Literary Context: How to Study the Bible

You know, I was listening to a heated debate on my favorite political talk show this week and it struck me how often we hear the refrain "that's not what I meant, you've taken my words out of context. Doesn't that sound all too familiar? I suspect we might encounter similar protests from biblical authors when they witness how we cherry-pick scriptures, quoting or interpreting them without considering their context. In this episode of the Bible Basics Podcast, we're diving deep into the world of context, specifically exploring the importance of literary context. Stay tuned to gain a richer understanding of this crucial aspect of biblical interpretation. Welcome everyone.

I'm your host, Jacqui Adewole, and this is the Bible Basics Podcast where, weekly, we break down the Bible into understandable, bite-sized chunks. When reading, studying and interpreting the Bible, it's crucial to consider its varied context for a full understanding. In previous episodes, we explored historical and cultural contexts. There'll be a link available in the show notes. Today, our focus turns to literary context, wondering what this entails and why it matters. Let's dive in.

Literary context encompasses two key aspects. First, it pertains to the specific form a passage takes. What scholars refer to as its genre. What stylistic approach does the author use? Secondly, literary context involves analyzing the words, sentences and paragraphs surrounding the passage under study. Here we seek to understand the position of the text within the broader scope of the Bible and its impact on the meaning of the text we're focusing on. Let's explore each of these two dimensions and their significance.

Let's begin with genre. When we speak of genre in the Bible, we're referring to the diverse types or styles of writing it contains. Just as our bookshelves hold various genres, everything within the Bible is expressed in a particular style. You can often identify the genre of a passage by examining its form. For instance, compare the opening phrase once upon a time with one beginning with dear sir or madam. We know one is a fairy tale and the other is a business letter. Each genre has a distinct purpose and raises a set of expectations. The Bible encompasses a rich array of literary genres. Five of the overarching genres in the Old Testament are narrative, law, wisdom, poetry and prophecy. In the New Testament, genre includes Gospels, letters and Apocalyptic. Each has its own set of rules and conventions that shape how we interpret it. As we engage with the Bible, it's essential to approach each genre carefully, recognizing that they cannot all be read in the same manner. Let's look at a few examples.

Narrative text within the Bible chronicles the history of God and his chosen nation, Israel. It unfolds a storyline with characters and plot. Within these narratives, we observe God as the central figure and explore his relationship with his people. Within narratives, it's vital to discern between descriptive and prescriptive elements. Descriptive passages describe what happened and prescriptive passages give clear commands or instructions. When reading narratives, we have to understand that some actions recounted in narratives are descriptive, meaning they don't serve as a moral directive. For instance, while Exodus 1: 15-21 narrates the midwives' deception of Pharaoh, they're lying to him about the way Hebrew women give birth. This does not imply God's approval of lying. Now we'll move on to poetry.

This constitutes another prominent genre in the Bible. It's characterized by verses, figurative language and strong expressions of feelings. Hebrew poetry often employs parallelism, where one line, maybe the second line restates or reinforces the first line in some way. An example of this might be found in Amos 5:24." But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream. Both lines describe God's call for holiness, but the second line emphasizes his call for holiness to be something that's constant and never-ending. Then there are metaphors, a powerful way to illuminate difficult concepts by comparing one thing to another thing such as the Lord is my shepherd or your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Emphasizing imagery and emotion, biblical poetry frequently uses a variety of figures of speech. One big one is the use of hyperbole, which means the conscious exaggeration for the sake of effect. Job 296 states "his path was drenched with cream and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil". Here Job was describing to his friends the abundance of good things from God that he had.

When considering the poetry genre, our theological interpretations must be approached cautiously. We must consider overarching biblical principles. For instance, while Psalm 139: 19a expresses David's cry for justice "God, if only you would kill the wicked it doesn't mean we should pray death to our enemies. As affirmed in Matthew 5, 44-45, we're commanded to love and pray for our enemies. Also, if we take our theology from Psalm 51-11, which reads "do not banish me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me", we would think that the Holy Spirit could be taken from us as believers. Yet we know from Ephesians 113 that we're sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. So that was the genre of poetry.

