Over the past 4 articles in the Top 6 Misquoted Bible Verses series, we have examined 4 religions, each claiming to have some basis in the Bible, and have seen 6 ways that each of these religions (or at least, their apologists) horribly abuse the Bible in an attempt to grant themselves legitimacy. Although each of these articles can be used as small apologetics guides against these false religions, my intention with this series, as I stated in the introduction, has been to refute the silly idea that the Bible is open to interpretation. As I showed, there is simply no reasonable way to fit these ideas into the Bible, either as a whole, or even into the supposed "proof texts" used.
Although each religion uses far more than just 6 "proof texts", I selected the ones I did with intention. Specifically, I wanted to use the ones that most backfired on the religion being used. Using the same methods, anyone can refute "proof texts" used by any religion claiming to be Christian. And what's interesting is that the same principles can be used even when it comes to religious texts that have nothing to do with the Bible. The simple reason for this is that the Bible is a book. It can, therefore, be read like a book.
Much like any book, it is entirely possible, especially lacking study, to misinterpret. And, much like any book, it is possible to twist, if indeed one is motivated (which, with the Bible, one is very likely to be motivated). But much like any book, there are some very simple rules that allow us to come to the correct interpretation, both independently, and as groups.
The practice of Biblical interpretation is called "hermeneutics", from the Greek "hermeneuo (ἑρμηνεύω), which literally means to translate or interpret. According to 2 Timothy 2:15, this is the job of all believers. We must "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." In other words, there's a right way, and a wrong way.
The wrong way, as presented in the introduction article, is eisegesis. If you're going to do eisegesis, you may as well not have a Bible, because you are no longer studying. Rather, you are making stuff up as you go along. If this is the game you want to play, go buy a note book, and rely on whatever nonsense you write in that as your authoritative Scripture. But what if you are a diligent workman, seeking to rightly divide the word of God?
Hermeneutics follows a few basic, simple, and, frankly, obvious rules, enabling us to understand what we are reading. In short, these rules are:
- The Literal Rule
- The Historical Rule
- The Grammatical Rule
- The Contextual Rule
- The Rule of Continuity
With the exception of the Rule of Continuity, most of these rules apply to literally any text you will ever read, including this very article.
The Literal Rule
The Literal Rule is not, as many people assume, the belief that every word in the Bible should be taken literally. Rather, it is that the Bible should be understood in its plainest sense. Every language has figures of speech, which we know is not supposed to be taken literally. Perhaps the most obvious, and indeed the example I most commonly use, is sunrise and sunset. In our scientifically literate culture, we know that the sun and moon are not literally in the sky, and it is in fact our planet which orbits the sun. We say "sunrise" simply because it is far more efficient than saying "the time when our planet is aligned in such a way as to allow us to see the sun past the horizon".
Thus, the Literal Rule compels us to take the Bible literally unless we have a compelling reason not to do so. We do not need to look for allegory, figures of speech, secret codes etc. If they're very clearly there, they are there, but if they're not there, it's just silly to force them.
The Historical Rule
The historical rule, as its name suggests, is the rule that the Bible must be understood within its historical context. As time goes on, a lot changes. Culture, events, dominant ideologies, political structures, even the language itself. This can cause confusion, especially when it comes to understanding a book that's over 2,000 years old. For example, if you don't know that to a first century Jew, any part of a day is counted as a "day and a night", you might be a bit confused as to how Jesus spent three days and nights in a tomb, yet somehow rose on the third day. Understanding this peculiarity, however, solves the apparent dilemma instantly.
With the Historical Rule in mind, we understand that we are not reading an English book from 2023, but a Hebrew book from between 2000 - 3,400 years ago. Therefore, we should not read modern English anachronisms back into it.
Interestingly, it is possible to read Biblical anachronisms into the Bible, too, such as when Jesus says we must take up our cross and follow Him. At that point in history, Jesus had not yet been crucified. Therefore, His immediate audience would not have understood it in light of His crucifixion. They would have understood it quite differently. Thus, we should too.
The Grammatical Rule
The Grammatical Rule recognises that the Bible was written in normal human language, and in particular, Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. Because language changes, this of course links with the Historical Rule. We can see this with older English translations. The KJV is the most popular English translation in the world, yet it is so "outdated" that even many English readers struggle with it. That is why, for example, we have confusion over exactly what the "unicorn" is. Today, a unicorn is a mythical, single-horned horse with magical powers, but in 1611, it basically meant rhino.
In a similar way, classical Hebrew is different from modern Hebrew, even having different grammatical rules. Classical Hebrew, for example, does not have past, present, and future tense, whereas modern Hebrew does. Classical Hebrew instead used perfect and imperfect, with the perfect being "certain", so much so that even future events can be described as past.
Tragically, since most people do not know the Biblical languages, this is the most easily abused hermeneutical rule, and many false teachers do abuse it, knowing how unlikely it is they can be immediately called out for it. It should be noted that regardless of whether or not one personally understands the original languages, Bible translators do. Thus, you can be fairly sure that when you read a translation, it is the same Bible as was read 2,000 years ago. This is especially the case if, as is the case in English, one is privileged with a number of translations for comparison.
The Contextual Rule
It is often said that "context is king", or "context is key", referring to this commonly repeated rule. Context, simply put, is the circumstances surrounding the verse in question, which can usually be found in the surrounding verses.
Luke 4:7 is a perfect example. This verse once became a viral meme on the topic of hermeneutics when it was seen featured on a calendar. Verse 6 alone tells us that it is Satan speaking in verse 7. Verses 1-5 show us that this is his second attempt to tempt Jesus. Verse 8 shows Jesus' response, basically telling the devil where to go. It is vital to read Luke 4:7 in light of Luke 4:1-13. Failure to do so results in failure to correctly understand Luke 4:7.
This is the reason behind a popular saying "never believe a Bible verse". It's not that you shouldn't believe a Bible verse because the verse is in any way untrue, but because you will never know the truth if you do not read enough of it. A generally good rule when trying to do so is called the 20/20 rule. Whenever you want to understand a verse, read 20 verses before it, and 20 verses after. This, of course, is not realistic with Psalm 117, which is only 2 verses long, and is more than clear enough in those two verses. Psalm 119, the longest chapter, also needs more of a read than just 41 verses. But generally speaking, 20 verses in either direction will reveal the full context of any Bible verse.
The Rule of Continuity
A somewhat unique rule of hermeneutics is that Scripture interprets Scripture. I say somewhat, as obviously, other books are also interpreted in light of other books in their canon. But Scripture in particular is a well-knitted, internally consistent web of interconnected truths. As we saw repeatedly throughout this series, some Scriptures give clarity to others, not by being 20 verses either side of a given "proof text", but even if they are in a completely different book. Hebrews can give context to Jeremiah. Peter can give context to Paul. John can give context to Moses.
This rule is particularly powerful, as it even rules out some interpretations that may be consistent with other rules. When we read Ecclesiastes, for example, we might be tempted to believe there is no afterlife. Although there are subtle allusions to the afterlife within Ecclesiastes, and the context thereof is to provide an Earth-bound view, the rest of Scripture clearly tells us there is an afterlife. Therefore, we can eliminate any and all interpretations that deny it.
Conclusion
All of these rules help us to fully understand even the most difficult Bible verses, showing us, first of all, that it is not an ambiguous ink-blot test, open to many thousands of different interpretations. But more importantly, a close study of the Bible helps us see that it can only be from God. Aside from being written by eyewitnesses, we see that it is intricately woven; written by men, whose personalities are left intact, but inspired by God, who ensured every stroke of their quill was fit for purpose. For 1400 years, more than 40 men from several backgrounds labored to bring God's truth to us, each of them telling us what they saw, and why they were even willing to die for these testimonies.
Perhaps the most compelling passage in Scripture is 2 Peter 1:19-21: "And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."
And so we see that although the Bible is just a book, and should be read just like a book, it is not just a book, nor is it to be just read like a book. This particular book is a gigantic love letter from none other than our glorious Creator, telling us everything we need to know in order to rightly relate to Him. It tells us our past, it tells us our present, it tells us our future, all with one goal: That we should be His people, and He should be our God. Therefore, this book is to be studied with all diligence, heeded with all seriousness, and applied with all sincerity.