Skills
for Reading Scripture
There is no substitute for learning to read the
text carefully and closely. Each of us can gain competence in this practice.
Reading the Bible may be compared to a trip to the ocean. Like the ocean, the
Scriptures have various levels and depths of meaning. The reader must decide
whether to be satisfied merely with observing the ocean from a chair on the
beach, dipping one’s toes into the shallows, or heading out far from shore. If
one only enjoys the ocean from one particular spot, much will be missed. It is
vital for us as readers to venture as deeply as possible into the biblical
passages we are studying and to learn to view them from a variety of
perspectives in order to experience them in all of their richness. Just as the
ocean runs from the shallows along the shore to the unfathomable depths of the
Mariana Trench so the Scriptures offer us as much depth as we desire. How
deeply do we want to explore the Scripture?
Reading in Context
The key to understanding any passage in the
Bible is learning to read it in its literary context. Reading Scripture is a
dance between the reader, the text, and its wider context. Like a dancer who
must maintain awareness of both the music and her partner, the wise reader must
keep in view both the discrete details of the passage of Scripture being
studied and the wider movements of
the passages surrounding it. In biblical interpretation, context is everything.
By literary context, we mean several interlocking levels.
First, the primary source of evidence for
understanding the meaning of a passage is its immediate context. In most cases
this will be the text that we are studying and the paragraphs immediate before
and after it. For example, if we are studying the Lord’s Prayer (Matt 6:9-13)
it is important to observe that it occurs within a block of teaching that
focuses on prayer (6:6-15). The verses immediately before the Lord’s Prayer
contrast it with prayers that emphasize many words and religious formulas and
the verses after it focus on the necessity of forgiveness. Our reading of the
Lord’s Prayer must be informed by and account for these elements.
Second, each passage has a wider context in the
book in which it occurs. To get a sense of the book context take a few minutes
to read the introductory notes in the Common English Study Bible to the book
you are studying and observe the outline of the whole. This will help you to
gain an understanding of the role that the smaller passage with which you are
working plays in the overall message of a book. Again looking at the Lord’s
Prayer, we may observe that it falls within a larger segment (6:1-18) that
serves to warn against public acts of piety (almsgiving, prayer, and fasting)
as a means to gaining rewards from God. Widening our lens a little more, we may
observe that this text falls within a larger block of teaching materials known
traditionally as the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:1–7:29). In this material
Jesus is training his disciples for the ministry of announcing the good news of
the kingdom of heaven (Matt 4:17–11:1).
Reading in context is vital as a guard against
misreading the meaning of a passage. A truism about reading in context is this:
“A text without a context is a pretext.” Apart from reading a passage of
Scripture in context we may easily make a text say what we desire for it to
mean rather than to hear the message that the text itself wants us to hear. The
wise reader must remember this: Read an individual text in light of its literary
context. This practice alone will keep us from many errors.
There are other contexts that the wise reader
will also be attentive to as time permits. First, information on the historical
context or background can help us to gain a richer appreciation of a passage of
Scripture. The study notes in this Bible will draw the reader’s attention to
important historical details. In addition, readers may find it helpful to use a
bible dictionary or a full-length commentary. For example, in Paul’s letter to
the Philippians, Paul mentions opponents who are harassing the Philippian
Christ followers (e.g., 1:28, 3:2, 3:18).
Who are these opponents? Is there one group or are there several different
opponents? What is the nature of their opposition? Answering these questions
would provide helpful historical background for understanding Paul’s words to
the Philippians.
Second, readers need to be aware of related
texts that the passage we are studying alludes to and/or other passages that
may allude to our text. Psalm 8 is a text that models both of these situations.
Psalm 8 is a hymn of praise to the Lord. It reflects on the status and mission
of humanity in light of the majestic nature of God. Psalm 8:6-8 focuses on the
stewardship role played by women and men over creation. The psalmist clearly
has in mind the creation story in Genesis 1:1–2:3. If we are going to fully
comprehend the message of Psalm 8, we will need to study how the psalmist interprets
uses the material from Genesis. The savvy reader will also want to know that
Hebrews 2:6-8 quotes Psalm 8:4-6. If we are going to understand the full
biblical meaning of Psalm 8, we will need to be aware of how the author of the
book of Hebrews deploys Psalm 8 in his letter.
Reading with the Big Picture in Mind
Reading the Bible as Christian Scripture also
involves understanding each individual passage and book within the overall
context of the Bible as a whole. The Christian canon of sixty-six books links
the Old and New Testament and proclaims an overarching narrative when viewed as
a whole. We may observe the following framework that holds the discrete
elements of the Bible together: Creation, Fall, Israel, Jesus the Messiah,
Church, New Creation. The Bible begins with the story of the Creation of the
world (Gen 1–2) and ends with the description of a future New Creation
(Revelation 20–21). The biblical story opens with a very good world and ends
with the recreation of very goodness. In between these bookends, we find the
biblical story of the salvation of the people and all creation. The need for
salvation is first described in Genesis 3–11. This section of Scripture
describes the fundament problem in the world: human alienation and sin. This
problem has fractured the very good creation described in Gen 1–2. God responds
to this problem by calling a people for himself through whom he will bless all
nations (Gen 12–Malachi). This people is named Israel. God calls Israel’s
ancestors in Gen 12–50. He rescues them from slavery in Egypt and establishes a
covenant relationship with them as a means of preparing them to serve as a
people of blessing to the world, and leads them through the wilderness to the
promised land of Canaan (Exodus–Deuteronomy). Joshua–Esther narrate Israel’s
life in Canaan, its times of obedience/disobedience, exile, and return. The
wisdom books (Job–Song of Songs) include the prayers of God’s people and their
reflections on the good life within God’s creation. The Old Testament ends with
the Prophetic books. The Prophets (Isaiah–Malachi) serve to call God’s people
back to their roots as the holy redeemed people through whom God will bless the
nations and they also envision a radical future act of salvation. The New
Testament opens with the four Gospels, which tell the story of the Jesus’ life,
death, and resurrection. Jesus announces the inbreaking of God’s future and
fulfills the hopes and expectations of Israel’s Scriptures. Jesus’ death and
resurrection marks the climax of God’s saving work and serves to announce the
final victory of God. Acts–Rev 19 tells the story of the Church under the power
of the Holy Spirit witnessing to all nations about the good news of Jesus.
Revelation 20-21 brings the story full circle by envisioning the full
consummation of God’s victory in a New Creation.
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