Exploring the Bible

1. Exploring the Bible Biblical Interpretation

2. Definitions • Hermeneutics-This word is taken from the Greek word “hermeneuo” which means to bring out the meaning.We apply it to the science and art of biblical interpretation. • Exegesis-To draw the intended meaning out of a text. It is how we understand what the writer means by what he has written.

3. Ancient Method of Interpretation The meaning of the word “Jerusalem” • Literally- referred to the city itself. • Allegorically- referred to the Church. • Morally- meant the human soul. • Eschatologically- the future heavenly Jerusalem.

4. The parable of the Good Samaritan Luke 10:25-37 “A certain man when down from Jerusalem to Jericho” - “Jerusalem”- “Jericho”– “Thieves”- “Who stripped him”- “And beat him”- “And left him half dead”- “The Priest and the Levite”- “Samaritan”- “The binding of the wounds”- “Oil”- “Wine”- “The Beast”- “Set upon the beast”- “The inn is the church”- “The next day”- “The two silver coins”- “The innkeeper”-

5. Literal Interpretation (The Normal Literary Understanding) • It is important to understand what the author meant by what he wrote. • Figures of speech are used to communicate a very real thing or concept in a brief statement that even a more detailed explanation sometimes can’t do. • “If the plain sense makes perfect sense, then seek no other sense lest you come up with nonsense.”

6. Literal Interpretation (Context) • Words do very little to communicate thought without a context. • John 13:27 “What thou doest do quickly” • Matthew 27:5“...Judaswent out and hanged himself.” • Luke 10:37 “Go thou and do likewise.” • “A text without a context is a pretext”

7. Literal Interpretation (Context) • Matthew 18:20 says “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” • The context is where Jesus was explaining how to deal with disagreements between brothers. • Also the idea of “binding and losing” (vs.18) is in the context of church discipline not binding and losing Satin

8. Literal Interpretation (Chapter and Verse Breaks) When following a thought in its context it is important to not let the chapter or verse breaks mislead you • Chapter Divisions- In 1227 Stephen Langdon divided the Latin Vulgate bible into the chapter divisions that all subsequent translations have followed. • Verse Divisions- Verses in the bible first appeared in the 4th edition of the Greek New Testament published by Robert Stephanus in 1551 and were popularized in The Geneva Bible published in 1560.

9. Literal Interpretation (Other Important Considerations) Parallel Passages-Sometimes even in its context a passage may have several possible meanings. Hebrews 1:5 “For unto which of the angels did He say ‘thou are my Son, this day I have begotten thee”. • Acts 13:28-33 (NASB) 28 And though they found no ground for putting Him to death, they asked Pilate that He be executed. 29 When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. 30 But God raised Him from the dead; 31 and for many days He appeared to those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, the very ones who are now His witnesses to the people. 32 And we preach to you the good news of the promise made to the fathers, 33 that God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm, ‘YOU ARE MY SON; TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU.’

10. Literal Interpretation (Other Important Considerations) • Literary genre- • Historical / Cultural Setting- • To whom was it addressed? • Flow of thought-

11. Figures of Speech • Allegories; An allegory is a story in which each person, object, or event symbolically illustrates an idea or moral principle. • Hyperbole; Hyperbole is a conscious exaggeration that expresses truth in a non-literal manner. Whenever a statement cannot be literally true in the way, or to the degree to which a statement claims, it may be a hyperbole.

12. Figures of Speech • Simile; A comparison of two things that are not the same. The words “like” and “as” are helpful when identifying a simile. • Anthropomorphism;This is a way of assigning human characteristics to inanimate objects or animals. • Idioms; A figurative expression that is unique to a culture. It says in 1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore gird your minds for action…”

13. Figures of Speech The word “parable” literally means to cast alongside. Jesus used parables to capture the attention of his listeners and provoke a response. • Some parables were given to help make His teaching more memorable (Luke 7:41-42 the parable of the two debtors) • But some parables were intended to veil his teaching so that only those who were really interested in his message would understand the meaning (Matthew 13:10-15)

14. Figures of Speech • Parables were given to people who had rejected God’s clear teaching or had become apathetic towards the word of God. • This is why there are not any parables in the New Testament epistles. • A parable may be made up of several parts but it has only one meaning. • Every parable that Jesus gave was in response to the events that immediately preceded it.