Chapter 1:
The Importance of Biblical
Interpretation
Gene Robinson
Why is Biblical Interpretation
Important?
•What is “Interpretation”?
•The Scriptures Show the Need for
Biblical Interpretation
•Language and Culture Show the
Need for Biblical Interpretation
What Is Interpretation?
Meaning – The paradigm or principle
that the author consciously willed to
convey by the shareable symbols [i.e.,
writing] he or she used (Stein)
Interpretation – the verbal or written
expression of a reader’s
understanding of the author’s
meaning (Stein)
The Scriptures Show the
Need for Biblical Interpretation
2 TIMOTHY 2:15
PSALM 119:18
2 PETER 3:15-16
EPHESIANS 4:11-13
2 TIMOTHY 4:2-3
2 Timothy 2:15
15
Do your best to present yourself
to God as one approved, a
workman who does not need to be
ashamed and who correctly
handles the word of truth. (NIV)
Psalm 119:18
18
Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law. (NIV)
2 Peter 3:15-16
15
Bear in mind that our Lord's patience
means salvation, just as our dear brother
Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that
God gave him.
16 He writes the same way in all his letters,
speaking in them of these matters. His
letters contain some things that are hard to
understand, which ignorant and unstable
people distort, as they do the other
Scriptures, to their own destruction. (NIV)
Ephesians 4:11-13
11
It was he who gave some to be apostles,
some to be prophets, some to be
evangelists, and some to be pastors and
teachers,
12 to prepare God's people for works of
service, so that the body of Christ may be
built up
13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in
the knowledge of the Son of God and
become mature, attaining to the whole
measure of the fullness of Christ.
(NIV)
2 Timothy 4:2-3
2
Preach the Word; be prepared in
season and out of season; correct,
rebuke and encourage--with great
patience and careful instruction.
3 For the time will come when men will
not put up with sound doctrine. Instead,
to suit their own desires, they will
gather around them a great number of
teachers to say what their itching ears
want to hear.
Language and Culture Show
the Need for Biblical
Interpretation
‫אשית ב ָָּּרא אֱ ִׁ‬
‫ב ְֵּר ִׁ‬
‫ֹלהים‬
Βίβλος γενέσεως
Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ
υἱοῦ Δαυὶδ υἱοῦ
Ἀβραάμ.
Chapter 2:
General Principles for
Interpreting the Bible
APPROACH THE BIBLE IN
PRAYER
-Psalm 119:5
-Psalm 119:10
-Psalm 119:12
-Psalm 119:17-20
-Psalm 119:34-37
READ THE BIBLE AS A BOOK
THAT POINTS TO JESUS
LET SCRIPTURE INTERPRET
SCRIPTURE
MEDITATE ON THE BIBLE
APPROACH THE BIBLE IN
FAITH AND OBEDIENCE
TAKE NOTE OF THE
BIBLICAL GENRE YOU ARE
READING
BE AWARE OF HISTORICAL
OR CULTUREAL
BACKGROUND
ISSUES
PAY ATTENTION TO
CONTEXT
READ THE BIBLE IN
COMMUNITY
BEGIN THE JOURNEY OF
BECOMING A MORE
FAITHFUL
INTERPRETER
Chapter 3:
Improving as an Interpreter
of the Bible
READ THE BIBLE
READ AND
LISTEN TO
FAITHFUL
PREACHING
AND
TEACHING
UNDERSTAND THE
RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN
FAITH AND
UNDERSTANDING
DO NOT JUST AFFIRM
SOUND INTERPRETATIVE
PRINCIPLES: APPLY THEM
WELCOME AND RECEIVE
FEEDBACK GRACIOUSLY
ACQUIRE AND EMPLOY
BIBLE STUDY TOOLS
PASS ON
WHAT YOU ARE LEARNING
Chapter 4:
Helpful Books and Tools for
Interpreting the Bible
STUDY
BIBLES
CONCORDANCES
WORD STUDY TOOLS
-ILLEGITIMATE TOTALITY
TRANSFER
-ETYMYLOGICAL
FALLACY
COMMENTARIES
SOFTWARE PROGRAMS
WEB SITES
ADVANCED STUDY
Chapter 5:
Determining the Meaning of
a Biblical Text
The Reader?
The Text?
The Author?
THE READER AS DETERMINER
OF MEANING
• “Do you have a favorite sweater, or jacket,
or shirt that you like to wear? We know
from this Bible verse [Gen 37:3] that Joseph
had a favorite article of clothing to wear. It
was his robe. Joseph loved his robe
because his father made it for him.
Whenever he wore the robe, he could
imagine that it was his father giving him a
hug. What colors do you see in Joseph’s
beautiful robe?”
• “A boy’s grandma wanted to make
something special for him. She wanted it to
remind him of how much she loved him.
She decided to knit him a sweater. When
she gave the sweater to her grandson, she
said, ‘Imagine that this warm sweater is me
giving you a hug every time you wear it.’
The boy loved the sweater. It was his
favorite thing to wear.” My Very First
Devotional Bible (Zonderkidz)
Joseph (with increased selfesteem)
THE TEXT AS DETERMINER
OF MEANING
THE AUTHOR AS DETERMINER
OF MEANING
OBJECTIONS TO THE AUTHOR AS DETERMINER OF
MEANING
1. AUTHORIAL MEANING IS INACCESSIBLE TO US
2. AUTHORIAL WORLDVIEW IS TOO DISTANT FROM OUR
OWN
3. AN AUTHOR’S MEANING IS IRRELEVANT FOR MODERN
READERS
4. TO DELIMIT MEANING TO THE CONSCIOUS INTENT OF
THE AUTHOR IS TO DENY THE DIVINE AUTHORSHIP
OF SCRIPTURE
Definitions from Stein
• Meaning: “The paradigm or principle that
the author consciously willed to convey
by the shareable symbols [i.e., writing] he
or she used
• Implication: “Those submeanings of a
text that legitimately fall within the
paradigm or principle willed by the
author, whether he or she was aware of
them or not.”
