Interpretation












I. Synthesis

Forming the big picture of the author’s thoughts and communication is necessary for proper observation, but is also involves synthesizing the material. Synthesis is putting everything together.

It helps to be able to fashion a graphical representation of the book. Often this is done in the form of a book chart. A book chart is a chart that is divided up into sections. The name of the book is at the top, with the theme underneath. Then the book’s divisions are listed in the appropriate number of boxes, listing the beginning and ending verse of each section, and the main subject matter of each section. In this way, a person can get a quick overview of what the book is about. This also helps visualize the flow of the book in the student’s mind.

Some students draw out representations with arrows and figures of their own devising. Whatever helps you to understand the flow of the book and remember it best is a good approach. If a book chart allows you to comprehend the big picture, then a book chart may be a good approach for you. Some scholars after studying become accustomed to being able to use a simple outline to get the big picture of the book. An outline is essentially the same as a book chart, just not represented in the same graphical manner.

Thus with the book chart, the puzzle pieces are all fitted together to help give the student the big picture of what the piece of literature is about. Creating a book chart should be an inductive exercise. You are trying to see what the text is saying. By putting the parts of the text together to get the big picture, from the text.


A. Synthesis: Narrative Analysis 

In seeking to understand what the Author intends to convey, it is often helpful and insightful to look at how the narrative (the story) is put together. This often reveals items that the author has intended to communicate.

Some Examples:

B. Synthesis: Example Methodology for Working Towards a Book Chart:


C. Synthesis: Crafting a Synthetic Overview of a Book

The purpose of creating a synthetic overview of a book is to gain a broad perspective of what the book is about.

In approaching the synthetic overview, to determine the flow and structure of the book, it is necessary to determine what are the large sections that compose a book.

The inductive process should eventually narrow the material down to one point, expressed in a single statement. The mode at this point in interpretation is synthesis first, then on to analysis.

What a Synthetic Overview will accomplish is to have a graphical representation of the book, it’s parts, the purpose of the book, and how the different parts relate to that purpose statement


Some Principles to Follow in Creating a Book Chart:

The text guides the form

Do not just list content

Test your ideas

Show the most important information

If you have too much information, synthesize

Be creative. Use different chart types


Sample Book Chart:

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II. Principles of Interpretation

Interpretation is the process of ‘making sense’ of the data you have gathered. With the study complete, in observing the passage, one now has the pieces to arrange into the picture.

You are looking for understanding. In studying the passage you want to understand the meaning of the passage as if the author was communicating to his audience.

Some key questions to ask yourself in the interpretational process are: What does this mean? What is the purpose of this? And, how is this meant to be understood?

While you are attempting to make sense of the information you have gathered, you must also abide by the proper principles of interpretation. These principles of interpretation (sometimes called Hermeneutical Principles) are guardrails that keep us on the proper path. The principles of interpretation safeguard the interpretation process so that we don’t impose outside-meaning on the scriptures.

Some principles you use all the time, like context; others you only use some of the time, like cultural customs.

Interpretational Principle: Ad Fontes

Interpretational Principle: Analogy of Faith

Interpretational Principle: Context

Interpretational Principle: Grammatico-Historical Method

Interpretational Principle: Literary/Genre

Additional Interpretational Principles:

Clarity of Scripture

The clarity of scripture recognizes that scripture is intended for man. As something intended for man, it is meant to be understood by man. 

Clearest Interpretation

A clear and easy to understand interpretation is generally to be preferred over a convoluted and complex reading.

Accommodation of Revelation

When God communicates to man, the communication is accommodated to man's senses and perception. If God is to communicate with us, He condescends to our limited capacity to receive His revelation. However, accommodation does not mean that God allows errors in scripture.

Progressive Revelation

This principle recognizes that the work of God is revealed chronologically. Theology presented in the Old Testament is made clearer with the New Testament. It represents a movement from vague to clear, incomplete towards completion.

Passage Priority

This principle recognizes that meaning of any passage is found in that passage. A particular passage contributes toward God's word in its own context. Later revelation doesn't change the meaning of earlier scriptures.

Scripture Interprets Scripture

Scripture can be used to interpret scripture. When there are passages that are harder to understand, other passages that speak to the issue directly and clearer should be used to help understand the obscure passage. This may also be expressed as "Cross Reference" principle.

Necessity of Literal Interpretation

When interpreting the scriptures, it is important to understand the scriptures at their face value interpretation, unless there is a scriptural reason for a different reading. That is, to approach scripture first as literal. Figurative language is obviously used in the Bible, but appropriate interpretation needs to first interpret literally, and then understand how figurative language may be used by the author. That is, the natural and forthright reading is to be preferred.

