It is often said that biblical interpretation requires one to understand a passage's historical context. However, this raises several important problems.
Tag: Hermeneutics
Buy from AmazonBuy from WTS Books There are few contemporary authors who have influenced the way I think about and live out my faith more than John Piper, I was therefore very excited to hear that he had written another book on the Bible—my favorite subject. In particular, Reading the Bible Supernaturally looks at how … Continue reading Review of Reading the Bible Supernaturally
Does it matter that Judges follows Joshua in our Bibles? We can all agree that it matters whether Joshua is “canonical,” part of God’s authoritative communication to His Church—part of the Bible. But does the order of the books matter? Among the various translations of the Old Testament the books considered “canonical” are mostly the … Continue reading Reading the Old Testament in Order
It is interesting to observe that the New Testament Epistles and much of the Old Testament Wisdom literature have a function that closely parallels the case laws of the Torah. This observation helps us see that the contemporary approach to exegesis that attempts to adduce universal principles from Biblical texts misses the point of their … Continue reading Wisdom Literature and Epistles as Case Laws
Context and Meaning Context is essential to understanding all communication, yet why is this the case? In this article, I contend that context both limits and reveals textual meaning so that texts can be used. Texts of every sort are “multivalent”; they have a wealth of meaning potential. A text is meant to say something … Continue reading An Investigation into the Role of Context in Interpretation