So let’s say you’re looking to read a bit of Holy writ, allow me to congratulate you! The Bible is a collection of 66 different pieces of literature, each worthy of a look-see. The problem with reading these often antiquated words is understanding them as they should be read. But do not fret my good friends! I went to school and got all learnt’ so I could write this blog post to explain all I know.

Communication scholars tell us that we bring about 85% of the meaning we receive to the text. That’s a lot. We can make things all screwy by making anachronistic (time-related) and ethnocentristic (cultural) snafus. Basically, people tend to wrongfully read the Bible from a modern day understanding of time and culture. When this happens the meaning of scripture is changed by us.

To avoid these problems the practice of Hermeneutics, or methods of study, has been developed. To put this funky term to use you need to do two things: exegesis and exposition. Exegesis is the process of finding the original meaning of the text. Exposition is the application of that meaning to modern times. So in summary, exegesis + exposition = hermeneutics.

Easy enough right? Well, it can get tricky. You need resources. And here are some for you:

Some Rules of Exegesis

1. The Bible must be read like any other book. Don’t just randomly open it up. Begin at the beginning of a letter and read it straight through (in one sitting if possible).

2. Read the book existentially. The Bible is 100% inspired by God and written 100% by humans. This means that God is speaking to us through a certain culture, language, and historical situation. Pretty cool!

3. Carefully determine the meaning of words. There’s a practice known as etymology (finding the root meaning of words). It helps. You can use resources such as BlueLetterBible.org to find these. (Just look up a passage and click on the “C” next to it.) Also, remember the words used in the Bible were used in a different cultural context. Don’t be a sinner and commit a ethnocentristic boo-boo.

4. There is a difference between a proverb and a law. A proverb is more of a general guideline whereas a law is always true. Don’t treat them as the same.

5. Parables, short fictional stories often told by Jesus in Matthew-John, typically only have 1 point. If there’s more than one point, Jesus will explain it in the text.

6. Be careful with prophecy. It’s crazy. It is hard to interpret until it actually happens. The point of prophecy is usually to change the current behavior of people; make that your goal too.

7. Remember the Old Testament is a contract and history of God’s relationship with the old nation of Israel. It’s commands were specifically for that country and that time; however, they also reveal what God is like and what he expects of his people.

8. The New Testament is also written in a specific culture to specific people. It can also be for us when we are like the original readers. For example, look at the beginning of any New Testament letter. If it says it is for all who are “in Christ” and you are “in Christ”, then it is for you!

9. Remember when reading any story that it was written with the purpose of changing the actions of the reader; that’s you!

Steps of Action!

Step 1: Acquire a study Bible. There are lots of great one’s out there, I like this one.

Step 2: Read it.

This post was edited and added to by my good friend Michael Yates.