To fully comprehend the rich vistas of the Bible documents in their unparalleled truth and beauty is perhaps beyond the range of any single human mind. But they were specifically given for us to understand!

Understanding is the product of a process. This process incorporates every level of our awareness of the Bible:

These individual factors need to be integrated into a whole for them to open up a true perspective on the text. It is essential therefore that this process of understanding develop into a conceptual framework in the mind of the reader. This framework consists of these specific perceptual angles necessary to a full perspective, namely:

As for any written text, there are other aspects, but these are the necessary elements for a basic framework of understanding to do justice to the text.

It is however sadly true that, of every kind of widely studied writing, none is more associated with differing and contradictory interpretations than the Bible. The most significant demonstration of this conflict of interpretations is shown by the New Testament itself, in the difference between Jesus and the rabbinic schools of that time in their understanding of the Jewish Bible.

For instance, Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in Matthew is His refutation of the Scribes and Pharisees interpretation of the Bible, the Old Testament. This is not new teaching from Jesus that goes beyond the Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament). It is simply a Spirit-anointed corrective exposition of it in the light of the intention and character of its Author, God, applied at an intensely personal level. It is an exposition that establishes a fundamental distinction to the rabbinical teaching of His day, to which His disciples had been subject.

Unfortunately, Christian history has produced no more unity in understanding than did the first century rabbis of Palestine.

In Alexandria of Egypt, where allegory had long been used to find meaning in Greek myths, allegory unfortunately also became a dominant method of interpreting holy Scripture. Allegory is more than symbolism. It is the use of one story under guise for another.

The influence of this method spread throughout Christianity and heavily influenced interpretation of the Bible, especially of those parts regarded as difficult or in conflict with the world-view of the time.

Although the Bible does make rich use of symbolism, to read its narratives themselves as allegory or symbolic myths, is often to violate the intention of the Bible text itself. This is in effect dishonesty to the text.

  The Historical Angle

Composed of several languages and dialects reflecting cultures spread from the rivers of Mesopotamia to the valley of Egypt, the Bible manuscripts have their root in the origin and history of ancient Israel - a nation, in whose ups and downs the ways of the Most High God are demonstrated throughout the text.

Too often Bible statements have been simply read as the material with which to construct doctrine. This reduces or even negates an awareness of the historical vitality of the text, and, as a consequence, prevents a proper understanding of the significance of the text itself. This "proof text" mentality is responsible for much error in the thinking of the Christian church and is to blame for many conflicts in understanding.

The Bible is the record of God's self-revelation in human history through the lens of ancient Israel, written and edited by a variety of persons in widely differing circumstances. These persons were not composing theology. They were responding to the real needs of their own time. Through these men and women God has made himself known, uniquely!

The principles and prophecies of the holy Scriptures, that stretch across the centuries to affect our own future, arose out of real life historical situations. Without an understanding of the historical circumstance where the roots of these truths were planted, we put ourselves at serious risk of misunderstanding the intention of God's anointed writers.

The Bible text carries an intrinsic sense of the history into which the revelation of God was poured. Personalities and events interact to form an authentic human context, within which God reveals Himself.

Exterior testimony to that history, from archaeology and history, is useful but not vital to a sense of the historical reality within which the vitality of the truth is communicated. The text itself, to the attentive reader, bears testimony to the historical perspective in understanding the Bible.

For instance: the danger of not having an adequate awareness of the historical situation reflected in the text is illustrated by a common understanding of God's "120 years" statement in Genesis 6:3. The 120 years is part of the command to make the Ark. Yet this has too often been understood as a longevity decree of God's judgment on humanity (i.e. from c.900 years to a 120-year-lifespan). But the history within the text shows us that the 120 years is the period of time left from God's announcement of it until the Flood itself would come. This is the period of the Ark's construction, from the command of God until its completion, the period in which Noah was warning the people (see also 1 Pet.3:20). It is not how long people were hereafter meant to live.

Perhaps the most crucial historical perspective that should illuminate our view is the historical change that occurred in Jesus' encounter with Israel, in which He announces the historical consequence of their rejection of Him -

"Therefore ...

The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you
and given to a nation bringing out its fruits" (Mat.21:43).

Grasping this historical discontinuity is crucial to a proper understanding of the newness of the New Covenant, and consequently of the relationship between the Old and New Testaments, and how the Old Testament relates to us today. Inadequacy in this regard still continues to hinder the Christian Church.

An inadequate grasp of the history in the text will thus lead to these misunderstandings that remain to rob us of a true and full understanding.

  The Literary Angle

Much has been made of the genre (type) of the various parts of Scripture; sometimes in an effort to deny or avoid dealing with the historical veracity of the text. In this regard it is useful to note the words of respected archaeologist Kenneth Kitchen (Liverpool University) that - 

"Literary form has NO bearing on the historical worth of a text."

The Bible is one of the richest imaginable writings in the variety of literary devices used to convey its message.

But, while historical truth may be clothed in poetry and metaphor, the literary structure of the Bible as an integrated and balanced whole needs first to be appreciated if the complementarity and consistency of the Bible's teachings are to be understood.

Most writers of Scripture had not only never met each other, they also came from differing social, cultural, and even linguistic backgrounds. The Bible's unity of content, in the face of this wide range of its writers over a period of nearly 1500 years, is incomparable and points directly back the its ultimate Author.

For a summary glimpse of some of this literary structure, see - the  Autonomy of Scripture.

Another and important aspect of the literary perspective is the use of symbol. Under this I will include personification also, such as foolishness and wisdom represented as women in Proverbs. Failure to understand this led to some finding Jesus as only intermediate Creator and as the first act of the Father, in the phrase -

But it is the female Wisdom (an attribute of the Most High) that speaks in this personification of that most desired quality, just as the female prostitute personifies the foolishness of fools.

Again, appearance is sometimes wonderfully symbolic even though the thing itself is real. The obvious example of this is Jesus in the book of Revelation -

In each case, various elements of His appearance carry a message in their symbolism, but the Lord Jesus in Himself is real and is not a symbol. This same principle applies to the four Living Beings (Cherubim, according to Ezekiel) and the twenty-four Elders (Thrones, according to Daniel 7).

An example of the first (the Old Testament) is the cubic appearance of the Holy City, Jerusalem, the Wife of the Lamb (Rev.21:9).
It is a twelve thousand stadia cube! The shape is to be understood from the cube shape of the Most Holy Place in Moses' Tabernacle (10³) and its cube shape in Solomon's Temple (20³). The cubic shape being the common factor of the place that represents God's immediate presence.

Likewise, the number 'twelve thousand' is taken from the full complement of the tribes of the covenant people (whether Simeon and Levi are counted or left out of the counting) multiplied to the full unit size of the time - namely, 1 000.

In other words in symbolic speech the Bride of Christ, in fulfillment as the Wife of the Lamb, is the full complement of the Lord's people who - as the place of God's presence - are the seat of His rule over all, forever!

Judah	Asher	Simeon	Zebulun
Reuben	Naphtali	Levi	Joseph
Gad	Manasseh	Issachar	Benjamin

Every Bible listing of Israel's tribes includes Dan, except this presentation in Revelation chapter seven. Why? Because we are dealing with the elements of Old Testament Israel used as symbols of the New Testament 'Israel of God' - the Christian Church. This is not 'replacement theology'. This is honest contextual exegesis!

Also drawn from the Old Testament, specifically its prophecies against Babylon, is the metaphor of the sea as a symbol of pagan nations -

"The sea has come up on Babylon; she is covered with its tumultuous waves." (Jer.51:42), for
"the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet" (Jer.57:20),

as Isaiah the prophet had previously used. Hence the logical significance of the phrase: that in God's new earth - "the sea was no more" (Rev.21:1) means - the whole world knows the Lord! This has nothing to do with the future of fisheries, but it has everything to do with God's rule fulfilled!

