Bibliology Class Notes

February 12, 2026

Interpreting Scripture -A Proper Hermeneutical System

• The Object of Translation

  • To Interpret What the Scripture Says Without Adding Anything from the Translator

  • The Translator Is To Discover The Meaning Of The Passage, Not Come Up With One Of His Own.

• The Unclear Passages are Governed by the Clear Passages

  • Give preference to the clearer passages.

  • No doctrine can come from an obscure passage.

• Scripture Interprets Scripture

  • Compare Scriptures with common subjects

  • One must be certain that the passages are discussing the same topic

  • Similarities are to be kept as similarities not made identical. (Like means just that, similar to but not the same.)

  • Do not add more to what the Scripture is saying than what is actually there

  • Within context, the Bible often interprets itself

• There is One Meaning to Any Given Scripture unless the Holy Spirit has Directly Given it More than One Meaning. – i.e. type and anti-type

  • The application must fit with the interpretation

  • One cannot go beyond what the Holy Spirit has designated as the second meaning of Scripture

  • Only those specific sections of Scripture that are quoted by Jesus or the Holy Spirit from the Old Testament can be used as application to what they applied it to

• Context

  • A word must be understood in terms of its relation to the sentence and the sentence to its relation to the paragraph and the paragraph to its relationship to the chapter and the chapter to its relationship to the book and the book to its relationship to the whole Bible

  • All interpretations must be taken literally

    • This includes taking metaphors as metaphors and idioms as idioms, etc

    • Properly applying all mannerisms of speech

  • All aspects of context are to be taken into consideration

  • Who is the passage addressed to?

    • The application of any given scripture is confined to whom the passage is written to.

    • A passage that is addressed to a certain people group cannot be applied to another people group.

  • How does the passage relate to the meaning around it?

    • How does it relate to the rest of the book?

    • How does it relate to the rest of the bible as a whole?

    • How does it relate to the progression of revelation?

    • How does the text relate to the culture and background in which it was written?

    • Ask the following questions.

      • What does the passage say?

      • What did it mean to the author?

      • What did it mean to the reader?

      • What does it mean to me in light of the consistent application of the principle of literal interpretation?

      • What was the experience or occasion that gave rise to the message

    • When the Scripture is Unclear

      • Do not take a part of a passage to prove a point.

      • The whole context must be taken into consideration.

      • Caution must be taken to not add more to the scripture than is actually there.

    • The Bible does not contradict itself when translated literally

    • Key Words

      • Are to be studied in light of their usage in the time the text was written

      • Scripture often gives new meaning to words. These must be taken into consideration

    • Scripture is Not to be Interpreted in Light of Personal Feelings or Experiences

      • The scriptures are objective, not based on what we feel

      • Experiences are subjective

    • You Can Not Use a Person as an Example for the Christian Unless the Scripture Specifically States that the Christian is to Use this Person as an Example

      • David, Daniel, Saul, Jesus during His earthly ministry, etc. cannot be used as a life example for the grace believer. (Old Testament persons)

      • When no example is given for the grace believer, he is free to do anything that is not prohibited by the Scriptures

    • Everything that is Essential for the Christian’s Practice is Revealed in Scripture

    • Use of Figures

      • When an inanimate object is used to describe an animate object, it must be taken as figurative

      • When the expression is not in the character of the thing describes, it must be taken figuratively

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