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HANDBOOKFOR BIBLE STUDY

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title page

HANDBOOKFOR BIBLE STUDY

A Guide to Understanding, Teaching, and

Preaching the Word of God

LEE J. GUGLIOTTO

Copyright © 1995 byReview and Herald® Publishing Association

The author assumes full responsibility for the accuracy of all facts and quotations as citedin this book.

Unless otherwise noted, the Bible citations are the author’s own translation.Texts credited to KJV are from the King James Version.Scripture quotations marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible, © The

Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977.Texts credited to NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973,

1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.Texts credited to NKJV are from The New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982,

Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.Bible texts credited to NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copy-

right © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches ofChrist in the U.S.A. Used by permission.

Bible texts credited to Phillips are from J. B. Phillips: The New Testament in Modern English,Revised Edition. © J. B. Phillips 1958, 1960, 1972. Used by permission of Macmillan PublishingCo., Inc.

Texts credited to REB are from The Revised English Bible. Copyright © Oxford UniversityPress and Cambridge University Press, 1989. Reprinted by permission.

Bible texts credited to RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright ©1946, 1952, 1971, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churchesof Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission.

Bible texts credited to TEV are from the Good News Bible—Old Testament: Copyright ©American Bible Society 1976; New Testament: Copyright © American Bible Society 1966, 1971,1976.

Bible texts credited to Williams are from the Williams New Testament, the New Testament inthe Language of the People, by Charles B. Williams. © Copyright 1937, 1966, 1986 by HolmanBible Publishers. Used by permission.

This book wasEdited by Richard W. CoffenDesigned by Patricia S. WeghCover design by Bryan GrayTypeset: 9.5/10.5 Times Roman

PRINTED IN U.S.A.

99 98 97 5 4 3 2

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication DataGugliotto, Lee J.

Handbook for Bible study: a guide to understanding, teaching, and preaching the word of God / Lee. J. Gugliotto.

p. cm.Includes bibliographical references (p. ).1. Bible—Study and teaching. 2. Bible—Hermeneutics. 3. Bible—

Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title.BS600.2.G84 95-19356220' .07—dc20 CIP

ISBN 0-8280-0921-X

DEDICATION

To Jolynn,Gina, Keith, Wendi, and Jessica––

God’s circle of gifts to me

CONTENTS

PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Let the Bible Speak for Itself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Exegetical Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Contextual Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Structural Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Verbal Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Cultural Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Theological Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Homiletical Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

PART I—SURVEY

CHAPTER 1—CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25The Only Authorized Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25The Canonical Context. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26The Book Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28The Section Context. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Be on the Lookout for Repetition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Search for Grammatical Clues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Watch Out for Rhetorical Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Be Alert to Psychological Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Be Sensitive to Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Don’t Miss When the Author Announces the Theme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

The Immediate Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

CHAPTER 2—STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33To Begin With . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

The Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34The Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34The Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35In Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Identifying the Type of Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Prose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Poetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Narrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Wisdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Apocalyptic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

The Importance of Grammatical Details. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41A Strategy for Structural Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Scan the Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Prepare a Structural Draft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Prepare a Paragraph Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Prepare a Structural Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Convert Your Structural Analysis Into a Structural Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . 47

CHAPTER 3—VERBAL ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Defining Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Explaining Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Limiting Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Arguing by Contrast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Parallel Passages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Word Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Figures of Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Short: Comparisons, Associations, Additions, Contrasts . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Opaque: Riddles, Fables, Proverbs, Enigmatic Sayings . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Extended: Similitudes, Parables, Metaphors, Allegories . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Material Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Visional Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Miraculous Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Emblematic Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Word Studies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

CHAPTER 4—CULTURAL ANALYSIS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72The Author’s Meaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72Sources of Information—The Bible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72Sources of Information—Extrabiblical Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Ancient Near Eastern Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Intertestamental Documents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77Apocryphal Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78Church Fathers and Doctors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

First Period (A.D. 100-300) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78Gnosticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78Marcionism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Montanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Second Period (A.D. 300-430) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80Third Period (A.D. 430-750). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

The Trinitarian and Christological Controversy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80Subordinationism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Adoptionism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Sabellianism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Arianism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Appollinarianism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Nestorianism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Pneumatomachianism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Monophysitism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

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HANDBOOK FOR BIBLE STUDY

The Controversy Over Grace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Manichaeanism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81Donatism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82Pelagianism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Sources of Information—Archaeology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82History of Biblical Archaeology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82Archaeological Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84The Role of Archaeology in Biblical Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86Making the Most of Archaeological Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Table of Archaeological Eras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87Arrangement of Finds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Sources of Information—Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Anthropology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94Geography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97Material Goods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100Socioreligious Situation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103Economics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110Politics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

General Historical-Cultural Guidelines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

CHAPTER 5—THEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120Some New Testament Methods of Using the Old Testament . . . . . . . . . . . . 125Quotations, Allusions, and Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Explicit Quotations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129Allusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

The Analogy of Antecedent Scripture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137The Analogy of Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

CHAPTER 6—HOMILETICAL ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140What Is the Author’s Topic of the Text? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141What Is the Author’s Thrust in the Text? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142Other Factors to Consider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142Sermonic Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Motivational Approaches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144Inductive Storytelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145Logical Approaches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Sermon Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147Doctrinal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147Life-situation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147Evangelistic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Sermon Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149Topical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149Textual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154Expository . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

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Choosing a Title. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161Composing an Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161The Theme of Your Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162The Transitional Sentence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162The Theology of the Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162The Main Points of Your Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163The Subpoints of Your Message. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164Framing a Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164In Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165Homiletical Analysis of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

