Click here to read the first part of this series – How to Study the Bible Part 1: Prepare with Prayer
In Hot Pursuit
Whenever I’m teaching younger women about context, I love to start off by telling them that my theme verse in college was Psalm 56:1 (NIV):
Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me…
I usually try to convince them that I was a real looker, and that I would meditate on this verse and pray it over and over again to ward off all the unwanted suitors.
Most of the time the girls know I’m joking and we all end up laughing. But I love to use this example to show how easy it is to take Scripture out of context and use it in a way it was never intended to be used.
What Is Context?
What exactly do I mean by context? Dictionary.com defines context as:
the parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect
or a secondary, and related meaning for context is:
the set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, situation, etc.
So when we’re talking about the context of a particular book or passage in the Bible we’re talking about considering what the circumstances were that surrounded the writing of that verse or passage, and what the surrounding text says that might influence the meaning of that verse or passage.
In my Psalm 56 example, the context is indicated in the words preceding the verse. The Psalm is written by David when the Philistines had seized him at Gath. The men were pursuing him with the intention of killing him. To apply this to a situation in which a woman is pursued by potential suitors, would be to take this verse “out of context”.
There is great danger when we don’t consider the context of the text we are studying. Most misinterpretations of the Bible come from not rightly considering the context of the verse or verses being used. Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart in their book How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth put it this way:
A text cannot mean what it never meant. Or to put it in a positive way, the true meaning of the Biblical text for us is what God originally intended it to mean when it was first spoken.
Therefore if we are to take Bible study seriously and find the true meaning of the text, it is of the utmost importance that we consider the context in which the text was written.
Putting the Pieces Together
So you’ve decided to take Bible Study seriously. Great! You’ve done step one and prepared with prayer and now you’re going to jump into a book and rigorously study it. You plan to wrestle with the text until it blesses you and mine its depths for its invaluable treasures.
You’ve decided on a book you want to study and you want to take the second step: researching the context of that book. To start putting the pieces together to ascertain the context, you will need to ask yourself some questions. Below is a list of a few questions to start with. To find the answer to these questions you will need to use some tools outside of your regular Bible. A study Bible is a good place to start but you can also use trusted commentaries, Bible websites (such as www.biblegateway.com or www.blueletterbible.com) or good old Google. Jot down the answer to these questions in your Bible Study Binder or notebook (or on this free printable!).
Who is the author of the book?
The Bible is the inspired Word of God, authored by men. There are 40 different authors of the Bible. We know the names of 35 of them. It is possible that no one knows the author of the book you are trying to study. Still, information can be gleaned about the author from the book itself. It is important to write down what is known about the author even if the information is incomplete. Each of the 40 authors has a different style of writing, a different purpose in writing, and different circumstances surrounding the writing of their book. To really get to the true meaning of the text you’ve chosen to study, it’s important to take these things into consideration.
Who was the original audience of the book?
Each author of the Bible also wrote to a different audience. Although the Bible was written for you to read, the Bible was not originally written to you. The question of original audience is one of the most important questions to answer. You might know what a verse means to you, but what would that same verse have meant to its original audience? Knowing this might change what that verse actually means to you. “A text cannot mean what it never meant” (Fee & Stuart). Therefore we need to research some information about the original audience: What circumstances was the original audience facing? What sins were they apt to fall prey to? What was the relationship between the author and this audience? These are all important questions to answer before starting to study a text.
Where and when was the book written?
Once you ascertain the place and time that the book was written, it’s a good idea to do some research on what kind of things were happening in the world at this place and during this time. If the book takes place in several different places, it might be good to look at maps of what the world looked like at that time. You might even draw a rough map of the specific area in which the book takes place in your notes. This all helps you get a better grasp on why the book was written and what it would have meant to its original audience.
What is the genre of the book?
There are roughly seven different genres represented in the Bible. There are certain studying techniques to take into consideration for each genre. For example: you probably won’t study the poetry of Psalms the same way you would study the narrative of 1 Samuel. Nor would you study the apocalyptic literature of Revelation the same way you would study the Gospel of Luke. Therefore it is important to consider the genre of the book you are studying as well as some tips for studying that type of genre.
Why was the book written?
Again, you want to consider the original author and audience. What was the author’s purpose in writing this book? You also want to consider what part the book plays in the bigger picture of the Bible. The Bible as a whole, is one big story with 4 major themes that relate to each other: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration (or Salvation). How does the book you are studying fit into these major themes? Why is this book included in the Bible?
If you’d like a quick overview of the Bible to help you understand the big picture, try this free course by TGC.
Give In To Your Curiosity
I haven’t always been a history lover, but just recently I’ve discovered I have an affinity for it. Therefore I find answering these type of questions to be rather fun. When I set out to study the book of Ephesians, I discovered that Ephesus was the site of one of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World: the temple of Artemis. I also discovered that this temple was still erect at the time that Ephesians was written. I gave in to my curiosity and googled the Temple of Artemis.
Not only did I find a picture of what the temple probably looked like, but I found out that a lot of important trade and pagan worship happened at this temple. The church of Ephesus would have had all this in mind as they read Paul’s words: “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness (Eph. 6:12).”
I then looked up the story in Acts chapter 19 where the apostle Paul comes into conflict with men who made silver shrines of Artemis for profit in Ephesus. Reading this story helped me picture the kind of people who would have opposed the Christians in Ephesus to whom Paul was writing.
If you find yourself curious about something that comes up in your research, give in to your curiosity. It might take you a while to thoroughly answer these questions if you keep diverting to look up related information, but that’s ok! You never know what kind of information will help your understanding of the original meaning of the text.
Another Thing to Consider…
With each book of the Bible, there are inevitably critics. There are people who question the authenticity, authorship, and reliability of any given book of the Bible. My own research has led me to firmly believe that God orchestrated the coming together of the Bible, that every book has an important part to play in the big picture of Scripture, and that every book is God-breathed and inspired by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, I tend to ignore what the critics have to say and give myself over to the study process.
You, however, may be different than me. You may have questions about the reliability of certain books or their inclusion in the Bible. Again, I would urge you to give into your curiosity and do some research. Look up the arguments for each book if that will help you in your study process. Use great care and discernment when doing this though, lest you be led astray!
The Gospel Coalition has a good 15-minute video on the Bible’s reliability. You can access it here. I also use The Reformation Study Bible from Ligonier Ministries that address the criticisms of each book before every chapter. You can also find reliable commentaries on this page for each book of the Bible that will address these questions (NOTE – This page is specifically on the book of Genesis, but if you scroll to the bottom you will find links for all the other books of the Bible).
Putting Biblical text into its proper context helps us understand what it is that God is telling us through his Word. Right understanding of the Bible leads to a more thorough knowledge of the character of God, of ourselves and our need for a Savior, and it leads to transformed hearts that desire to love and serve God better.
I’m so glad that you’ve decided to pursue true Bible Study! I want to help you in this pursuit!
Click the picture below to download a free printable guide to researching the context of any Biblical text. You can slip this into your Bible Study Binder to help you remember what questions to ask yourself when considering the context of any book of the Bible.
You can also sign up for my email list below where you’ll get the password to my library of downloadable Bible Study Workbooks. These workbooks walk you through studying the Bible step by step to help you get the most out of your time in God’s Word.
Click here to go to How to Study the Bible Part 1: Prepare with Prayer
Click here to go to How to Study the Bible Part 3: Living with the Text