Moving Out From the Pew: Equipping The Saints For The Work Of Ministry

Module 1- Biblical Interpretation

The biblical interpretation module is designed to teach the students exegetical skills in interpreting a biblical text. Students are taught to examine the historical, literary, and cultural aspects of the text. They are taught to critically examine the text and to be “suspicious” of the text. At the end of this module, the students will have acquired the necessary fundamental tools to conduct a thorough exegesis. The main objective for this module is for the students to have a deeper and more thorough understanding of the meaning of a text by having the skills necessary to interpret the text. At the end of this module the students will be evaluated by two methods: 1) by taking a test designed to assess their understanding of biblical interpretation terminology; 2) by performing an exegesis a particular scripture using the skill set that they have now learned from this course.

Teacher/Student Objectives

The teacher objectives of this module are as follows:

• To illustrate fundamental Biblical interpretation skills to be used when interpreting scripture;

• To instruct the students on how to conduct an exegesis of a biblical text by examining the historical, literary, and cultural context;

• To demonstrate how to integrate principles of Biblical interpretation when conducting an exegesis from scriptures of various translations of the Bible.

The student objectives of this module are:

• To obtain a deeper understanding of the Word of God through the use of basic Biblical interpretation skills;

• To become familiar with biblical interpretation terminology and methodology;

• To be able to examine the historical, literary, and cultural context of scriptures from various genres of the Bible.

Textbooks/Other Resources

In this module the main texts used are How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart and Living By The Book by Howard G. Hendricks and William D. Hendricks (Fee, Stuart, 2003). In How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth, the authors’ write:

because the Bible is God’s Word, it has eternal relevance; it speaks to all humankind, in every age and in every culture. But because God chose to speak his Word through human words in history, every book in the Bible also has historical particularity; each document is conditioned by the language, time, and culture in which it was originally written (and in some cases also by the oral history it had before it was written down). Interpretation of the Bible is demanded by the “tension” that exists between its eternal relevance and its historical particularity.

The students should be instructed to look at the text contextually by examining it’s historical, cultural, and literary context. They should also be instructed to use the following resources when performing an exegesis of a text:

New Interpreter’s Bible and Commentary (12 Volume Set, 2003)

Logos Bible Software

New Oxford Annotated Bible, w/Apocrypha, New Revised Version (4th ed., 2010)

This is a hands-on course. Power point presentations and handouts are provided as references and to facilitate classroom discussions. In addition, it is recommended that a blackboard or smart board be used during class instruction for illustrations. Class time should consist of all of these methods, along with discussions among the students and the instructor. Presentation materials are to be given through lectures outlining the principles of Biblical interpretation, utilizing an inductive methodical approach to studying the scriptures. Previous student exegetical work conducted by this author is also provided as examples to follow when conducting an exegesis of a text.

Classroom Instruction/Lesson Plan

As a class begin with an exegetical eye studying the Book of Mark, because it is the shortest of the Gospels and the first Gospel written. As a first step in the exegetical process, the students should be taught to look at the text in its historical context. This also takes into account the autobiographical and cultural aspects of the author and the audience, as well as the relevant geographical, topographical, and political factors of that time.

Begin with the prophetic conversation between God and Jesus in the first few verses of Mark Chapter 1. Discuss the importance of knowing who is speaking, and who is being spoken to. And, discuss the importance of the connector words “and so” in verse 4 of Mark Chapter 1. In this same vein, continue to look at select scriptures within the Book of Mark, establishing if there are any constant themes throughout a particular chapter (i.e., the teachings of Jesus) and identifying key people, places and words (i.e., “Son of Man”, “Kingdom of Heaven”).

Begin to study the other parts of the Bible by studying Old Testament narratives, Psalms, the Prophetic books, and the Epistles. After conducting several exegetical exercises together as a class, the students should be divided into groups. Give each group a different scripture from one of the genres to conduct an exegesis of that particular text.

With regards to studying the literary context of a particular text, guidance is given by way of handouts concerning the various literary genres of the Bible. The fourteen genres studied are as follows: Apocalyptic, Biography, Encomium, Exposition, Narrative, Oratory, Parable, Pastoral, Poetry, Prophecy, Proverb, Satire, Tragedy, and Wisdom Literature. In addition, guidance is also given with particular attention to connector words, hyperboles, metaphors, etc. when dissecting a particular text. The class should discuss the five keys to interpretation: content, context, comparison, culture, and consultation. Apply the interrogative questions to each text: who wrote it, when was it written, where did it occur, what was happening at the time to inspire the text to be written, and why was it written.