PART II—A CLOSER LOOK

CHAPTER 7—A GRAMMAR FOR ENGLISH BIBLE STUDY . . . . . . . . . . . . 173The Parts of Speech and a Grammar Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173Pronouns and Antecedents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176Adverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177Prepositions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177Conjunctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180The Sentence, Verbs, and Complements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Types of Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186Declarative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186Interrogative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186Imperative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186Exclamatory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Clauses and Phrases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187Sample Sentence Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

CHAPTER 8—CATEGORIES OF VERBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199Time and Kind of Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199New Testament Greek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

The Significance of Greek Voices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200Active . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200Passive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201Middle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

The Significance of Greek Moods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202Indicative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203Subjunctive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203Optative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204Imperative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

The Significance of Greek Tenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205Present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206Imperfect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206Aorist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

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Perfect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207Pluperfect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Old Testament Hebrew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209The Two Tenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209The Significance of Hebrew Verb Themes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

The Qal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210The Niphal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211The Piel and Pual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211The Hiphil and Hophal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211The Hithpael . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Auxiliary Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

CHAPTER 9—INFORMED SOURCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215Old Testament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

Creation/Flood Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215Patriarchal Narratives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216Ancient Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216Covenants and Treaties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217Historical Literature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217Religious Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218Wisdom Literature. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219Prophetic Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Intertestamental and New Testament Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221The Septuagint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221The Apocrypha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221The Pseudepigrapha. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

Apocalyptic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225Testaments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Expansions of the Old Testament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229Wisdom and Philosophy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232Prayers, Psalms, and Odes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233Targumim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235Mishnah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235Midrash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236Tosefta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237Baraita . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237Gemara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237Talmud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238Dead Sea Scrolls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

New Testament Apocrypha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240Gospels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241Acts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242Apocalypses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Church Fathers and Doctors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244Apostolic Fathers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244Apologetes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

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Eastern Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246Alexandrian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246Syro-Palestinian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247Asia Minor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

Western Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248African . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248Roman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250At-large . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Greek Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251Syriac Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256Latin Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

CHAPTER 10—TYPOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261The Revelation Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261The Typology Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

In Terms of History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263In Terms of Prophecy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

The Progressive Fulfillment Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266Inaugurated Typology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268Appropriated Typology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271Consummated Typology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274The Prophecy Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277Vertical Typology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286How to Use the Typology Work Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287How to Use the Prophecy Work Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

CHAPTER 11—BE LOGICAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291Belief, Truth, and Justification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292Fallacies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292Appealing Logically. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294Making Sense When You Preach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

Inductive Reasoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296Deductive Reasoning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

In Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

CHAPTER 12—JEWISH INSTITUTIONS AND THE SPIRITUALCONDITION OF ISRAEL IN THE TIME OF JESUS . . . . . . . . 306

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306The Temple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306The Synagogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307The Sanhedrin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308The Sects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308The Diaspora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

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CHAPTER 13—IS THE KING JAMES THE MOST ACCURATE VERSIONOF THE NEW TESTAMENT?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313Transmission of the New Testament Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313The Development of Text Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314How to Evaluate Variant Readings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320The Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320

The Old Testament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320The New Testament. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326

A Sound Procedure for Evaluating Variant Old Testament Readings . . . . . . 326A Sound Procedure for Evaluating Variant New Testament Readings . . . . . 330Catalogue of Texts and Witnesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

Old Testament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333New Testament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338

CHAPTER 14—HOW DID WE GET THE NEW TESTAMENT?. . . . . . . . . . 347Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347Factors Affecting the New Testament Canon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348Development of the New Testament Canon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

CHAPTER 15—WHERE DID MATTHEW, MARK, AND LUKEGET THEIR GOSPELS? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352The Synoptic Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352Approaches to the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353

Literary Criticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353Form Criticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354Redaction Criticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355Rhetorical Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357Narrative Criticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357

CHAPTER 16—BIBLICAL DATA FOR THE FOUR GOSPELS . . . . . . . . . . . . 362Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362The Gospel According to Matthew. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362

Authorship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362Date and Place of Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362Destination and Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364

The Gospel According to Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365Authorship, Date, and Place. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365Destination and Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365Characteristics and Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366

The Gospel According to Luke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367Authorship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367Date and Place of Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367Style and Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368

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Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369The Gospel According to John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

Authorship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369Date and Place of Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370Purpose and Destination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A—EXEGESIS AIDS AND THE BOOK OF JUDE . . . . . . . . . . . . 377Sample Primary Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377

Contextual Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377Structural Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379Verbal Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395Cultural Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401Theological Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402

Sample Supplemental Analysis—Jude 16-23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405Contextual Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405Structural Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405Verbal Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406Cultural Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406Theological Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407Homiletical Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408

APPENDIX B—REPRODUCIBLE BLANK EXEGESIS AIDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412Primary Exegesis Work Sheets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412

Contextual Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412Structural Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414

Evaluating the Biblical Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415Verbal Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423Cultural Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427Theological Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430

Supplementary Exegesis Work Sheets—Passage Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432Contextual Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432Structural Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432Verbal Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433Cultural Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433Theological Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434Homiletical Analysis—The Perry Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435Homiletical Analysis—The Crum Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437Homiletical Analysis—The Lowery Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438Homiletical Analysis—Monroe’s Motivated Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441

DIRECTORY OF BIBLE STUDY SOFTWARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

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PREFACE

Lay leaders are often called upon to teach or speak in their churches. Themembers expect them to have a gift for sharing God’s Word, even thoughthey have had little or no formal training in biblical interpretation or pub-lic speaking. Sometimes gifted laypersons do a fair job of presenting truth

in public, but more often than not the untrained worker simply converts a pet Biblestudy into an awkward message. The flip side of all this is that it does not take longto discover that successful speakers are also skilled interpreters. This handbook is forlaity and professionals alike who want a practical guide to help them interpret theBible and prepare sermons or lessons.