• Significance: “How the reader responds
to the willed meaning of the author.”
Upon being confronted with these
implications, the modern-day
reader/hearer will then respond with
acceptance (obedience) or rejection
(disobedience).
• Subject Matter: “The content or ‘stuff’
talked about in the text” (that is, the
textual details in and of themselves
without reference to their use in
conveying the author’s meaning)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Proverbs 11:1
Ephesians 5:18
Deut 24:19-22
Deut 6:6-9
1 Cor 16:20
Exod 21:28-30
Deut 22:8
Psalm 150:1-6
Galatians 5:2
Identify the following
statements (from Stein)
• Meaning/Interpretation
• Implication
• Significance
• Subject Matter
• “The reason why Luke wrote this was to
assure Theophilus that Jesus had indeed
risen from the dead.”
• “I wonder if Moses would have thought
that cheating on one’s income taxes
would be stealing.”
• “Paul tells us that by grace we have been
saved through faith and that this is not
our own doing but on the contrary it is a
gift of God. It is not of works lest we
should boast.”
• “I think that what God is saying to me
through this text is that I should go to the
foreign mission field.”
• “I don’t care what the passage says. I
cannot believe that God would place
such a restriction on me.”
• “When Acts 6:1f. refers to the ‘Hellenists’,
this reveals that within the early church in
Jerusalem there existed two kinds of
Jewish Christians- an Aramaic-speaking
group and a Greek-speaking group.”
• “Probably the greatest work ever written
by an American author on Paul is J.
Greshham Machen’s The Origin of Paul’s
Religion. Machen understood Paul. My
problem is not with Machen but with
Paul. I just don’t accept what Paul says.”
• “I just cannot believe that God really
wants us to do what Paul says here.”
• “Another way of expressing what Paul is
saying here is that the cross of Christ has
removed every legal charge that God
had against the Galatians.”
• “Another way of expressing what Paul is
saying here is that the cross of Christ has
removed every legal charge that God
had against us.”
• “From this passage we discover that the
practice of hospitality was very important
in biblical times.”
• “I think that the commandment not to
take the name of the LORD God in vain
means that I should not say ‘Oh God!’
anymore.”
• “The name ‘Caesarea Philippi’ in this
saying must be part of the tradition
before Mark wrote this account in his
Gospel.”
• “Not to commit adultery means not to
lust.”
•
“What Mark meant by ‘You cannot serve
God and Mammon’ is that a person
cannot serve God and things!”
• “Is swearing allegiance to the flag part of
giving to Caesar the things that belong to
Caesar?”
• “Probably Ezekiel was not thinking of
this, but it seems to be applicable.”
• “Paul evidently teaches by these words
that even though the Roman Christians
were ruled by an unbelieving emperor,
they should still obey him.”
• “What the Biblical author of this passage
tells us is that Jesus is also able to
forgive me of my sins if I put my faith in
him.”
• “I know that Paul states that he saw the
Lord on the road to Damascus, but how
exactly did he see him?”
Chapter 6:
The Role of the Holy Spirit in
Interpreting the Bible
THE PERSON AND WORK OF
THE HOLY SPIRIT
THE ILLUMINATION OF THE
HOLY SPIRIT
BIBLICAL TEXTS
SUPPORTING ILLUMINATION
-PSALM 119:17-20
-MATTHEW 13:11-16
-I CORINTHIANS 2:14
-2 CORINTHIANS 3:13-16
-LUKE 24:44-45 / JOHN 20:22
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS
OF ILLUMINATION
Chapter 7:
The Overarching Message
of the Bible
THE PERSON AND SAVING
WORK OF JESUS CHRIST
PROMISE-FULFILLMENT
KINGDOM ANTICIPATED
KINGDOM INAUGURATED
KINGDOM CONSUMMATED.
KINGDOM OF GOD IN THE BIBLE
KINGDOM STAGES
BIBLICAL/HISTORICAL PERIOD
PATTERN OF THE KINGDOM
GENESIS 1-2
PERISHED KINGDOM
GENESIS 3
PROMISED KINGDOM
GENESIS 12:1-3
PARTIAL KINGDOM
GENESIS 12-2 CHRONCLES
PROPHESIED KINGDOM
EZRA-MALACHI
PRESENT KINGDOM
THE GOSPELS
PROCLAIMED KINGDOM
ACTS-REVELATION
PERFECTED KINGDOM
INAUGURATED AT JESUS’ SECOND
COMING
OLD COVENANT – NEW COVENANT
LAW—GOSPEL
SALVATION HISTORY
DISPENSATIONALISM
1. DISPENSATION OF INNOCENCE (CREATION TO THE FALL)
2. DISPENSATION OF CONSCIENCE (FALL TO FLOOD)
3. DISPENSATION OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT (NOAH TO BABEL)
4. DISPENSATION OF PATRIARCHAL RULE (ABRAHAM TO
EXODUS)
5. DISPENSATION OF MOSAIC LAW (MOSES TO DEATH OF
CHRIST)
6. DISPENSATION OF GRACE (PENTECOST TO 2ND COMING)
7. DISPENSATION OF THE MILLENNIUM (1000 YR REIGN OF
CHRIST, ENDING IN GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT)