HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE

OLIN T. BINKLEY

  1. EXAMINE WORDS AND HISTORICAL SETTINGS
    1. SEEK DILIGENTLY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT EACH BIBLICAL WRITER MEANT BY THE WORDS AND PHRASES HE USED.
    2. INTERPRET THE WORDS OF A BIBLICAL TEXT IN THEIR CONTEXT.
    3. LEARN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE ABOUT THE HISTORICAL SITUATION IN WHICH EACH BOOK OF THE BIBLE WAS WRITTEN
  2. INTERPRET THEOLOGICALLY
    1. LEARN THE CONTINUITY BETWEEN THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE NEW TESTAMENT
    2. LEARN THE GOD'S DEFINITION OF GOD'S PEOPLE AND HIS RELATIONSHIP TO THEM
    3. LEARN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A COVENANT AND A PROMISE
      1. IDENTIFY THE PROMISES
      2. IDENTIFY THE COVENANTS
  3. STUDY THE LITERARY FORMS (typical forms)
    1. HISTORICAL NARRATIVES
    2. LAWS
      1. LAW OF MOSES
      2. HUMAN LAWS
      3. NATURAL LAWS
      4. SPIRITUAL LAWS
    3. POEMS - HEBREW POETRY HAS A RECURRENCE OF THOUGHT (PARALLELISM) WITH SUCCESSIVE HALF LINE WHICH LINK A SENSE OF SOUND AND FORM. THIS MAKES FOR DIFFICULT TRANSLATION TO ENGLISH.
    4. SONGS
      1. HEBREW SONGS ARE NOT EASILY IDENTIFIABLE.
      2. THERE ARE A FEW POSSIBLE NEW TESTAMENT HYMNS IN THE LETTERS.
    5. PROPHETIC SERMONS
    6. GOSPELS
    7. PARABLES
      1. TYPICAL PARABLE PRESENTS A SINGLE POINT OF COMPARISON
        1. IDENTIFY ONE POINT OF COMPARISON
        2. DERIVE FROM IT THE INSIGHT SET FORTH BY THE PARABLE
      2. TOTAL CONTEXT IS VITAL
      3. DETAILS MUST NOT BE PRESSED.
    8. LETTERS
    9. APOCALYPTIC WRITINGS - THE GREEK WORD (REV 1:1) MEANS AN UNCOVERING OR DISCLOSURE. THUS IT IS NOT A HIDDEN MEANING!
      1. MUST IDENTIFY CAREFULLY LITERAL VERSUS FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
        1. USES SYMBOLISM TO CONCEAL OR EXPRESS IDEAS. THIS MAKES INTERPRETATION DIFFICULT AT TIMES
        2. CONTEXT AND HISTORY IS CRITICAL
      2. CRITICAL TO IDENTIFY PURPOSE
      3. FIND IN SELECTED PLACES IN THE BIBLE
  4. LEARN THE FUNDAMENTAL UNITY OF THE BIBLE
    1. REVELATION OF GOD THROUGHOUT HISTORY TO GOD'S TRUE ISRAEL (ROM 2:28-29)
    2. JESUS AS LORD AND MESSIAH IS THE FOCUS OF WHOLE BIBLE. (ACTS 17:30-31, 20:21)
  5. Translations: "Now which one is right? The answer must be all of them are helpful. What does this do, then, to our doctrine of inspiration? The answer is that God did not promise to inspire those who translate or copy the Bible. … We believe it was the original message of God that was inspired. We should get as close to the original meaning of the best texts of the Hebrew and Greek as possible." (page 33)

Source: Binkley, Orlin T., How to Study the Bible, Nashville, Convention Press, 1969

 

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