You may wonder Is it really necessary for me to interpret the Scriptures for my-self? Our pioneers certainly thought so. When “a brother asked one of our leading de-nominational forebears, ‘Sister White, do you think we must understand the truth forourselves? Why can we not take the truths that others have gathered together, and be-lieve them because they have investigated the subjects?’” she replied: “It is dangerousfor us to make flesh our arm. We should lean upon the arm of infinite power. . . . Wemust have living faith in our hearts, and reach out for larger knowledge and more ad-vanced light” (Review and Herald, Mar. 25, 1890).

Ellen White promoted regular, personal Bible study, urging that “the word ofGod must be studied as never before” (ibid., Dec. 15, 1891) and “thoroughly studied”(Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 337). But the indifference of some Adventists and the lack ofinitiative in others led her to the conclusion that “little heed is given to the Bible” andto see in her own writings that “the Lord has given a lesser light to lead men andwomen to the greater light” (Review and Herald, Jan. 20, 1903).

Considered the dean of all Seventh-day Adventist expositors, she intended herbooks to bring people “back to the Word that they have neglected to follow” and tocall attention to “general principles [from the Word] for the formation of correcthabits of living” (Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 663, 664). However, they were not to serveas a substitute for, or an alternative to, God’s Word. She herself warned: “TheTestimonies were not given to take the place of the Bible” (ibid., p. 663). Because sheand others hammered out what they believed from the Bible alone, she personally ad-vised others to “prove their positions from the Scriptures and substantiate every point. . . claim[ed] as truth from the revealed Word of God” (Evangelism, p. 256). Sheechoed the sentiments of many founding fathers when she urged: “As the miner digsfor the golden treasure in the earth, so earnestly, persistently, must we seek for thetreasure of God’s word” (Counsels to Parents and Teachers, p. 461).

From earliest times Adventists have considered truth to be progressive. A persis-tent searcher for truth herself, Ellen White once said that “whenever the people ofGod are growing in grace, they will be constantly obtaining a clearer understandingof His word. . . . But as real spiritual life declines, it has ever been the tendency tocease to advance in the knowledge of the truth” (Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 706). In otherwords, the Bible student who returns to a passage for further or renewed study can

15

always receive fresh insights from the same text. A new situation, a different per-spective, or an urgent need can provide an up-to-date setting in which the truth maycorrect earlier views, communicate something new, or advance understanding ofwhat is already known.

In fact, every time we handle the Word it is important to remember that “we mustnot think, ‘Well, we have all the truth, we understand the main pillars of the faith, andwe may rest on this knowledge.’ The truth is an advancing truth, and we must walkin the increasing light” (Review and Herald, Mar. 25, 1890). Otherwise we may fallinto the light trap of traditionalism, that self-contained system made popular by cer-tain Pharisees (Matt. 15:1-9). We should beware of perpetuating opinions that agreewith what we believe. “A spirit of pharisaism has been coming in upon the peoplewho claim to believe the truth for these last days. They are self-satisfied. They havesaid, ‘We have the truth. There is no more light for the people of God.’ But we arenot safe when we take a position that we will not accept anything else than that uponwhich we have settled as truth. We should take the Bible and investigate it closely forourselves. We should dig in the mine of God’s word for truth” (Review and Herald,June 18, 1889).

“There is no excuse for any one in taking the position that there is no more truthto be revealed, and that all our expositions of Scripture are without error. The factthat certain doctrines have been held as truth for many years by our people, is not aproof that our ideas are infallible” (ibid., Dec. 20, 1892).

Now, there is nothing wrong with clinging to the pillars—those “positions thatcannot be shaken; but we must not look with suspicion upon any new light God maysend, and say, Really, we cannot see that we need any more light than the old truthwhich we have hitherto received, and in which we are settled. While we hold to thisposition, the testimony of the True Witness applies to our cases its rebuke, ‘Andknowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.’Those who feel rich and increased with goods and in need of nothing, are in a con-dition of blindness as to their true condition before God, and they know it not” (ibid.,Aug. 7, 1894).

Like so many other Christians, too many Seventh-day Adventists claim that theyare “loyal to the message,” the collection of doctrines as we have them, as though itwere already perfected. The consensus of the rank and file, however, is that it wouldbe better if Christians everywhere would be willing to reexamine and revise theirmessage in newer light and claim loyalty to Christ, who is perfect and “the same yes-terday and today and forever” (Heb. 13:8). It is His Spirit who will “teach you allthings” and “guide you into all the truth” (John 14:26; 16:13) through “mental effortand prayer for wisdom” (Counsels to Parents and Teachers, p. 461).

Some Seventh-day Adventists labor under the misconception that Ellen White en-dorsed only God’s Word and her own writings as the sole tools in the search for truth,but that simply is not true. Instead, she appealed to ministers: “Make the preaching ofthe truth a success. . . . A careful study of the Bible will not necessarily exclude allother reading of a religious nature; but if the word of God is studied prayerfully, allreading which will have a tendency to divert the mind from it will be excluded”(Testimonies, vol. 2, pp. 337, 338).

Although Scripture dominated her own sermons, Ellen White’s writings showthat she also used outside sources. “Most of the material in 1SM on inspiration is bor-rowed from Calvin Stowe [Origin and History of the Books of the Bible, pp. 13-20]

16


with significant omissions” (R. Edward Turner, Proclaiming the Word: The Conceptof Preaching in the Thought of Ellen White, p. 58).

Ellen White’s grandson, Arthur White, wrote: “William C. White, my father, re-ports that when he was a mere boy he heard his mother read D’Aubigné’s History ofthe Reformation to his father. . . . Her reading helped her to locate and identify manyof the events presented to her in vision. . . . She was not always informed as to justwhere and when the events transpired” (The Ellen G. White Writings, p. 110). Eventhough the Spirit revealed truth to her, she still needed the help of outside sources tocomplete her study.

