Common Errors in Bible Interpretation
FRUSTRATION WITH INTERPRETATION? • Bible study • Small groups • Sharing the gospel – “That’s just your interpretation.” – “That’s true for you, but not for me.” – “Who are you to judge?”
OVERVIEW OF INTERPRETATION • • • •
DANGERS PRESUPOSSITIONS BASICS TYPICAL ERRORS
DANGERS OF INTERPRETATION • • • • •
Heresy/Cults formed God judges misrepresentations Dangerous actions Spiritual elitism Depression
Dangers of Interpretation • Heresy/Cults formed • God judges misrepresentations • Dangerous actions • Spiritual elitism • Depression
• Col. 1:15; Ps. 89:27
Dangers of Interpretation • Heresy/Cults formed • God judges misrepresentations • Dangerous actions • Spiritual elitism • Depression
• James 3:1; Matt. 12:36 • Job 42:8
Dangers of Interpretation • Heresy/Cults formed • God judges misrepresentations • Dangerous actions • Spiritual elitism • Depression
Dangers of Interpretation • Heresy/Cults formed • God judges misrepresentations • Dangerous actions • Spiritual elitism • Depression
Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 1 Cor. 8:1
Dangers of Interpretation • Heresy/Cults formed • God judges misrepresentations • Dangerous actions • Spiritual elitism • Depression
• What are the barriers to understanding?
4 Presuppositions in Interpretation 1. No contradictions 2. Innocent until proven guilty 3. The Bible is a revelation of God of Himself and His plan for His people 4. Proper methodology leads to understanding
1 Rule of Interpretation CONTEXT Understand the CONTEXT of a sentence as it relates to
Grammar and Context ARE that important
1. 2. 3. 4.
• The average North American consumes more than 400 Africans.
The paragraph The book The rest of the Bible The Historical and Cultural Context
Bible Basics • Grammar and historical knowledge • Literal truth vs. true literally
Basics of Interpretation 1. Observations 2. Interpretation 3. Application
Translations Help Understanding Translation is possible because meaning is transcendent • El gato es blanco. • The cat is white.
Different Translations • Formal equivalence or essentially literal- word for word (translators try for the same word order) • Dynamic (functional) equivalence- thought for thought
• 1 Kings 2:10. A formal rendering says, “So David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David.” (NASB) • The dynamic equivalence says, “So David died and was buried in the city of David.” (NLT)
Different Translations
Notice Relations of Characters Parallel - Typology •
One may be a foreshadowing of another, or have the attributes of his counterparts – Abraham and Israel • A famine forces him to move to Egypt (Gen. 12; 41;46) • Ruler places promised one in danger (Gen. 12; Ex. 1) • Both acquire much in Egypt (Gen. 12; 47) • Lord strikes house of Pharaoh with plague (Ex. 7-14) • Both driven out of Egypt (Gen. 12; Ex. 12) • Both leave with Egypt’s treasure (Ex. 12) • Both return to land to worship God (Gen. 13; Ex. 12)
Contrasting • Characters may be set in opposition to each otherinterpretation must be in relation to each other – Rahab and Achan – David and Saul – Rachel and Leah
Historical Narrative • Historical Narrative is not to be taken as prescriptive (normative) • The majority of the Bible is narrative (The Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Sam. To 2 Chron. , the Gospels, and Acts)
• How did Jacob meet his wife? • How did Isaac and Moses get his wife?