Authorial Intent (Singleness of Meaning in Scripture)

Meaning that a biblical text has one basic proper meaning or interpretation. In some cases, the one meaning may have near and future fulfillments or more than one part (e.g. prophecy, puns). This may also be expressed as the “Unity of the Meaning of Scripture” principle.

Checking Principle

When interpreting the scriptures, we should use the best available resources to check and inform our interpretations. The more scholarly and specialist a source is, the higher the probability for a correct interpretation. Quality sources would have the best chance of giving us reliable information on the passage or point. 


Some Interpretation Principles proceed from Biblical Theology:

Principle of Trinitarian Interpretation

The concept of the Trinity is a Canonical conclusion we draw from the whole of the Scriptures. 

"First we provide biblical proofs of the deity of the Son, then the deity of the Spirit, then the personhood of the Spirit, then the distinction between the Son and the Spirit, and so on, either beginning or ending with biblical proof of the unity of God. It' is possible to catch a glimpse of the deeper Trinitarian logic of the Bible's total message through this approach, but when time is short, the biblical proof of the Trinity is reduced to a verse-by-verse affair." 

Fred Sanders, The Deep Things of God (Crossway, Wheaton, Ill. 2010), 35.

This theological understanding can then inform how we interpret the text. For example, reading Ephesians chapter 1 with an understanding of the Trinity, and observing the different roles that the hypostases have, helps us have a much deeper understanding of God's work and character. 

Here are some examples of Trinitarian interpretation in Ephesians chapter one:

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Some Interpretation Principles proceed from Systematic Theology:

Christological/Redemptive Theology

Seeing Christ in all the Scriptures can be an interpretive principle. How this principle works out can vary: from seeing a passage in the context of God's redemptive plan, to seeing Song of Songs as Christ's love letter to the church.

Rule of Faith

The 'Rule of Faith' is similar to the 'Analogy of Faith' principle. However, it means that the teaching of the church should be consulted as well as the Scriptures. One must ask oneself where the authority for establishing interpretation lies.

Et Cetera

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III. Process of Interpretation

The process of interpretation takes information from the Scriptures (what we found in the Observation phase of the Inductive method of Bible Study) and assemble the parts into an understanding or comprehension of what the author(s) intended. That process can involve:












IV. Theological Interpretation

Theological interpretation should be carefully done using the interpretational principles. Each book of the Bible can have themes and issues that it focuses on. From this, it should be recognized that each book can have its own theology. This is called Biblical Theology. There are other uses of the term ‘Biblical Theology,’ here it means the theology expressed in particular books of the Bible. This can be termed Synchronic Biblical Theology. The term Biblical Theology can also describe theology that is expressed throughout the entire canon of Scripture. There is a unifying authorial guide (the Holy Spirit) to the multiple writers, and themes in the Canon are observed to develop throughout the Canon. Theology take from the Bible with this 'zoomed out' view might be termed Canonical Biblical Theology, or Redemptive Biblical Theology. Biblical Theology might be described as a generally inductive self-informing progressive process. The more familiar you are with the text and the various contexts surrounding it, the clearer the intention of the author(s) will be.

Synchronic Biblical Theology should proceed from the literature, and only cover what the particular book is covering. It is appropriate to reference the rest of Scripture when looking at a theological subject, but great care should be given to let the author of each book make his particular points.

"Biblical theology gives special attention to the teachings of individual authors and sections of Scripture, and to the place of each teaching in the historical development of Scripture” (Grudem, Systematic Theology, pg. 22).

“To examine special revelation, the theologian must investigate the contents of the Scriptures. This is exegesis. Then specific passages must be examined in light of the theological framework of the specific work of the writer of Scripture. This is biblical theology. This step attempts to prevent the theologian from taking passages out of context or bending passages of Scripture to fit a personal theology” (Zuck, Roy, A Biblical Theology of the New Testament, Moody, Chicago. 1994. pg. 9).

“The Bible is no more a system of theology, than nature is a system of chemistry or of mechanics. We find in nature the facts which the chemist or the mechanical philosopher has to examine, and from them to ascertain the laws by which they are determined. So the Bible contains the truths which the theologian has to collect, authenticate, arrange, and exhibit in their internal relation to each other. This constitutes the difference between biblical and systematic theology. The office of the former is to ascertain and state the facts of Scripture. The office of the latter is to take those facts, determine their relation to each other and to other cognate truths, as well as to vindicate them and show their harmony and consistency. This is not an easy task, or one of slight importance.” (Hodge, Charles. Systematic Theology Volume 1. 1871). 

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Exercise

Create a Book chart using the methods outlined in the curriculum.