| Safeguarding Yourself from
Misinterpreting the Holy Scriptures: A Starting Point (2 Timothy 2.15) Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. |
March 7, 2009, 2:43 p.m. How do you feel that [your graduate studies in biblical exegesis have] changed what you believed about scripture? (I realize this could require an entire volume to answer but maybe just a brief summary because I am curious). Are there instances where some bibles contain passages which have taken on a new meaning due to poor translation or changes in use, definition etc?? |
| March
7, 2009, 5:36 p.m. The course did not change any of what I believe the Scriptures mean by what they say, but the implementation of what I learned not only refines certain of my present understandings but acts as another safeguard against misinterpreting the intended meaning of Scripture. Has any passage in any version or translation of the Bible now, in view of what I learned from the course, taken on a new meaning? No. Different Bible translators do translate the languages differently for different reasons, but I conduct most of my study in the original languages themselves, not in translations of the languages. Even so, I use a variety of English translations (and other study tools) as a foul line so to speak to ensure that I stay "in bounds" when I translate and interpret. A better understanding of Bible passages, verses, sayings, and words can and by God's grace does come to one as he or she grows in the Word of God generally and from the fruit of others' biblical, archeological, papyrological, and etymological research, but I strongly caution you against thinking any Bible text ever "takes on a new meaning." The word of God cannot and does not change (Psalm 89.34-35; Malachi 3.6; Matthew 5.18; Luke 16.17; John 10.35). The intended meaning of Scripture when it was written originally is the intended meaning of Scripture when it is read today. Scripture is not able to mean something today that it did not mean then. Accurate Bible study is to determine accurately the original intent of the author. And not until we have determined original intent can we make proper application of the passage or verse or saying to our own lives. On that ground, when studying any book, passage, or verse of the Bible, consider following these eight steps as a beginner's guide to interpreting Bible texts accurately and applying them properly: 1. Who is the speaker or author of
the individual text I am studying? 2. Originally to whom is this
speaker or author speaking or writing in
this individual text? 3. In the light of its surrounding
verses and chapters, exactly what is this speaker or author intending
to convey in this individual text to the original audience or
recipient(s) and why? 4. Having now ascertained the
original intent of the author or speaker (steps 1, 2, and 3), what
timeless biblical truth or principle do the author or speaker's words
of my individual text contain? (Hint: It cannot and will not be
inconsistent, repugnant, incompatible with either the context or the
author or speaker's original intent. 5. How does this biblical truth or
principle apply properly today? (Hint:
It cannot and will not be inconsistent, repugnant, incompatible with
either the context or the author or speaker's original intent.) 6. How does this biblical truth or
principle apply properly to me
specifically? (Hint: It cannot and will not be inconsistent, repugnant,
incompatible with either the context or the author or speaker's
original intent.) 7. What change needs to happen in my
life in the light of this biblical
truth or principle? 8. How can I, by God's enabling,
make this change in my life? |
| Reader's Response |
| December 12, 2009, 2:09 p.m. The original intent of the author (being God) was not always understood completely by the audience to whom He was speaking through a particular writer or prophet or even by the writer or prophet himself. 1 Peter 1:10-11, etc. However, in the fullness of God's revelation in Christ, the original intent of the author (being God) can now (in such cases) be understood. This is a correct statement? |
| Author's Answer |
| December 15, 2009, 11:54 p.m. I believe what you are saying is correct in the sense that when OT prophets wrote about the grace upon grace that would be exhibited (1 Peter 1.10; cf. John 1.16) through the then-future Savior (in whose person and promised advent they trusted unto salvation, though they did not know who the Savior would be [cf. John 1.31-33] or when the Savior would come [1 Peter 1.11]), they were, in actuality, writing for those who would be contemporaries with and generations future to the sufferings of that Savior and the glories to follow His sufferings (1 Peter 1.11-12; cf. Luke 24.26-27; Hebrews 2.9). Wanting to know more about the salvation that would come through this Savior, who He would be, and when He would arrive, these prophets made careful searches and investigations in their own writings about these great things, texts like Isaiah 52.13-53.12 (the Savior's humiliation, suffering), Isaiah 42.1-17 (the Savior's exultation, glory), and Isaiah 61.1-9 and Zechariah 9.9-11 (both of which compress the Savior's humiliation and exultation). A note of precaution: One thing that 1 Peter 1.10-12 does not mean is that any prophecy made to the house of Jacob that was yet unfulfilled at the time of the Cross is to be understood as pertaining to the Church or that it has been transferred to the Church, the Body of Christ. I state this without hesitation because the simple words of 1 Peter 1.10-12 say nothing of the sort. The matter is the salvation of the soul through the death and resurrection prophesied of the Lord Jesus Christ. |
The
author implores checking
his commentary against Scripture using the tools of biblical
interpretation. Please be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker
having no cause or need to be ashamed, handling the word of
truth accurately. Copyright © 2009-2010 by Thomas John Dexter. All rights reserved. This labor may be reproduced for distribution but not sold. The author's commentary is subject to change as he grows in his understanding of the word of God. Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1988, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Last updated January 7, 2010. |