This in no way diminishes the quality of her inspiration or the reliability of herwritings, as George Rice aptly explains in his book Luke, a Plagiarist? (See alsoArthur White, “Toward a Factual Concept of Inspiration” and “Toward a FactualConcept of Inspiration, II: The Role of Visions and the Use of Historical Sources inthe Great Controversy,” The Ellen G. White Writings, pp. 13-48.) Although “she didnot write essentially as a historian,” “her reading of D’Aubigné, Wiley, and othersproved to be helpful. She sometimes drew on them for clear historical statements tohelp make plain to the reader the things she was endeavoring to present. Also by thuscorroborating with well-accepted historical evidence what had been revealed to her,she would win the confidence of the general reader in the truths she was presenting”(The Ellen G. White Writings, pp. 113, 114).

Yet “when Spirit of Prophecy, volume 4, came from the press and our ministersand members began to read it, they discovered that Mrs. White had employed a num-ber of historical quotations, and this use led to some questions” (ibid., p. 114). Somepeople wondered why she would do this if God were her sole source of inspiration,but she was simply making use of carefully researched nineteenth-century literatureto explore and communicate biblical truth (see F. D. Nichol, Ellen G. White and HerCritics, pp. 403-407, and The Ellen G. White Writings, pp. 107-136). In fact, an in-ventory of her estate at the time of her death revealed a vast collection of study booksamong her possessions. (See “A Bibliography of Ellen G. White’s Private and OfficeLibraries,” compiled by Warren H. Johns, Tim Poirier, and Ron Graybill.)

Ellen White found outside sources helpful in preparing her books. She also foundthat “in daily Bible study the verse-by-verse method is often most helpful” (Counselsto Parents and Teachers, p. 461). In Proclaiming the Word: The Concept ofPreaching in the Thought of Ellen White, author R. Edward Turner explains: “EllenWhite recognized the importance of a sound methodology in using Scripture.Although she never wrote out her rules for interpretation in explicit form, she did,over a period of years, write concerning the ways to study and interpret Scripture.From these random statements an underlying methodology begins to appear” (p. 58).

First of all, she appreciated the place of context in interpretation: “The studentshould learn to view the word as a whole, and to see the relation of its parts. He shouldgain a knowledge of its grand central theme—of God’s original purpose for the world,of the rise of the great controversy, and of the work of redemption. . . . He . . . shouldlearn to trace their working through the records of history and prophecy, to the greatconsummation” (Counsels to Parents and Teachers, p. 462). She recommended thatGod’s people take into full consideration the “time and place” of writing of the pas-sage, or else they may “misinterpret and misrepresent” (Selected Messages, book 1, p.57) what the author intended.

She, along with many of her colleagues, advocated word study as an essential

17

PREFACE

step to getting at the author’s original intent. Early denominational documents revealthe widespread conviction that “the writers of the Bible had to express their ideas inhuman language” and that “different meanings are expressed by the same word”(Selected Messages, book 1, pp. 19, 20). Furthermore, since “the language of theBible should be explained according to its obvious meaning, unless a symbol or fig-ure is employed” (The Great Controversy, p. 599), many of our pioneers were notsatisfied with merely a surface view. They believed that biblical truths must be“searched” and “dug out by painstaking effort” (Selected Messages, book 1, p. 20).

Additionally, Seventh-day Adventists have always understood the need to graspwhat the text meant to its original audience, before attempting to explain what thetext means to a modern congregation. “Understanding what the words of Jesus meantto those who heard them,” says Ellen White, “we may discern in them a new vivid-ness and beauty, and may also gather for ourselves their deeper lessons” (ThoughtsFrom the Mount of Blessing, p. 1). An integral part of the procedure of this handbookis the task of setting the text in its original historical and cultural situation.

A century and a half of Seventh-day Adventist interpreters have shared EllenWhite’s opinion that “the Bible is its own best expositor. Scripture is to be comparedwith scripture. . . . The Old Testament sheds light upon the New, and the New uponthe Old. Each is a revelation of the glory of God in Christ. Christ as manifested to thepatriarchs, as symbolized in the sacrificial service, as portrayed in the law, and as re-vealed by the prophets, is the riches of the Old Testament. Christ in His life, His death,and His resurrection; Christ as He is manifested by the Holy Spirit, is the treasure ofthe New. Both Old and New present truths that will continually reveal new depths ofmeaning to the earnest seeker” (Counsels to Parents and Teachers, pp. 462, 463).

She believed in exegesis before proclamation and advised gospel workers to “helpthem [those in every congregation upon whom the Spirit of the Lord is moving] to un-derstand what is truth; break the bread of life to them” (Gospel Workers, p. 154).

Speakers are supposed to open up the Scriptures and pass on their nourishingtruths to the hungry souls who hear them, but not with “flowery discourses” or “aflood of words without meaning” (ibid.). Those who break the bread of life must “calltheir [the people’s] attention to vital questions [eternal issues]” (ibid.), “to fortify thehearers for the daily battles of life” (ibid., p. 153)—something you cannot do with-out staying in touch with them to prepare practical, insightful messages that meansomething to those who hear them. “The reception of the gospel does not depend onlearned testimonies, eloquent speeches, or deep arguments, but upon its simplicity,and its adaptation to those who are hungering for the bread of life” (ibid., p. 155).

A sermon is more than a glorified Bible study or an opportunity to persuade peo-ple to agree with your views. It is a life-or-death presentation of truth painstakinglydiscovered, carefully arranged, and simply told so as to “touch the common life ex-perience, the daily necessities; bringing home to the heart the very truths which areof vital interest” (Evangelism, p. 182). You do this by preaching what is important tothe congregation—not to you.

