Interpreting the Bible: Five Rules

The following is the second of a two-part a guest post by Alan Hicks.

In my last post I presented a brief introductory history of hermeneutics from the Protestant Reformation. Now let’s look at some of those rules of interpretation. We instinctively use many of these same rules when we read other literature as well, whether it is a novel, a magazine, or a car manual. Becoming aware of them will help us to interpret the bible with greater clarity and accuracy.

And Now…The Rules

  • The Bible will never contradict itself. This is the first and most important rule of hermeneutics. If the same God is the author of all sixty-six books, and God never lies or changes, then there will be an internal consistency.
  • Genre matters. We must keep in mind the genre that we are reading if we are to interpret it correctly. Poetry must be understood as poetry, historical narrative as historical narrative, apocalyptic as apocalyptic, etc. When David says in Psalm 22:6, “I am a worm and not a man,” we are not to imagine a worm with a little crown on his head. He is obviously using a metaphor to explain that he is in a state of humiliation.
  • The human author matters. We must keep in mind the human author that God is using to write the particular book we are reading. We will see certain personality traits come out, certain concerns that that author has, certain themes they are highlighting, and so on.
  • Historical and cultural context matters. We must take details in their historical and cultural context. Why does Jesus wash the disciples’ feet? Why are lepers avoided? Why is the sign above the cross written in three languages? The answers to these questions may not always be fully answered in Scripture and we might need to do some investigations of our own.
  • The analogy of faith. The analogy of faith states that vague or unclear passages must interpreted by clear passages. This way you do not make a big deal out of a teaching that may result from you misunderstanding a hard verse.
  • Bonus Round. Lastly, keep in mind that, in the words of J. I. Packer, “the ultimate context of every verse is the whole Bible.” Keep what you are reading in the context of the chapter, the book, and the whole Bible.

Obviously what I have written here barely scratches the surface of hermeneutics. Many very large books have been written on the subject. If you wish to dive in to this subject (and I suggest you do if you want to get more out of your Bible study) there are two books I recommend. The first is called The Hermeneutical Spiral by Grant Osborne. It is fairly technical. The second, more reader-friendly book is called Grasping God’s Word by J. Scott Duval and J. Daniel Hays. Investing a little time in the study of hermeneutics will help you greatly profit in the study of God’s Word.

Alan is a M.Div. graduate of Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC. He and his wife attend Grace Presbyterian (PCA) in Kernersville, NC. You can follow him on twitter. He’s an awesome dude and a good friend of mine.

Published by Eddy Barnes

Eddy Barnes a husband, father, and the youth pastor at Grace Covenant Church.

Join the Conversation

2 Comments

  1. I think it is awesome that you are doing guest posts now. Alan and I actually took the same Hermeneutics class together and both of those books he recommended were the main text in that class.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *