Rules of Biblical Interpretation

[crossnote]

And whilst we're at it, we'd better admit that many of the wisdom books reputedly written by Solomon were not necessarily written by him at all; and that there is no record of anyone called Daniel ever existing in Babylon, and some of the Babylonian history of Daniel is pretty anomalous; whilst Esther does not even warrant being in the biblical canon at all, according to some notable scholars.

Excuse me but could you give us the names and backgrounds (at least their schooling or where they are teaching) of these 'scholars'?

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

I agree! The danger of the use of "Logic" is or has to be defined as whose logic do we use as a foundation. Opinions are like belly-buttons, we all have one. My logic might not be the same as your logic.

it seems like this is a common misconception about logic among christians...

logic is -not- subject to opinion or bias...it is like math...one plus one makes two no matter who you ask...

if two people get a different answer...then at least one of them is -not- using logic...

 

[RachelBibleStudent]

This is quoted from a preterist website:The Eight Rules of Bible Interpretation

lol that is kind of ironic given the topic...because my 'rule of proximity' and to a lesser degree my 'signal to noise rule' are two reasons why i am not a preterist...

 

[Praus]

This thread is better off being deleted. All that seems to be goin on is a bunch of unfruitful arguing and certain people promoting heresy. This is unacceptable behavior for people who claim to be brothers and sisters in Christ. What we need to be doing is expelling the false believers from our midst! Not continue to let them breed heresy around us,..

..........

 

[Agricola]

Thank you. That was very edifying.

Your welcome.Unfortunately this is how a lot of people and cults operate, so it is a valid point to make.

 

[KJV1611]

My view.

1) The rule of DEFINITION: What does the word mean?

Never use a concordance to determine the meaning of a word. You are not smart enough to determine which of the 15 different definitions of the word is correct. Look at how the word is used throughout scripture, scripture will define scripture.

Most words will have at a minimum two different meanings. One meaning is the straight forward meaning and the other is the symbolic meaning. For Example:
Lamb - a young sheep.
Lamb - Jesus Christ.

2) The rule of USAGE: It must be remembered that the Old Testament was written originally by, to and for Jews. The words and idioms must have been intelligible to them - just as the words of Christ when talking to them must have been. The majority of the New Testament likewise was written in a milieu of Greco-Roman (and to a lesser extent Jewish) culture and it is important to not impose our modern usage into our interpretation. It is not worth much to interpret a great many phrases and histories if one's interpretations are shaded by pre-conceived notions and cultural biases, thereby rendering an inaccurate and ineffectual lesson.

The Old Testament was not originally written to and for Jews. The entire bible was written for ALL of God's people. The same is true for the New Testament. The words and idioms are intelligible to us today because they are defined elsewhere in the bible. You never have to go outside the bible to gain understanding of the bible.

3) The rule of CONTEXT: The meaning must be gathered from the context. Every word you read must be understood in the light of the words that come before and after it. Many passages will not be understood at all, or understood incorrectly, without the help afforded by the context.
In interpreting Scripture, there is both an immediate context and a broader context. The immediate context of a verse is the paragraph (or paragraphs) of the biblical book in question. The immediate context should always be consulted in interpreting Bible verses. The broader context is the whole of Scripture. The entire Holy Scripture is the context and guide for understanding the particular passages of Scripture.
We must keep in mind that the interpretation of a specific passage must not contradict the total teaching of Scripture on a point. Individual verses do not exist as isolated fragments, but as parts of a whole. The exposition of these verses, therefore, must involve exhibiting them in right relation both to the whole and to each other. Scripture interprets Scripture.

I totally agree.

4) The rule of HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: First of all, to truly understand the Bible, you must have at least some familiarity with the Jewish language, beliefs, and practices at the time of the biblical writing. Otherwise many terms, phrases, and sayings in the Scriptures will make little to no sense to us today. Even for most of the New Testament writings, we must know and understand what was happening in the first century when they were written. What problems faced the Apostles in their time to make them say some of the things they did? The Bible, in most cases, gives us only a limited amount of insight and background into the surrounding problems at the time. When Paul wrote a letter to the Corinthians, for instance, the Corinthian people to whom it was addressed knew the surrounding problems of the time, as well as the customs, laws, and practices of that era. Thus, Paul may not have dwelled on, or even mentioned them in his letters. This would leave us twentieth-century readers puzzled and guessing if we just read the letter at face value, as many attempt to do. To understand the Corinthian Epistle, we must "become," as it were, a first century Corinthian. We must understand their practices, their terminology, the social issues of the time, etc. We must also look to the original Bible text languages of the time (Greek and Hebrew) as they were understood, meant and intended at the time, to those being addressed. We cannot take our modern language understanding and try to force first-century Greek into it.

