come to come to a fuller understanding and experience of biblical truths. The Bible is God's revelation of His will. We dare not abuse this gift by forcing our preconceived ideas onto the Bible or by shoddy scholarship misinterpreting the ideas we draw from it....excerpts from Avoid Twisting Scripture by SAMUELE BACCHIOCCHI, Ph.D.
Come willing to learn, your attitude that of the boy Samuel: “Speak, for your servant is listening” (1 Sam 3:10, NIV). We must not seek to read our ideas into the text, which is called “eisegesis.” Exegesis, to the contrary, means to bring the meaning from the text. Seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance to discover not only its meaning but also its applicability to our life today.
Ensure a correct text.
How can we determine what a text says when Bible versions themselves differ on what the original language means? Further, the translation that sounds best to you may not be the most accurate. I would suggest that you (1) compare good translations, which often complement one another; and (2) recognize that no translation can capture every nuance of the original text..."
Seek to understand each word in the text.
Words are the smallest unit of a sentence. Their meaning cannot be determined only on the basis of etymology; context may be definitive. What do we do when a word is used only once in the Bible? For example, sabbatismos in Hebrews 4:9. We turn to extra-biblical literature. There studies show that the term consistently denotes literal seventh-day Sabbathkeeping. Thus the correct translation of the Hebrews passage is: A seventh-day Sabbathkeeping has been left behind for the people of God." ..."
Determine the literary nature of a word or phrase.
Words in the Bible, as in modern literature, are often used symbolically, metaphorically, or typologically. For example, the phrase "Horn of salvation" or "horn of my salvation" (2 Sam. 22:3; Luke 1:69) is a metaphor used to characterize God as a "Great Saviour." The metaphor derives from the horns of animals that connoted strength and power (Ps. 132:17; Jer. 48:25)...."
Seek to understand the whole sentence.
To interpret a sentence, we must consider its grammatical and syntactical construction. Grammatically, one needs to define the subject, the tense of the verb, the object of the sentence; syntactically, the relationship of words to one another. The syntax of a verb pays attention to the tense, the voice, the stem, and so on. In interpreting poetry we must remember the correspondence of thought in successive lines, known as parallelism. The basic thought may be repeated, contrasted (Ps. 59:1), or paralleled (Ps. 55:6). The parallelism may be within lines and between lines...."
Seek to understand the unit.
A text's meaning often is clarified by the theme of the unit, which may consist of one or more paragraphs. A good example of interpreting a text in the light of its larger unit is Romans 6:14, perhaps the most frequently quoted Pauline text to prove that Christians have been released from observance of the law. The text reads: "For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under the law but under grace" (NRSV). The common interpretation of this text is that Christians are no longer under the Mosaic law as a rule of conduct because their moral values derive from the principle of love revealed by Christ.
The problem with this popular misinterpretation is that it ignores the immediate and larger context of the text, in which Paul contrasts the dominion of sin with the power of God's grace. "Under law" simply means that Christians are no longer under the dominion of sin and, consequently, under the condemnation of the Law. The grace of Christ has liberated them from both. Paul goes on to say that believers should not transgress the Law simply because God's grace has "set [them] free from sin" (Rom. 6:18, NRSV). It is only the sinful mind that "does not submit to God's Law" (Rom. 8:7). Christians, on the other hand, have the mind of the Spirit, who enables them to fulfill "the just requirement of the law" (Rom. 8:4), the moral principles of which still govern them. Thanks to God's grace, believers become obedient from the heart to the teachings (Rom. 6:17).
Determine if the unit is descriptive or prescriptive.
The Bible teaches us principles explicitly through positive commands and implicitly through positive and negative stories. Thus we must determine whether a passage is descriptive of what people did or prescriptive of what God wanted them to do. A good example is the story of Noah becoming drunk (Gen 9:20-24). Does this incident teach that God approves of the use of alcoholic beverages or demonstrate the negative consequences of drinking them? This descriptive passage teaches us that drinking weakens the moral sensitivity of even good people.
