How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth

1. How to Read the Biblefor All Its Worth By Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart

2. Chapter 1: IntroductionThe 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)

3. Chapter 1: IntroductionThe 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)

4. Chapter 1: IntroductionThe 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

5. Chapter 1: IntroductionThe 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

6. 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

7. 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?

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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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