Biblical Interpretation Seminar Notebook, POSSIBLE PITFALLS

POSSIBLE PITFALLS

Remember the need for: (1) a logical process; (2) a textually-focused method of interpretation and (3) a Spirit-led teachability. Our interpretation should be verifiable to others based on our logical thought processes and evidence from the context and paragraph.
Document textual evidence
1. From genre of the biblical book or literary unit
2. From the literary context of a passage.
  1. immediate context
  2. larger literary unit
  3. the whole book
  4. books by the same author
  5. books of the same genre
3. From the historical setting of a biblical book
  1. author (who)
  2. hearers or readers (to whom)
  3. occasion or purpose of writing (why)
  4. date (when)
4. From the grammatical structure of a text
  1. relationship of the parts of the sentence (syntax)
  2. relationship of the sentences to the paragraph
  3. relationship of paragraph to literary unit
5. From the words of the text
  1. semantic field
  2. author’s usage
  3. other biblical author’s usage from the same period, covenant or genre
  4. whole Bible
6. From the parallel passages
  1. immediate context
  2. same literary unit
  3. same book
  4. same author
  5. another biblical author of the same period
  6. another biblical author of the same Testament
  7. another biblical author from the Bible
Examples of interpretive abuses
1. abuse because of presuppositions (examples)
  1. bias concerning miracles (William Barclay’s logical positivist’s interpretation of Matt. 14:13-21)
  2. bias concerning women in ministry (deaconesses in Rom. 16:1, 7; 1 Tim. 3:11 or "widows," 1 Tim. 5:9-11,16)
    Special Topic: Deaconess
    Special Topic: Women in the Bible
    Special Topic: Women Ministers
  3. bias concerning church polity (cf. John 21:15-17; Acts 15; Titus 1:5)
    Special Topic: Church Polity
  4. bias concerning all believers to speak in tongues (cf. 1 Cor. 12:29-30)
    Special Topic: Speaking in Tongues
2. abuse of context because of proof-texting (examples)
  1. "top knots" (Matt. 24:17, "top not," woman’s hairstyle)
  2. rule focused legalism (cf. Col. 2:21, do not touch, taste, or handle)
  3. "the" plan of salvation (cf. Rev. 3:20, written to believers; Rom. 10:9-13, not in same literary unit as Rom. 3:23; 5:8; and 6:23)
  4. baptism for the dead (cf. 1 Cor. 15:29)
    Special Topic: Baptism for the Dead
  5. dispensational proof-text (cf. 2 Tim. 2:15)
  6. transubstantiation (cf. John 6:52ff)
    Special Topic: The Lord's Supper in John 6
  7. personal leisure versus World mission (cf. Ps. 46:10)
3. abuse of literary genre because of literalism (examples)
  1. Ps. 114:3-6 (poetry)
  2. Rev. 12-13,17 (apocalyptic)
  3. Luke 16:19-31 (parable)
4. abuse of figures of speech or cultural idioms (examples)
  1. "hate" (cf. Gen. 29:31, 33; Deut. 21:15; Rom. 9:13; Mal. 1:2-4)
    Special Topic: Hate
  2. "pluck out. . .cut off" (cf. Matt. 5:29-30)
  3. "many" as referring to "all" (cf. Isa. 53:6 versus 53:11-12; Rom. 5:18 versus 5:15,19)
5. over simplification of truth (examples)
  1. God is love yet God is also wrath
  2. saved by grace yet faith and repentance needed (cf. Mark 1:15; Acts 3:16, 19; 20:21)
  3. salvation is free yet demand for good works (cf. Eph. 2:8-10 and James 2:14-26)
6. Selectivity of certain passages (examples)
  1. unlimited prayer (cf. John 14:13-14; 15:7, 16; 16:23, but Matt. 7:7-8; James 1:6-7; 4:3; 1 John 3:22; 5:14-15)
    Special Topic: Prayer, Unlimited Yet Limited
  2. long hair (cf. 1 Cor. 11:6, but Num. 6:5; Lev. 19:27)
  3. women keep silent in church (cf. 1 Cor. 14:34, but 1 Cor. 11:5)
    Special Topic: Women Keep Silent
  4. tongue speaking (cf. 1 Cor. 13:8, but 14:5, 18, 39)
    Special Topic: Speaking In Tongues
  5. food laws binding (cf. Lev. 11, but Matt. 15:11; Mark 7:18-23; Acts 10:10-16)
  6. humans are trichotomous as God is a Trinity (cf. 1 Thess. 5:23 and Heb. 4:12)
    Special Topic: Body and Spirit
  7. "the" model of salvation (cf. Acts 2:38 [baptism]; 8:14-25 [tongues]; 16:19-34 [only believe])
7. Majoring on minors (examples)
  1. to whom did Jesus preach while in Hades (cf. 1 Pet. 3:19; 4:6)
  2. how will the earth be destroyed by fire (cf. 2 Pet. 3:10)
  3. what is the sin unto death (cf. 1 John 5:16)
    Special Topic: Sin Unto Death
  4. millennium (cf. Rev. 20:1-6)
    Special Topic: Millennium
8. abuse of historical setting (examples)
  1. Gideon’s fleece (cf. Jdgs. 6:36-40)
  2. polygamy (cf. 1 Tim. 3:2; 5:9; Titus 1:6)
9. Suggested reading
  1. Scripture Twisting by James Sire
  2. Exegetical Fallacies by D. A. Carson
  3. Biblical Words and Their Meaning by Moises Silva
  4. Why Christians Fight Over the Bible by John Newport