How to Read the Bible for All Its

How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth By Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart

Chapter 1: Introduction The Need to Interpret • Why Interpret the Bible? Just obey what it says! – “Do everything without grumbling or arguing” (Php 2: 14) – Interpretation is not a matter of being “unique” – The aim of interpretation: To get at the “plain meaning” of the text, yet this is not as simple as it may seem • Requires analyzing the nature of the reader and the nature of the text • The Reader as an Interpreter – Readers bring their own understanding through which they interpret • A modern reader’s understanding of the word “flesh” (Ro 13: 14 NKJV) • Biblical scholars differ regarding baptism, speaking in tongues, et al. • Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Appalachians, Health and Wealth gospel (3 Jn 2)

Chapter 1: Introduction The Need to Interpret • The Nature of Scripture – – – The Bible is both human and divine Not just a human book like the works of Cicero and Milton Not just a list of “the sayings of Chairman God” We should see its eternal relevance and historical particularity God uses nearly all forms of human communication • narrative history, genealogies, chronicles, laws of all kinds, poetry of all kinds, proverbs, prophetic oracles, riddles, drama, biographical sketches, parables, letters, sermons, and apocalypses – God’s word is expressed in a particular vocabulary and conditioned by the cultural context into which it was spoken – God’s word to us is first of all God’s word to the original hearers – To interpret God’s word accurately requires both Exegesis (then and there) and Hermeneutics (here and now)

Chapter 1: Introduction The Need to Interpret • The First Task: Exegesis – The careful, systematic study of Scripture to understand its original meaning – This should be the first step in studying any text – When consulting “experts” is necessary, choose good ones • The camel going through the eye of a needle • Learning to do Exegesis – Read carefully and ask the right questions of the text • The Historical Context – Time and culture of author and readers – The occasion and purpose of each Biblical book • The Literary Context – Understand words in their sentences, sentences in paragraphs

Chapter 1: Introduction The Need to Interpret • The Questions of Content – Meaning of words, grammatical relationships – Consulting a commentary is the last thing you should do (28) • The Tools – A good translation, Bible dictionary, commentary • The Second Task: Hermeneutics – Controlled by good Exegesis (3 Jn 2) – This is the emphasis of the rest of the book

Chapter 2: The Basic Tool: A Good Translation • We read the Bible in English, which has been translated from Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek • Translations differ, sometimes considerably in terms of meaning – As an example, consider 1 Corinthians 7: 36 • NKJV—”If any man thinks he is behaving improperly toward his virgin” • NASB/U—”If any man thinks he is acting unbecomingly toward his virgin daughter” • TNIV—”If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to” • NEB—”If a man has a partner in celibacy and feels that he is not behaving properly toward her” – Use one major translation for consistency and refer to several others for study – To make the best choice we should know something of the science of translation

Chapter 2: The Basic Tool: A Good Translation • The Science of Translation – Translators make two choices: • textual (actual wording of the original text) • linguistic (one’s theory of translation) • The Question of Text – – – Translators want to use the oldest, most reliable text No “original” exists for any book of the Bible What exists are thousands of copies produced by hand Not all of the copies are exactly alike Textual criticism attempts to discover the original meaning of the original text • 1 Corinthians 13: 3—changing one letter in the original Greek word “hardship” or “flames” – KJV was translated from latter manuscripts and contains more textual variants than others – The authors do not recommend the KJV or the NKJV for study • The Questions of Language – Original language, receptor language, and historical distance – Formal equivalence, functional equivalence, free translation – Theory of translation: Where does the emphasis lie?

Chapter 2: The Basic Tool: A Good Translation Formal Equivalence (Literal) Functional Equivalence (Dynamic) 1. KJV NASB RSV 2. NKJV NASU NRSV ESV 1. NIV NAB GNB 2. TNIV NJB REB FREE: NEB, LB, Message JB NLT

Chapter 2: The Basic Tool: A Good Translation • Some Problem Areas – Weights, Measures, Money – Euphemisms – Vocabulary – Wordplays – Grammar and Syntax – Matters of Gender • On Choosing a Translation

Chapter 3: The Epistles: Learning to Think Contextually • The rest of the book discusses various Biblical genres and how to interpret accordingly • The Nature of the Epistles – All the New Testament except the Gospels, Acts, Rev – Epistles vs. Letters – Six part form: writer, recipient, greeting, prayer, body, end – Occasional documents, first century period – Not theological treatises or summaries of Peter and Paul – Task theology

Chapter 3: The Epistles: Learning to Think Contextually • The Historical Context – – What was going on that led Paul to write? How did he learn of their situation? What relationship do they have? What attitudes are reflected by him and them? • Find out as much as possible about Corinth and its people (It was young, cosmopolitan, wealthy, artistic, religious) • Read (aloud) the whole letter through in one sitting • After reconstructing the problem and understanding the context, then make an outline of the letter based on its contents

Chapter 3: The Epistles: Learning to Think Contextually • Further research the precise nature or each of the problems mentioned in the letter • The problem of divisions in the church (1 -4) – – Read chapters 1 -4 twice, in different versions Identify recipients and problem as precisely as possible Note especially key words and repeated phrases Discover source of conflict between Paul and philosophers and between the gospel and human wisdom • The Literary Context – Trace the argument in 1: 10 -4: 21 paragraph by paragraph and summarize the logical development in sentences – Paul corrects both their understanding of the gospel and of Christian leaders and points them to God himself • One More Time (Applies a similar approach to Philippians 1: 27 -2: 18) • The Problem Passages

Chapter 4: The Epistles: The Hermeneutical Questions • • • How does the exegesis apply to us? This is what the hermeneutic approach tries to make clear The biggest hermeneutical challenge is to distinguish what is culturally relative and what is eternally valid Our Common Hermeneutics – We do this automatically (carry my cloak; join in suffering) • The Basic Rule – A text cannot mean what it never could have meant to its author or his or her readers • The Second Rule – Whenever we share common particulars with the first-century hearers, God’s word to us is the same as his word to them • The Problem of Extended Application – Applications beyond what is immediate can easily become mere interpretative opinions • The Problem of Particulars that Are not Comparable – Discern the principle from the particulars – Apply the principle to genuinely comparable situations • • The Problem of Cultural Relativity The Problem of Task Theology