As a denomination, Seventh-day Adventists recognize that the Bible contains“textual variances due to emendations, copyist error, and differing source materials”(Turner, p. 61), which make difficult, at best, the exploration of biblical “mysteries toodeep for the human mind to explain or even fully comprehend” (Testimonies, vol. 5,p. 699). Consistent with her views of revelation and inspiration, however, Ellen Whitealso insisted that “variations found in the gospel narratives were not really an issue to

18


be confused over, but one in which the expressions of [inspired] authors were the cre-ative [and not the mechanical] product of individual personalities” (Turner, p. 61).

But even with the best resources at our disposal, we need to remember that thebest exegete never forgets that “it is the efficiency of the Spirit that makes the min-istry of the word effective” (Gospel Workers, p. 155).

So this handbook offers a full range of “tools” to mine the raw truth in its propercontext and to polish the precious jewels you find into a finished presentation.

To God be the glory, now and always.

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PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

The Bible claims that people can know God because He has chosen to re-veal Himself and to unfold truths about Himself in words and deeds (2Peter 1:16-21). According to the apostle Paul, God used human language,despite its limitations, to record this supernatural revelation (2 Tim. 3:16).

Peter explains the “how” when he tells us that whether God supplied the informationor supervised its writing, the Holy Spirit is ultimately responsible for all HolyScripture (2 Peter 1:21). Any attempt to interpret the Bible must consider both itshuman and divine dimensions.

Let the Bible Speak for ItselfA wholesome lesson always begins with healthy interpretation. So you must

come to terms with the text before you can have anything meaningful to share fromit. That’s why no-nonsense interpreters follow a hermeneutic, a sound system of prin-ciples that allows the text to speak for itself through exegesis, a procedure that con-sistently leads the truth out of Bible texts. Hermeneutics refers to the machinery, andexegesis to the method, of biblical interpretation. Hence Jesus could claim: “Whoeverhas seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9), because according to John 1:18, He“led [the Greek verb is the root from which we get our word “exegete”] the Fatherout to us.” The Father accurately expressed Himself through Jesus because Jesus al-lowed Him to represent Himself. Similarly, the only way truth can communicate withus through the text is for it to speak for itself.

Exegetical MethodThis book will present a proven six-step procedure that, under the Holy Spirit’s

direction, should allow you to prepare faithfully the text for any practical applica-tion—whether it is for personal growth, public teaching, or pulpit preaching.

Contextual Analysis—Before working with a text, you must acquaint yourselfwith the context, the body of text surrounding a passage that sheds light on its mean-ing. You do this by locating the text in the larger stream of revelation that progres-sively flows from the Old Testament into the New Testament (sometimes called“cotext” by linguists) and then tracing the general flow of a specific author’s thought,and fixing where and how your text fits into his book—the immediate context.

Structural Analysis—Every writer has a system for developing ideas. To capturethe biblical author’s overall pattern, you will analyze the literary style. Begin by iden-tifying the type of literature, and look for characteristic features. Trace the way thebiblical writer organized his or her [some recent authors have postulated female Biblewriters] views, with main and supporting arguments, into a series of connectedthoughts. Mark the starting and ending points of the topics and themes that you findalong the literary-grammatical trail. Once you pinpoint all the building blocks ofthought in their context, they are individually ready for study.

Verbal Analysis—Then you can focus on individual words and details to uncover

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what the author meant to say. Once you have the original setting, explore the author’slanguage. Acquaint yourself with unfamiliar words. Word forms offer invaluable in-sights, so consider them carefully. Identify and decipher figures of speech. Examineand explain symbols. Try to define key terms in their context. It’s time to get specific.

Cultural Analysis—Investigate the historical-cultural background to your text.Enrich your initial findings with insights from history, anthropology, geography, andthe environment. If you allow the ancient world to speak for itself, you can recover theoriginal setting and enter the writer’s or speaker’s world. Obscure terms will clarifythemselves, difficult texts will yield their secrets, and you will move about the biblicalterrain, so to speak, with enough familiarity to give your study a ring of authenticity.

Theological Analysis—Here is where you tie things together and bring out thewhole story. You do this by expanding the range of study and by relating your text tothe rest of the Bible. Place the biblical passage in the broader context of the plan of sal-vation. Trace it along the path from promise to fulfillment in order to see where it iscoming from and going to. Consider its Old Testament roots and/or New Testament de-velopments. Use earlier passages to understand later ones and later texts to capture thefuller sense of earlier ones.

Homiletical Analysis—The exegetical process is incomplete until it brings out theauthor’s meaning to your audience. So you must explore the various ways that youmay present what you have learned to your listeners. These approaches must makesense of the text and help your hearers reach a decision concerning its message.Before you can settle on a certain type or style of sermon, however, you should con-sider stylistic, physical, and psychological factors. Once you have done that, you cantake what the author meant, organize your thoughts logically, and make it relevantfor the congregation today.

As you can see, this approach to Bible study is both cumulative and progressive.Each step builds on the preceding one and leads to the next. Sound exegesis is a pro-cess rather than a list of techniques. If you leave out or try to bypass a single step, theresults will likely prove inaccurate.

The rest of this book attempts to explain this method in detail. Although any sin-gle chapter has the potential to improve your presentation, a grasp of the completeprocedure will bring the best results.

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INTRODUCTION

1 Contextual Analysis

2 Structural Analysis

3 Verbal Analysis

4 Cultural Analysis

5 Theological Analysis

6 Homiletical AnalysisFIGURE 1

However, a word of warning. Don’t assume that you can sit down, read this bookfrom the opening page to the closing page, and absorb in a single sitting or even twoor three what is herein presented. Instead, take the book in “doses.” Read a few pagesor a short section at a time. Because of the size of this book, it can be quite daunting.But it need not be an overwhelming challenge if you take it in bite-size chunks. ReadSection I—Survey first. Then if you wish to go into matters in more depth (and I urgeyou to do that), begin to read Part II—A Closer Look.

