READING TIME: 3-4 MINUTES
March 12, 2020
I’ve heard there are three steps of Biblical interpretation. What are those three steps?
Below are three basic steps to properly interpret the Bible.
(1) Observation
(a) Take note of each word, phrase, and the arrangement of words into sentences.
(b) Like a good detective, train your eyes to see the obvious and the not so obvious.
(c) This step of observation is vital since it will form the basis for your interpretations. In one of his most baffling cases, Sherlock Holmes commented to Watson: “I had . . . come to an entirely erroneous conclusion, which shows, my dear Watson, how dangerous it always is to reason from insufficient data” (The Illustrated Sherlock Holmes Treasury, New York: Avenel Books, 1976, p. 17, as quoted in Nyquist and Kuhatschek, 27).
(d) Ask many questions, like for instance, “What does this word or this construction mean and what does it contribute to the particular passage?”
(e) Ask questions like “Who, what, when, where, how, and why.”
(f) Read the book in which the passage occurs. For ease of reading and to better get the flow of the passage, use the New Living Translation, For studying, use the NKJV or the NASB. As you read, focus on the main purposes, setting, and themes of the book of the Bible as a whole. Read and re-read the chosen passage in the larger literary context of the book.
(g) As Dr. Poythress says, “The meaning of an oil paint arises not merely from blotches of paint, but seeing those blotches in relation to one another. If you only look at the detail (like using a magnifying glass on a painting), you lose sight of the whole.”
(h) Learn as much as possible about the speaker, audience, and the circumstances of the particular passage (historical background)
(2) Interpretation
(a) Try to answer the questions that you thought of in the above section.
(b) Try to draw conclusions about the overall structure of the passage and ascertain its main points.
(c) Use cross-references to locate passages most similar or most contrasting to the given passage (KJV, NKJV, NASV, RSV, NRSV, NIV, NLT cross-reference Bible).
(3) Application (for an excellent book on this subject, read Jack Kuhatschek’s Applying the Bible; for an excellent and concise article see Zuck in Campbell, pp. 15-38). Application is “the process of communicating the present-day relevance of a biblical text, specifying how that relevance may be translated into action, and inviting and urging the hearers to make that transference” (Zuck in Campbell, 1982, 19).
(a) Ask and answer questions about what I should believe or do based on the passage.
(b) The ultimate purpose of Bible study is not simply to educate us but to transform us (see Rom. 12:2). Heart appropriation, not merely head apprehension, is the true goal of Bible study (see 1 Peter 2:2).
(c) The application resides in the relation of the text to many others, and in relation to our circumstances and us.
(d) Application Rule #1 — Whenever our situation corresponds to that faced by the original readers, God’s Word to us is the same as it was to them (Nyquist and Kuhatschek 34).
(e) Application Rule #2 — Whenever our situation does not correspond to that faced by the original readers, we should look for the principle underlying God’s Word to them. We can then apply that principle to comparable situations today (Ibid.).
(f) A good and fairly new commentary series to help you with this stage is The NIV Application Commentary (be careful with the commentaries in this set on prophetic books since not all of the authors are dispensational and premillennial in their perspective; for example, the commentaries on Ezekiel, Daniel, Thessalonians, and Revelation). My favorite study Bible I have seen is The New King James Study Bible. My one problem with it is that it’s clear that in several passages, the “P in TULIP has unfortunately influenced their interpretation.
(g) Ask the following questions: Is there a command for me to obey? Is there a promise to claim? Is there an example to follow? Is there a sin to avoid or confess? Is there a reason for thanksgiving or praise? What does this passage teach me about God, Jesus, myself, others? (Ibid.)
Sources Used
Nyquist, James F., and Jack Kuhatschek. Leading Bible Discussions. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1978.
Poythress, Vernon S. Class Notes for NT123 Hermeneutics at Westminster Theological Seminary.
Zuck, Roy B. Basic Bible Interpretation: A Practical Guide to Discovering Biblical Truth. Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1991.