An example of the second (the sociopolitical context) is 'Babylon' presented as a woman seated on seven mountains. A knowledge of the history of the time informs us that Emperor Vespasian had struck a coin on which he portrayed imperial Rome as a woman seated on seven hills. The code name "Babylon" was especially necessary as John describes the destruction of the woman, the city, at the hands of the antichrist, the Beast, from inside a Roman prison. The dual significance of the hills as also representing a succession of seven rulers made it necessary to portray them as mountains.

With regard to this sociopolitical context of the first readers of the Bible, it is also of particular interest to note, concerning the Seven-Sealed Book in the right hand of God (5:1-5), that Roman law at the time of writing required that a Last Will and Testament of a Roman citizen be sealed with seven seals (the testator, five witnesses, and the executor). This gave special importance to the significance of this scroll, and explains John's deep emotional distress that no-one is found worthy to inherit the kingdom of the Most High. But Jesus the Man is found worthy to be King of kings and Lord of lords! Hallelujah.

Another example of this value of taking the sociopolitical circumstance of the first readers into account is the wording of the Bible's absolute assurance that nothing shall separate God's people from His love. The Apostle Paul writes to the Roman Christians:
"For I am sure that neither death nor life, ... nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."  (Rom. 8:38-39).
The translation is literally correct, but that doesn't help us, for it was its colloquial use of the terms at that time that carries its meaning. At the time that this was written, 'height' and 'depth' meant -

In other words, Paul is reminding the Roman Christians that no matter what Roman astrologers say, it has no influence whatsoever upon the life of those in Jesus Christ! Thank you Lord!

Well, that's enough to illustrate the importance of
(1) Old Testament background to the New, and
(2) the socio-cultural circumstance of its first readers in the use of language and terms.

The Bible documents were written by real people whose personal lives are unavoidably a background to the character of the text. This is true even when an editor's hand has completed a document (such as the writings of Moses) or when there is no direct knowledge of the human source of the writing (such as Job).

An empathy with the persons portrayed helps directly to make the historical situation in the text more comprehensible.

However, sometimes the value of this aspect is obscured by scribal errors and tradition reflected in even our oldest copies of holy scripture. An example of this is the treatment of psalm titles by copyists and consequently by translators.

All versions of the Psalms mix what is often the footnote of the preceding psalm with the title of the following psalm. In consequence, often a poetic title is then taken to be an unknown tune of the time, by unfortunately adding the words - "the tune of" before an untranslated word or phrase. (Incidentally, it is more probable that the music associated with a psalm was its background music for recitation or chanting rather than a tune which dictated its rhythm).

This grouping error is exposed when we compare the structure of the psalm given to us in Habbakuk chapter three as an example:

When this basic layout is applied to the traditional titles in Psalms the social situation of the writer will often become apparent, with new and enriching understanding for the reader.

When this principle is applied to Psalm eight, it becomes apparent that 'mutlaben' in the title of Psalm nine (translated sometimes as 'death of the hero', 'death of the son', or 'death of the man between the camps', according to how the Hebrew vowel-pointing is done) is really the footnote of Psalm eight and refers to the killing of Goliath the blasphemer for which young David is filled with praise toward God, for -

"From the lips of children and infants You have ordained strength
because of Your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger." Ps.8:2.

Another example of the importance of understanding the social context is Psalm 90. Written by Moses, it will not be properly understood unless it is read with a knowledge of the life of Moses described in the first five books of the Bible, in particular Moses at the age of eighty. The prayer at the close of this psalm is its climax. Moses at age eighty (that is before the Israel's exodus) prays with passion for God to 'establish' the work of his hands. His sense of frailty and the futility of his life at this age is subsequently answered by God in his commissioning at the burning bush and Moses' extraordinary mission from age 80 to age 120. Glory to God!

Thus, these three angles in our framework of understanding - the Historical, the Literary, and the Social - prepare our way for knowing the Word of God as the all-glorious Author intended it to be understood.

Lastly, what should always be first!

Sadly though, a Roman Catholic Catechism states:

"The task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope and to the bishops in communion with him". [emphasis mine]. (Catholic Church 1994, Apostolate for Family Consecration, Bloomingdale, OH, Para. 100, Page 30).