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� �PART 1

SURVEY

25

Preachers and teachers should strive for the fullest message possible, be-cause anything less may leave the congregation empty. For example, whenPriscilla and Aquila first heard Apollos preach at the synagogue inEphesus, they found that his messages were not quite right. Since Apollos

based his studies on less than the whole story, his sermons were incomplete (Acts18:24-28). As Aquila and Priscilla filled him in on what was missing, the Spirit gaveApollos deeper insights and richer doctrine. Eventually some of the Corinthianchurch members compared him favorably to Paul and Peter (1 Cor. 1:12).

The Only Authorized ContextIn your study of God’s Word, avoid incomplete conclusions. Don’t isolate a pas-

sage from what comes before or after it in the text. Instead, get the whole picture. Todo this you will need to acquaint yourself with the context, the entire body of text sur-rounding a passage, which sheds light on its meaning. The following diagram illus-trates the relationship between the four principle Bible contexts:

CHAPTER 1

CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS

Canonical Context of the Entire Bible

Context of the Entire Book

Section Context of Related Paragraphs

Immediate Context of Related Passages

Section Context of Related Paragraphs

Context of the Entire Book

Canonical Context of the Entire BibleFIGURE 2

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The Canonical ContextDid you know that God revealed more to His people than just the collection of

writings we call the Bible? For example, 1 Chronicles 29:29 mentions books by threeancient Hebrew prophets, yet God saw fit to preserve the words of only one—Samuel.

Although it took more than 300 years to finalize the New Testament group of writ-ings, people who lived during biblical times apparently recognized and honored God’sWord from the time it first appeared. In A.D. 350 Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria,was the first person to identify ta biblia (the Bible) with kanon (a Greek word thatmeant measuring stick). Later, in his 39th Festal Letter (Easter, A.D. 367), he was thefirst to propose the 27 constituent parts of the New Testament as it exists today.

The 66 books of the entire Bible constitute the Protestant canon of Scripture—the officially recognized body of inspired writings. (The Jewish canon differs fromthe Christian canon, of course, because it does not include the Christian writings.The Samaritan canon differs from that of the Jews because it includes only the firstfive books of the Hebrew Bible. And the Roman Catholic canon includes morebooks—the Apocrypha—than does the Protestant canon.) Even though differentpeople wrote the books of the Bible during a span of some 1,500 years, the entirecollection functions for us as a single unit—the Holy Bible.

The early church had two reasons for attaching its faith to this group of author-itative writings: (1) to maintain a direct connection with the apostles and prophetsand (2) to establish a perpetual, divine standard of faith and practice.

Today the Christian community still believes that God continues to makeHimself, His will, and His purpose known through the Scriptures. Even though theBible is a record of what God has already said and done, the sacred writings aremore than a memorial of the past. Indeed, they remain a fresh, living witness to thepresent and the future—until Christ returns (2 Peter 1:19).

Biblical scholars have argued with each other about the possibility that theBible has a single overarching theme. Those who insist that it does have such atheme differ among themselves, however, regarding what that theme might be. Iside with those who suggest that there is one overall theme that unifies every mo-ment of history into one divine working plan, uniting every biblical verse into a sin-gle, powerful message. This all-inclusive motif would thus be the main setting forevery Bible study—the ultimate context even for individual verses.

And just what do I think this theme is? The everlasting covenant. God’spromise/plan to all who believe in Messiah Jesus is the grand story line that unfoldsitself across every sacred page. “In both testaments, the same God offers the samesalvation by the same Savior through the same actions” (John Marsh, BiblicalAuthority for Today, p. 189). Spread cover to cover, this canonical context canserve as the foremost framework for Bible study because it shows us both where atext is coming from and where it is going.

Salvation is a promise that unfolds progressively throughout a period of time,rather than a prediction that is limited to a particular fulfillment. The Scripturesattest to the way that the covenant has been appropriate for human beings ofevery age, accommodating itself to a variety of historical contexts. The covenantbegan prior to sin and continues in a redemptive format since the Fall (see Gen.3:15; cf. verse 21).

When He installed Adam and Eve as royal caretakers of His creation (Gen.

27

CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS

1:28ff.), the Creator revealed the plans for His creation, and He intends to see theseplans through.

The covenant with Noah confirmed the Creator’s resolve to bless His creation—even if He had to re-create it.

The covenant with Abraham embraced all the nations of the world. The Creatorinstalled the aging patriarch as both the object and agent of promise to extend thesphere of blessedness to people everywhere (Gen. 12:1-3).

The covenant with Moses called on Israel to demonstrate its appreciation of theCreator, who also redeems, with holy service according to His law (Ex. 19:6; 20:1ff.).Although fulfillment depended upon their loyalty, only the Creator has the attributesto keep the covenant in force (Ex. 34:6).

The covenant with David gave further structure to the agreement by placing it ina theocratic context (2 Sam. 7:8-16), thus symbolizing His royal presence and com-mitment with the Temple. During David’s reign God continued to prepare Israel forthe literal fulfillment of His promises to Abraham and Moses under Solomon (2 Sam. 8; 1 Kings 4:20-25).

The latter prophets used the covenant as a symbol of hope for the post-exilic fu-ture (Isa. 55:3).

The new covenant of which Christians speak is not a separate arrangement, butthe ultimate expression of the Creator’s faithfulness and determination to carry outHis original plans for the Creation. It was progressively disclosed in the previouscovenants. Israel’s hope, revealed in the progression of divine covenants, reached cli-mactic proportions in the person and ministry of Jesus. He was the promised Kingwho was to perpetuate the covenant, make it possible for Israel to complete her orig-inal mission, and inaugurate the age that will usher in the final edition of the king-dom—the new earth.

