Principles of Biblical Interpretation

This document was distributed by Pastor Eddie to the Motley Crew Bible Study Class at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Decatur, AL, in the summer of 2009 and may be helpful to you in your devotions.

When considering the purchase of a new Bible, you may wish to read the first few pages of the Introduction to determine the method and the sources of the translation. Not all translations are the same.

When attempting to interpret a particular passage, I have found it helpful to compare the texts of two or three different translations, various commentators, and in some cases, to consult Greek Interlinear texts and both Greek and Bible dictionaries. Finally, don't forget to pray!

1. Scripture interprets Scripture. We use the clearest and strongest passages of Scripture to help clarify the harder to understand passages.

2. Any interpretation of Scripture MUST be in accord with the context of that section of Scripture.

3. God is the Author of Scripture; therefore Scripture cannot and does not contradict itself.

4. No external evidence may be used to change the meaning of Scripture.

5. All interpretation must be in accord with the general purpose of both the Old and New Testaments, namely to bring all people into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Additional Study Resources

Source: Study Light

Study Light also offers an interlinear Bible, parallel Bible, 21 commentaries, 4 concordances, 8 dictionaries, 2 encyclopedias, both Greek and Hebrew lexicons and other Bible study resources. They also offer a free download of Bible Explorer, Version 4.0.

This site is but one of many web sites that can provide helpful information concerning Biblical study. A few others include:

• Bible Gateway. 20 Bibles plus passage lookup, keyword search, topical index, numerous commentaries, and other valuable resources.

• Classic Bible Commentaries. Ten of the best classic commentators (in the public domain). This page is hosted by E-Word Today, a site that also offers numerous translations of the Bible, devotionals, and other study products.

• The NET Bible. A contemporary translation with outstanding notes. A version for download is available at no cost.

• Greek Interlinear Bible. The Greek text — based on the 1894 Textus Receptus — with English translation. A Hebrew Interlinear is also available at this site, Scripture4All. A free download of the Greek Interlinear Bible is available. The use of the Textus Receptus was required due to copyright issues; they had previously used the WHNA Greek text. "At a later date we plan to add the NA/USB variants as a comment or popup window."

• CrossWalk. Another excellent study and research resource. Head for their Bible Study Tools to access 26 Bible translations, a parallel Bible, an interlinear Bible, plus 11 commentaries, 4 concordances, 6 dictionaries, an encyclopedia, both a Greek and a Hebrew lexicon, and other resources. Their Greek Interlinear Bible is based on N.A. 26. They have an extensive library of the writings of the Early Church Fathers (and other historical works under the History link)

This is certainly not an exhaustive listing of excellent resources, but should provide a good first start to any research project. Numerous public domain translations, commentaries, etc., are available at Project Gutenberg, Google Books and the Internet Archive. When looking for a book still in print, I first go to Advanced Book Exchange, an consortium of thousands of independent book sellers (note that ABEBooks was acquired by Amazon in December 2008).

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