1. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth
By Gordon D. Fee
and Douglas Stuart

2. Chapter 1: Introduction The Need to Interpret
Why Interpret the Bible? Just obey what it says!
“Do everything without grumbling or arguing” (Php 2:14)
Interpretation is not a matter of being “unique”
The aim of interpretation: To get at the “plain meaning” of the text, yet this is not as simple as it may seem
Requires analyzing the nature of the reader and the nature of the text
The Reader as an Interpreter
Readers bring their own understanding through which they interpret
A modern reader’s understanding of the word “flesh” (Ro 13:14 NKJV)
Biblical scholars differ regarding baptism, speaking in tongues, et al.
Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Appalachians, Health and Wealth gospel (3 Jn 2)

3. Chapter 1: Introduction The Need to Interpret
The Nature of Scripture
The Bible is both human and divine
Not just a human book like the works of Cicero and Milton
Not just a list of “the sayings of Chairman God”
We should see its eternal relevance and historical particularity
God uses nearly all forms of human communication
narrative history, genealogies, chronicles, laws of all kinds, poetry of all kinds, proverbs, prophetic oracles, riddles, drama, biographical sketches, parables, letters, sermons, and apocalypses
God’s word is expressed in a particular vocabulary and conditioned by the cultural context into which it was spoken
God’s word to us is first of all God’s word to the original hearers
To interpret God’s word accurately requires both Exegesis (then and there) and Hermeneutics (here and now)

4. Chapter 1: Introduction The Need to Interpret
The First Task: Exegesis
The careful, systematic study of Scripture to understand its original meaning
This should be the first step in studying any text
When consulting “experts” is necessary, choose good ones
The camel going through the eye of a needle
Learning to do Exegesis
Read carefully and ask the right questions of the text
The Historical Context
Time and culture of author and readers
The occasion and purpose of each Biblical book
The Literary Context
Understand words in their sentences, sentences in paragraphs

5. Chapter 1: Introduction The Need to Interpret
The Questions of Content
Meaning of words, grammatical relationships
Consulting a commentary is the last thing you should do (28)
The Tools
A good translation, Bible dictionary, commentary
The Second Task: Hermeneutics
Controlled by good Exegesis (3 Jn 2)
This is the emphasis of the rest of the book

6. Chapter 2: The Basic Tool: A Good Translation
We read the Bible in English, which has been translated from Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek
Translations differ, sometimes considerably in terms of meaning
As an example, consider 1 Corinthians 7:36
NKJV—”If any man thinks he is behaving improperly toward his virgin”
NASB/U—”If any man thinks he is acting unbecomingly toward his virgin daughter”
TNIV—”If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to”
NEB—”If a man has a partner in celibacy and feels that he is not behaving properly toward her”
Use one major translation for consistency and refer to several others for study
To make the best choice we should know something of the science of translation

7. Chapter 2: The Basic Tool: A Good Translation
The Science of Translation
Translators make two choices:
textual (actual wording of the original text)
linguistic (one’s theory of translation)
The Question of Text
Translators want to use the oldest, most reliable text
No “original” exists for any book of the Bible
What exists are thousands of copies produced by hand
Not all of the copies are exactly alike
Textual criticism attempts to discover the original meaning of the original text
1 Corinthians 13:3—changing one letter in the original Greek word “hardship” or “flames”
KJV was translated from latter manuscripts and contains more textual variants than others
The authors do not recommend the KJV or the NKJV for study
The Questions of Language
Original language, receptor language, and historical distance
Formal equivalence, functional equivalence, free translation
Theory of translation: Where does the emphasis lie?

8. Chapter 2: The Basic Tool: A Good Translation
Formal Equivalence (Literal)
Functional Equivalence (Dynamic)
KJV NASB RSV
NKJV NASU NRSV
ESV
NIV NAB GNB JB
TNIV NJB REB NLT
FREE: NEB, LB, Message

9. Chapter 2: The Basic Tool: A Good Translation
Some Problem Areas
Weights, Measures, Money
Euphemisms
Vocabulary
Wordplays
Grammar and Syntax
Matters of Gender
On Choosing a Translation

10. Chapter 3: The Epistles: Learning to Think Contextually
The rest of the book discusses various Biblical genres and how to interpret accordingly
The Nature of the Epistles
All the New Testament except the Gospels, Acts, Rev
Epistles vs. Letters
Six part form: writer, recipient, greeting, prayer, body, end
Occasional documents, first century period
Not theological treatises or summaries of Peter and Paul
Task theology

11. Chapter 3: The Epistles: Learning to Think Contextually
The Historical Context
What was going on that led Paul to write?
How did he learn of their situation?
What relationship do they have?
What attitudes are reflected by him and them?
Find out as much as possible about Corinth and its people (It was young, cosmopolitan, wealthy, artistic, religious)
Read (aloud) the whole letter through in one sitting
After reconstructing the problem and understanding the context, then make an outline of the letter based on its contents

12. Chapter 3: The Epistles: Learning to Think Contextually
Further research the precise nature or each of the problems mentioned in the letter
The problem of divisions in the church (1-4)
Read chapters 1-4 twice, in different versions
Identify recipients and problem as precisely as possible
Note especially key words and repeated phrases
Discover source of conflict between Paul and philosophers and between the gospel and human wisdom
The Literary Context
Trace the argument in 1:10-4:21 paragraph by paragraph and summarize the logical development in sentences
Paul corrects both their understanding of the gospel and of Christian leaders and points them to God himself
One More Time (Applies a similar approach to Philippians 1:27-2:18)
The Problem Passages

13. Chapter 4: The Epistles: The Hermeneutical Questions
How does the exegesis apply to us? This is what the hermeneutic approach tries to make clear
The biggest hermeneutical challenge is to distinguish what is culturally relative and what is eternally valid
Our Common Hermeneutics
We do this automatically (carry my cloak; join in suffering)
The Basic Rule
A text cannot mean what it never could have meant to its author or his or her readers
The Second Rule
Whenever we share common particulars with the first-century hearers, God’s word to us is the same as his word to them
The Problem of Extended Application
Applications beyond what is immediate can easily become mere interpretative opinions
The Problem of Particulars that Are not Comparable
Discern the principle from the particulars
Apply the principle to genuinely comparable situations
The Problem of Cultural Relativity
The Problem of Task Theology