It is so much easier to see where each part fits into the big picture when you have aview like this of the whole. Every verse is ripe for understanding if it is allowed to growfrom its Old Testament roots into fruit on the New Testament branches of the Bible tree.(These are distinctly Christian terms, of course. Our Jewish friends do not think in termsof a “New” Testament added to an “Old” Testament. They refer to their Bible as theTanakh, an acrostic made up of the initial letter of each of the three divisions of theHebrew Scriptures—Torah [law], Nebiim [prophets], and Kethubim [writings].)

In terms of progressive fulfillment, we are still living during the stage when branchesgrow, bud, and bear fruit. God’s people have always lived in the tension of present real-

Adam Noah Abraham Moses David The New Covenantforetold introduced established

Gen. 1-2 Gen. 9 Gen. 12, 15, 17 Ex. 19-20 2 Sam. 7 Jer. 31 Matt. 26 Heb. 8Ex. 36

Pre-

Redemptiveredemptive

God’s One-Covenant Kingdom Plan

FIGURE 3

28


ity on the way to future fulfillment. We still draw strength from God’s record of faith-fulness in the past in order to believe He will act according to His promises in the future.Like our Old Testament brethren, we live by faith, awaiting the “age to come.”

So while it is important that you examine the historical context, it is equally crit-ical that you relate the passage to God’s unfolding plan as it appears throughout theScriptures, because every word of God is for all God’s people regardless of their na-tionality or era. Until you get a fix on your text in the flow of progressive revelation,you cannot relate its message to the past, present, and future of God’s promises.

The Book ContextOnce you have established solid contact with this overall theme, it is time to

search for the overall plan and purpose of the book from which you have selected apassage. (See the International Inductive Study Bible. Its book-by-book work sheetsmake it a contextual analysis workbook.) Introduce yourself to the background andstructure of the particular scriptural book by completing a biblical data chart. Consultat least three different sources for the information it takes to fill in its boxes.

Because you are in the preliminary stages of study, now is the time to get only arough sketch of things. Fine details should come later. For example, if geography ap-pears to play a major role in the passage, you may want to glance at a Bible atlas fora lay of the land, but that is all. For now, just get in touch with who wrote the book,when, where, and to whom he addressed it. Then try to figure out why. Read the en-tire book through, and jot down the reasons or motives the author may admit, what-ever he challenges the readers to join him in doing, or anything he seems to bedriving at so that you can determine the overall purpose.

As you begin to make out the general shape of the whole book, specific verses willstand out. Sort through and pick out the main ones, but it is too early to concentrateon any particular passage. Below (Figure 4) is a scaled-down version of the biblicaldata chart that appears in Appendix A.

Biblical Data for the Book of _____________________ Date ______________

Data Dictionary Introduction Commentary Conclusions

Author

Datewritten

Fromwhere?

To whom?

Why?

Maintheme

Keyverses

FIGURE 4

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CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS

The next step is to sketch a flow chart of the entire book. Draw a horizontal lineto represent the author’s flow of thought. Trace the progressive stops that unfold hispurpose and lead to his goal. For example, in his second epistle, Peter seems to thinkalong these lines:

Book of the Bible Flow Chart “A”FIGURE 5

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Foundation Caution Exhortation

But sometimes one line is not enough. Just as does Mark’s gospel, your Biblebook may require two sloping lines to get the author’s point across:

Book of the Bible Flow Chart “B”Figure 6

“Who am I?”(Mark 8:27)

Prepares people for Presses home the fullthis question with a effect of this questionconstant presentation with contrasting climaxesof His Person and work. of unbelief and vindication.

Book of the Bible Flow Chart “C”Figure 7

Matthew’s gospel requires a stepladder:

Great Commission28:16-20

Death/resurrection28:1-15

Healing/preaching3:1-25:46

Nativity 1:1-2:23

Whatever shape your flow chart takes, a diagram of the biblical author’s primaryline of reasoning across the book is a must for mapping out the rest of the context.

The Section ContextDuring this aspect of your contextual studies, you focus your attention on the nat-

ural breaks in the text that divide it into sections. Read the entire book through at one

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sitting and try to concentrate on the larger relationships in the passage.Be on the Lookout for Repetition—Sometimes repeated terms, phrases, clauses,

and sentences act as headings to introduce sections. For example, you may read thewords “And it came to pass” repeatedly. Or these elements may act as tailpieces toconclude each section. (See, for instance, Luke 1:80; 2:40; cf. 2:52.) Some authorsrepeat key words, propositions, or concepts to set the tone for entire sections—suchas the word “love” in 1 John.

Search for Grammatical Clues—Some conjunctions and adverbs mark the placewhere the author made a transition. Hunt out such words as “then,” “therefore,”“wherefore,” “but,” “nevertheless,” or “meanwhile.” If you know Greek, pay attentionto the words oun, de, kai, tote, or dio.

Watch Out for Rhetorical Questions—Verses such as Romans 6:1 could signala switch to a new theme or new section. Sometimes you might find a series of ques-tions designed to keep up the argument or plan of an entire section, as in Romans 3:1,3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, etc.

Be Alert to Psychological Indicators—Occasionally an author will (1) leave outa conjunction (asyndeton) when in a hurry or excited or thinking fast; (2) insert anexplanation (parenthesis) when wanting to throw in some guidelines for interpreta-tion (see, for an example, Eph. 3:2-13); or (3) not bother to finish a sentence beforegoing on to the next thought (anacoluthon) when really stirred up about something.