Discover the historical and situational context of the passage.
Since the books of the Bible originated in a historical context, they can be understood only in the light of that context. A good example is Jesus’ offer of living water made in the context of the drama of the water-drawing ceremony that took place at the Feast of Tabernacles. “On the last day of the feast [of Tabernacles], the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me, drink. As the Scripture has said “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water”’” (John 7:37, 38, NRSV)....
Consider the theological meaning.
After understanding the passage grammatically and historically, we must understand it theologically, remembering that no part of the Bible was written in a theological vacuum. On the contrary, each passage contributes to understanding the progressive revelation God has given, and each must be placed in the context of a developing theology...."
Compare Scripture with Scripture.
After examining the text in its immediate and larger context, the next step is to compare it with the entire testimony of Scripture on a particular topic. Biblical doctrines must not be developed out of isolated statements. And we must remember that God's revelation is progressive. For example, in the Old Testament we find only hints of the doctrine of the Trinity. Thus any Old Testament text suggesting plurality or unity of the Godhead must be interpreted in the light of the fuller revelation of the New Testament.
A number of issues troubling the Adventist Church might be closer to resolution if this basic principle of interpretation were followed. Among them: the ordination of women, which in some forums has had only a cursory examination. Whatever the conclusion, we would be closer to fulfilling God's creation design for the harmonious functioning of humanity. And such issues as the one I spent my Sabbath afternoon examining would surely be eliminated as worthy of lengthy scrutiny. Particularly we could expect end-time scenarios based on futurist assumptions to be readily discarded.
Seek to harmonize apparent contradictions.
...the Bible contains numerous apparent contradictions. The proper method of biblical interpretation insists that we seek to understand them, not by fabricating artificial harmonizations but by seeking rational resolutions. God, we should recall, is a God of sense rather than nonsense. ..start with the following apparent contradictions in Paul's statements about the law. He says: The law is good and has been fulfilled in Christ and also that it is bad and has been abolished in Christ (see Ephesians 2:15 and Romans 3:31). In Romans 7:6 he says "we are discharged from the law" (NRSV), but a few verses later writes that "the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good" (7:12). In Romans 3:28 he maintains that a person is "justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law," yet in 1 Corinthians 7:19 he says that neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but obeying the commandments of God.
How can Paul view the law both as "abolished" (Eph. 2:15) and established (Rom. 3:31); unnecessary (Rom. 3:28) and necessary (1 Cor. 7:19); Eph. 6:2, 3; 1 Tim. 1:8-10)..."
Distinguish between the principle and its cultural application.
Principles are permanent; the cultural application can vary in different cultures. A good example is the Sabbath commandment, which contains both a principle and a cultural application. The principle is: "Every human being has the right to rest on the Sabbath." In Bible times the cultural application required that servants, strangers, and even the cattle also were to rest.
Allow Bible scholars to evaluate your interpretation.
...far too many Christians are propagating new "truths" that have not been evaluated by scholars in their church. We must remember that the task of biblical interpretation belongs not only to the individual Christian but also to the church at large. This corporate principle demands that we be sensitive to what competent fellow believers have to say about our interpretation of Scripture....."
Don't expect interpreting the Bible to be easy.
If it were, we would not be plagued by so many conflicting interpretations espoused by hundreds of denominations and scores of individuals within the Adventist Church itself. Discerning truth requires an open mind, receptiveness to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, self-discipline, and willingness to master history, archaeology, culture, grammar, and language skills. But the effort is rewarding. It enables us to come to come to a fuller understanding and experience of biblical truths. The Bible is God's revelation of His will. We dare not abuse this gift by forcing our preconceived ideas onto the Bible or by shoddy scholarship misinterpreting the ideas we draw from it....excerpts from Avoid Twisting Scripture by SAMUELE BACCHIOCCHI, Ph.D.