TYPOLOGY • TYPES - immediate fulfillment of prophecy, patterns, examples or forms • ANTITYPES- the perfect fulfillment of prophecy, shows the obvious fingerprint of God d
NARRATIVE TYPOLOGY • Narratives are multidimensional stories that tell of an event (or events) • Honor the text by allowing it to tell its message • Ask what is being taught in the narrative about God • Character studies and moralizing are the main hindrances to properly gleaning this
Narrative Typology • Adam • Noah • Israel
• Jesus
• • • • • • • • •
GOD REST SIN (Garden, Tent, Land) FRUIT NAKEDNESS CURSE WORK FLOOD
Typical Errors in Interpretation • • • • •
Psychoanalysis Fallacy Word Study Fallacies Failing to Account for Genre Moralizing Focusing on “The Facts”
Typical Errors in Interpretation • • • • •
Psychoanalysis Fallacy Word Study Fallacies Failing to Account for Genre Moralizing Focusing on “The Facts”
GENRE • Each book of the Bible belongs to a certain genre (category of literature), and should be interpreted according to the genre it is in
Prophetic • Generally, Prophecy is history written before it happens • Avoid anachronisms • Distinguish between first and second advent • Use for encouragement
Wisdom Literature • Wisdom literature cannot be taken as making promises that will happen 100% of the time
• Prov. 26:4-5- Do I answer the fool or not?
Gospel/Epistles Allegorizing • We need to go beneath the text for the deeper meaning • Ignores the historical and grammatical context • This is not unique to gospel and epistles (e.g., Song of Solomon)
Spiritualizing • Discards the physical historical reality and elements • Takes one or two elements of the text • E.g., Jesus stilling the storm becomes Jesus stills the storms of life. • The text is subjective/arbitrary
Error of Moralizing
Error of Moralizing • The ethical demands of the text may reveal something about God’s nature, but most often are secondary to what God is trying to communicate.
• Moral of every story • Jesus asks, “Do you love me?” • Peter says, “Yes, Lord” Jesus commands, “Feed my sheep.” OUR RESPONSE Should be: • Do we love him • We have a task
Error of Moralizing • It misses the point by – transfers only select elements of the text – Turning descriptions into prescriptions – Distorts the text and ignores the context – Failing ground morality in Scripture – Trivializing virtue – Detracting from the story
Focusing on “THE FACTS” • This happens when one spends time on proving that the events or details in the Bible did or did not take place • Occurs when apologetics replaces Bible study
Things to Remember • The CONTEXT of scripture determines its meaning • ALWAYS ask, “What is God teaching me about Himself through this passage?” • Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 1 Cor. 8:1 • STUDY your Bible (don’t confuse this with devotions)
OVERVIEW OF INTERPRETATION • • • •
DANGERS PRESUPOSSITIONS BASICS TYPICAL ERRORS
DANGERS OF INTERPRETATION • • • • •
Heresy/Cults formed God judges misrepresentations Dangerous actions Spiritual elitism Depression
Dangers of Interpretation • Heresy/Cults formed • God judges misrepresentations • Dangerous actions • Spiritual elitism • Depression
• Col. 1:15; Ps. 89:27
Dangers of Interpretation • Heresy/Cults formed • God judges misrepresentations • Dangerous actions • Spiritual elitism • Depression
• James 3:1; Matt. 12:36 • Job 42:8
Dangers of Interpretation • Heresy/Cults formed • God judges misrepresentations • Dangerous actions • Spiritual elitism • Depression
Dangers of Interpretation • Heresy/Cults formed • God judges misrepresentations • Dangerous actions • Spiritual elitism • Depression
Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 1 Cor. 8:1
Dangers of Interpretation • Heresy/Cults formed • God judges misrepresentations • Dangerous actions • Spiritual elitism • Depression
• What are the barriers to understanding?
4 Presuppositions in Interpretation 1. No contradictions 2. Innocent until proven guilty 3. The Bible is a revelation of God of Himself and His plan for His people 4. Proper methodology leads to understanding
1 Rule of Interpretation CONTEXT Understand the CONTEXT of a sentence as it relates to
Grammar and Context ARE that important
1. 2. 3. 4.
• The average North American consumes more than 400 Africans.
The paragraph The book The rest of the Bible The Historical and Cultural Context
Bible Basics • Grammar and historical knowledge • Literal truth vs. true literally
Basics of Interpretation 1. Observations 2. Interpretation 3. Application
Translations Help Understanding Translation is possible because meaning is transcendent • El gato es blanco. • The cat is white.