You need absolutely no knowledge of the Jewish or Greek languages, nor knowledge of their beliefs and practices. God gave us everything we need to understand his word in the bible. There is no need to waste time studying anything outside of the bible.

5) The rule of LOGIC: Interpretation is merely logical reasoning. When interpreting Scripture, the use of reason is everywhere to be assumed. Does the interpretation make sense? The Bible was given to us in the form of human language and therefore appeals to human reason - it invites investigation. It is to be interpreted as we would any other volume: applying the laws of language and grammatical analysis.

You will never understand the bible applying human logic. The bible can only be understood by revelation given from the Holy Spirit.

6) The rule of INFERENCE: An inference is a fact reasonably implied from another fact. It is a logical consequence. It derives a conclusion from a given fact or premise. It is the deduction of one proposition from another proposition. Such inferential facts or propositions are sufficiently binding when their truth is established by competent and satisfactory evidence. Competent evidence means such evidence as the nature of the thing to be proved admits. Satisfactory evidence means that amount of proof which would ordinarily satisfy an unprejudiced mind beyond a reasonable doubt. Jesus used this rule when he proved the resurrection of the dead to the unbelieving Sadducees in Matthew 22:23-33.

I agree.

7) The rule of GENRE JUDGMENT: A "literal" approach to Scripture recognizes that the Bible contains a variety of literary genres, each of which has certain peculiar characteristics that must be recognized in order to interpret the text properly.
Obviously, an incorrect genre judgment will lead one far astray in interpreting Scripture. A parable should not be treated as history, nor should poetry or prophesy (both of which contain many symbols) be treated as straightforward narrative. The wise interpreter allows his knowledge of genres to control how he approaches each individual biblical text. In this way, he can accurately determine what the biblical author was intending to communicate to the reader.

Don't worry about literary genres, the Holy Spirit will guide you. The bible uses parables and symbols to conceal the true meaning of scripture from the "wise".

8) The rule of dependence upon the HOLY SPIRIT: Scripture tells us that we are to rely on the Holy Spirit's illumination to gain insights into the meaning and application of Scripture (John 16:12-15, 1 Corinthians 2:9-11). It is the Holy Spirit's work to throw light upon the Word of God so that the believer can assent to the meaning intended and act on it. The Holy Spirit, as the "Spirit of truth" (John 16:13), guides us so that "we may understand what God has freely given us" (1 Corinthians 2:12). This is quite logical: full comprehension of the Word of God is impossible without prayerful dependence on the Spirit of God, for He who inspired the Word (2 Peter 1:21) is also its supreme interpreter.
Illumination is necessary because man's mind has been darkened through sin (Rom.1:21), preventing him from properly understanding God's Word. Human beings cannot understand God's Word apart from God's divine power (Eph.4:18). This aspect of the Holy Spirit's ministry operates within the sphere of man's rational capacity, which God Himself gave man (Gen.2-3). Illumination comes to the 'minds' of God's people - not to some nonrational faculty like our 'emotions' or our 'feelings'.
The ministry of the Holy Spirit in interpretation does not mean interpreters can ignore common sense and logic. Since the Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of truth" (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13). He does not teach concepts that fail to meet the tests of truth. In other words, "the Holy Spirit doesn’t guide into interpretations that contradict each other or fail to have logical, internal consistency."
It must also be kept in mind that the function of the Holy Spirit is not to communicate to the minds of people any doctrine or meaning of Scripture that is not contained already in Scripture itself. The Holy Spirit makes men "wise up to what is written, not beyond it." Indeed, "the function of the Spirit is not to communicate new truth or to instruct in matters unknown, but to illuminate what is revealed in Scripture."

I agree.

Rule 9 - The bible is written and understood on multiple levels:

Level 1 Unsaved - All scripture will point to you as being a sinner in need of salvation.
Level 2 Believers milk - The basic doctrines for all believers.
Level 3 and beyond - Meat! The true Word of God hidden in the plain text of scripture.... the Revelation of Jesus Christ.