Let's look at one last one wisdom literature. This one's found in books like Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Job, which comprise collections of wise sayings and theological reflections. These texts range from the concise statements offering practical advice for specific situations, as we see in Proverbs, to profound explorations of existential questions such as the nature of suffering in Job and the meaning of life in Ecclesiastes. Much of wisdom literature is crafted in poetic form, engaging readers through its rhythmic and expressive language. Take Proverbs, for example.

Proverbs presents succinct, memorable statements intended to convey general guidelines for ethical living. However, it's crucial to recognize that Proverbs are not absolute promises from God guaranteeing anything, such as uninterrupted prosperity. Instead, they spotlight fundamental attitudes and patterns of behavior conducive to success. All other factors being equal, their primary aim is to express essential truths about life in easily digestible terms. Consider Proverbs 10:4. Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealt".: While this proverb underscores the value of diligence, it doesn't imply a direct cause and effect relationship between effort and success. In every circumstance, therefore, we have to avoid the misconception that poverty signifies laziness or that diligence ensures wealth. Interpreting Proverbs as definitive promises can lead to disillusionment, in this case among hardworking individuals who may not achieve the expected outcomes. As RC Sproul aptly noted, even divinely inspired Proverbs may not universally apply to every life situation. Rather, they offer insights that are generally true but require discernment in their application. So that was genre.

Let's now delve into another feature of literary context, and that is a passage's surrounding context. Just like a wide-angled lens on your camera or on your iPhone, captures more than just a narrow focus, examining the context before and after a specific Biblical passage offers a fuller understanding of its meaning. Consider the word 'hand' in English. It has more than a dozen possible meanings, from our physical hand to expressions like give him a hand. Meaning , give him applause or give him assistance. It can be confusing, although if we know the specific context, we easily grasp its intended meaning. For example, if someone says I cut my hand with a knife, you know that they aren't talking about a clock hand. Likewise, words in the Bible often carry multiple meanings, but authors use them within specific contexts to convey precise messages. So interpreting a Bible passage accurately relies on understanding its surrounding context. Each verse is a part of a larger text.

Reading a verse in isolation can lead to misunderstandings. It's crucial to read words and verses in their surrounding context, considering what precedes and follows them, whether it's sentences, chapters, books or the entire Bible. For instance, let's examine the popular verse in Philippians 4:13. This is the New King James Version. I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me." Taken alone, it might seem like a promise of achieving anything we put our mind to, from acing exams to winning sports games. However, reading the preceding verses reveals that Paul wrote this from prison, emphasizing his ability to find contentment in any circumstance, whether he had plenty or little, through his reliance on Christ. Reading this passage in its surrounding context, we can be sure that Christ will give us the strength to be content no matter what the circumstances. To wrap it up, getting the most out of the Bible means paying attention to its literary context. This helps us interpret it accurately and put God's teaching into practice effectively.

We have to be careful not to view the Bible as all one genre. The way the author chose to communicate the message is critical to understanding meaning. That's genre. Genre is not an optional matter to consider if we have the time or interests. So when you're reading a passage, think about what kind of writing it is, the genre and how that affects what it's trying to say. Secondly, surrounding context determines meaning, both at the word level, the sentence, the paragraph, chapter or book level.

Taking the time to see how a passage fits into its surrounding context is essential. To sum it up by understanding the genre and the surrounding context of a passage, we uncover layers of wisdom that enrich our spiritual journey. Remember this saying "text without context is simply a pretext for whatever you want to say, what do you say? Let's avoid that trap by reading the Bible in context. If you found this episode helpful, informative or inspirational in any way, would you please share with someone you know who needs to hear it? You can do that by sharing the podcast's website, bible-basicsorg, or you can click on the share button right where you're listening now. For those of you listening on YouTube, go ahead and like, subscribe and leave us a comment. In closing, may the grace and peace of God be with you now and always.