Be Sensitive to Changes—When the author switches the time, location, or set-ting—especially when either he or the speaker is narrating something—or modifiesthe tense, voice, or mood of a verb, it could signal the inception of something new. Ashift in the subject or object or of attention from one group to another (usually with avocative—“O man,” [Rom. 2:1]) frequently establishes sectional limits in the epistles.

Don’t Miss When the Author Announces the Theme—Paul clearly states thetopic for the section (1 Thess. 4:13-18) when he says: “But we do not want you to re-main uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep” (verse 13).

After you have divided the book into its major sections, prepare a map to showthe natural breaks in the text. Chart each turn in the author’s flow of thought. For ex-ample, here is how you might map the main sections in Peter’s second epistle:

The Immediate ContextOnce you locate your text in the stream of progressive revelation, it is time for

you to pin down where and how it fits into its book and section. Unlike its forerun-ners, however, this step presents some unique challenges. As A. Berkeley Mickelsonpoints out: “The first responsibility of every interpreter is to note carefully what pre-cedes and what follows any verse or passage which he is interpreting. This often in-volves going back two or three paragraphs and ahead two or three paragraphs.Chapter divisions do not necessarily serve as boundary lines. One may need to goback to the preceding chapter or ahead to the next chapter to get the true context”(Interpreting the Bible, p. 102).

Greetings Foundation Caution Exhortation ConclusionCovenant

Benediction Cooperation Desecration Consummation Benediction

1:1, 2 1:3-21 2:1-22 3:1-17 3:18

THE SECTION MAP—FIGURE 8

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CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS

Each section of a biblical book can be broken down into paragraphs, that is, dis-tinct blocks of related thought. (The Old Testament was not originally written inparagraphs—just as the entire Bible was not originally written in verses. The para-graph was originally considered a form of punctuation among the Greeks and was theonly punctuation mark that Aristotle ever mentioned. Aristophanes, in developing histheory of rhetoric, subdivided long segments of writing into periods, colons, andcommas, which, of course, we now consider punctuation marks and not sections ofcopy. The Hebrew books of Scripture were divided into parashiyyot, not paragraphs,and at least some of these parashiyyot were given names. For example, the parashah[singular of parashiyyot] of Moses’ encounter with God in the wilderness was called“the bush” and appears that way in Mark 12:26; Luke 20:37; Acts 7:35.)

Even if your text is only a fragment of a paragraph, your search for its connec-tion with what comes before and after it may span the entire section. At times yourinvestigation may extend to other sections—especially if your text is part of a sectionthat resumes or develops an earlier topic or theme that differs from those of border-ing sections. The connection may be:

1. historical if the text is tied to actual facts, people, places, or events—possiblyin chronological order.

2. logical when the text is involved in a chain of reasoning, either depending onwhat the writer or speaker said previously or as part of a developing argument.

3. theological if the text develops some historical fact or circumstance alongChristological, ecclesiological, or eschatological lines (see chapter 5, the section ontypology under the subdivision of the analogy of faith).

4. psychological when the author or speaker seems to go off on a tangent for someinexplicable reason. Actually, something in the preceding text most likely triggereda somewhat different but related idea that interrupted the flow of thought. The resultis usually an asyndeton (the omission of conjunctions that normally link togetherwords or phrases), a parenthesis (a digression or explanation), or an anacoluthon (in-consistent or incoherent syntax within a sentence that breaks off the original line ofreasoning to launch into what at first appears to be out-of-place). The mood of a verbis also a key to the speaker or writer’s psychology. (See chapter 3.)

For example, more is at stake than Samson’s personal fall in Judges 16. The angelof the Lord announced in 13:5 that Samson would begin to deliver his people—notjust himself. So taking the larger context into account, we discover that God meantfor Samson’s individual Nazirite vows to commence the process of separating bothhim and Israel from a pagan Philistine environment.

God used the Hebrew strongman as a symbol of cultural differences to instigatedivision between His people and their oppressors. For instance, the Philistines reliedon military prowess to give them the advantage over their neighbors. Archaeologistshave uncovered evidence that the Philistines shaved their heads for hand-to-handcombat. Imagine how Samson’s uncut locks stood out against a sea of Philistine“skinheads.” So Samson’s final blow against the Dagon worshipers was more thanan act of personal vindication; it was a blow toward Israel’s freedom.

Interpreters need to remember that there is a danger of bypassing the historicalsituation and reading the text as if God spoke directly to them and contemporary so-ciety. The opposite risk is also possible—that interpreters may get bogged down inthe immediate situation and draw the incorrect conclusion that God spoke only to

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1. Keep everything in perspective. Never lose sight of the big picture. The smallerthe quantity of material under investigation, the greater the danger of ignoring context.The entire Bible is the eventual context for your verse or passage. Build your study ona canonical framework.

2. Examine the book as you zero in on the more local setting for your text. Discoverits overall plan and purpose. Prepare a biblical data chart of background information anda Bible flow chart of the author’s thought.

3. Concentrate on the larger relationships in the text. Map the entire book, separatingit at those points where it naturally divides into major segments of thought. Your verse orpassage belongs to one of these sections of the book.

4. Explore the immediate context of your verse or passage. Observe any parallels be-tween it and other material in the same section. You may have to go outside the localsection to establish a historical, logical, theological, or psychological connection with whatcomes before and after it.

5. Expand the context to canonical proportions. Observe any parallels with other ma-terial, first in the same book and then in another book by the same author, and finally inother books by different authors. Try to find genuine parallels that come from the sametime period.

Israel. As you attempt to understand Scripture, stay in touch with the everlastingcovenant and explore how God’s people related to your text in pre-Exilic, Exilic, andpost-Exilic times, and both before and after Christ’s first advent.

Notice the summarizing guidelines for contextual analysis, adapted fromMickelsen’s book, Interpreting the Bible (p. 113).