Different Translations • Formal equivalence or essentially literal- word for word (translators try for the same word order) • Dynamic (functional) equivalence- thought for thought
• 1 Kings 2:10. A formal rendering says, “So David slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David.” (NASB) • The dynamic equivalence says, “So David died and was buried in the city of David.” (NLT)
Different Translations
Notice Relations of Characters Parallel - Typology •
One may be a foreshadowing of another, or have the attributes of his counterparts – Abraham and Israel • A famine forces him to move to Egypt (Gen. 12; 41;46) • Ruler places promised one in danger (Gen. 12; Ex. 1) • Both acquire much in Egypt (Gen. 12; 47) • Lord strikes house of Pharaoh with plague (Ex. 7-14) • Both driven out of Egypt (Gen. 12; Ex. 12) • Both leave with Egypt’s treasure (Ex. 12) • Both return to land to worship God (Gen. 13; Ex. 12)
Contrasting • Characters may be set in opposition to each otherinterpretation must be in relation to each other – Rahab and Achan – David and Saul – Rachel and Leah
Historical Narrative • Historical Narrative is not to be taken as prescriptive (normative) • The majority of the Bible is narrative (The Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Sam. To 2 Chron. , the Gospels, and Acts)
• How did Jacob meet his wife? • How did Isaac and Moses get his wife?
TYPOLOGY • TYPES - immediate fulfillment of prophecy, patterns, examples or forms • ANTITYPES- the perfect fulfillment of prophecy, shows the obvious fingerprint of God d
NARRATIVE TYPOLOGY • Narratives are multidimensional stories that tell of an event (or events) • Honor the text by allowing it to tell its message • Ask what is being taught in the narrative about God • Character studies and moralizing are the main hindrances to properly gleaning this
Narrative Typology • Adam • Noah • Israel
• Jesus
• • • • • • • • •
GOD REST SIN (Garden, Tent, Land) FRUIT NAKEDNESS CURSE WORK FLOOD
Typical Errors in Interpretation • • • • •
Psychoanalysis Fallacy Word Study Fallacies Failing to Account for Genre Moralizing Focusing on “The Facts”
Typical Errors in Interpretation • • • • •
Psychoanalysis Fallacy Word Study Fallacies Failing to Account for Genre Moralizing Focusing on “The Facts”
GENRE • Each book of the Bible belongs to a certain genre (category of literature), and should be interpreted according to the genre it is in
Prophetic • Generally, Prophecy is history written before it happens • Avoid anachronisms • Distinguish between first and second advent • Use for encouragement
Wisdom Literature • Wisdom literature cannot be taken as making promises that will happen 100% of the time
• Prov. 26:4-5- Do I answer the fool or not?
Gospel/Epistles Allegorizing • We need to go beneath the text for the deeper meaning • Ignores the historical and grammatical context • This is not unique to gospel and epistles (e.g., Song of Solomon)
Spiritualizing • Discards the physical historical reality and elements • Takes one or two elements of the text • E.g., Jesus stilling the storm becomes Jesus stills the storms of life. • The text is subjective/arbitrary
Error of Moralizing
Error of Moralizing • The ethical demands of the text may reveal something about God’s nature, but most often are secondary to what God is trying to communicate.
• Moral of every story • Jesus asks, “Do you love me?” • Peter says, “Yes, Lord” Jesus commands, “Feed my sheep.” OUR RESPONSE Should be: • Do we love him • We have a task
Error of Moralizing • It misses the point by – transfers only select elements of the text – Turning descriptions into prescriptions – Distorts the text and ignores the context – Failing ground morality in Scripture – Trivializing virtue – Detracting from the story
Focusing on “THE FACTS” • This happens when one spends time on proving that the events or details in the Bible did or did not take place • Occurs when apologetics replaces Bible study
Things to Remember • The CONTEXT of scripture determines its meaning • ALWAYS ask, “What is God teaching me about Himself through this passage?” • Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 1 Cor. 8:1 • STUDY your Bible (don’t confuse this with devotions)
