Scripture Series: The need to interpret the bible no 4

NEED TO INTERPRET THE BIBLE SERIES

THE BIBLE

10 PRINCIPLES FOR INTERPRETING NARRATIVES.

Welcome to my fourth post in a series of 5 on the need to Interpret the Bible.  If you missed the last three posts, check it out in the category of Scripture- the need to interpret. You may also find the posts in the 4 part series Scripture- Bible Reading Methods useful as well.

Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart in a book called ‘How to read the Bible for all its worth’ gives the following 10 principles for interpreting narratives.  It may assist you to avoid obvious errors in interpretation whenever you seek to exegete (discover the original meaning) stories from Old and New Testaments using this genre. They are as follows:

1. ‘An Old Testament narrative does not directly teach a doctrine.

2. An Old Testament narrative usually illustrates a doctrine or doctrines taught elsewhere.

3. Narratives record what happened- not necessarily what should have happened or what ought to happen every time.  Therefore, not every narrative has an identifiable moral of the story.

4. What people do in narratives is not necessarily a good example for us.  Frequently it is just the opposite.

5. Most of the characters in Old Testament narratives are far from perfect and their actions are, too.

6. We are not always old at the end of the narrative whether what happened was good or bad.  We are expected to be able to judge that on the basis of what God has taught us directly and categorically elsewhere in the Scripture.

7. All narratives are selective and incomplete. Not all the relevant details are always given.  What does appear in the narrative is everything that the inspired author thought important for us to know.

8. Narratives are not written to answer all our theological questions. They have particular, specific limited purposes and deal with certain issues, leaving others to be dealt with elsewhere in other ways.

9. Narratives may teach either explicitly (by clearly stating something) or implicitly (by clearly imply something without actually stating it)

10. In the final analysis God is the hero of all biblical narratives.’   (pp.83-84)

Is God the ‘hero’ of the narrative of our lives also?