Why study biblical backgrounds in the first place?

According to Elwell and Yarbrough, studying the New Testament is essential “because it mediates God’s presence, is of ultimate personal significance, and is foundational to cultural literacy” (Elwell and Yarbrough 2013, 16). It is to every Christian’s benefit to know the original meaning of a Bible passage. To properly understand and interpret the Word of God, one must consider multiple aspects concerning the times in which the authors of the Bible wrote, such as culture and language.

The first aspect to consider is culture. As Christians in the 21st century Western world, many are unfamiliar with the first-century Jewish culture of Jesus and His disciples. Jesus was Jewish, speaking mainly to Jews, gaining Jewish followers, and following Jewish laws and regulations. Our modern age has come a long way from the ancient ways of Jewish living. For example, the apostle Matthew was a Jew who wrote to other Jews about a particular Jew. Therefore, he would use Jewish idioms, phrases, and words common to that culture and time in history.

A second important aspect to take into consideration is language. The authors of the Bible did not write in English, but rather in Hebrew for the Old Testament and Greek for the New Testament. When one does not understand the language fundamentals, the individual cannot fully understand the context of the passage. Dr. Robert Wayne Stacy gives a great example. “Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple” (Matt. 4:5, NKJV). In the original Greek, this word for “pinnacle” did not mean the spire of Gothic architecture but the “wing or corner” of the temple (Stacy).

Studying aspects such as culture and language allow the reader to understand the Scriptures and interpret passages correctly. One reason to study the Bible’s multifaceted background is to ensure personal opinions and prejudices do not get in the way of sound interpretation. In the course textbook, the authors give a perfect example of a minister who preached segregation based on his prejudiced understanding of Acts 17:26 (Elwell and Yarbrough 2013, 13). Unfortunately, this mistake of interpretation based on personal opinion and prejudice is common, whether knowingly or unknowingly. An in-depth study of the Bible’s historical background can help alleviate this issue.

A second reason is that the Christian will take responsibility to dive deeper into the Word of God. It is not that the Christian stops relying upon the inspired revelation of the Scriptures through the Holy Spirit, but so the reader does not make the mistake of relying on spiritual influence alone to interpret Bible passages. Jesus was devoted to learning, mastering, and submitting to Scripture; His disciples followed the same pattern, even though they could hear straight from Jesus’s mouth (Elwell and Yarbrough 2013, 14). The apostle Paul also continued his studies of the Scriptures after his conversion. As Elwell and Yarbrough say, “If study of Scripture was central to their lives, it probably should be to ours as well” (Elwell and Yarbrough 2013, 14).

One can conclude that it is essential for the 21st century Christian to know the original meaning of a Bible passage. The reader can adequately interpret the Scripture when considering the significant differences between modern-day and ancient cultures and languages. By doing so, one can avoid overreliance on spiritual influence and personal opinions and prejudices.

Bibliography

Elwell, Walter A., and Robert W. Yarbrough. Encountering the New Testament: a Historical and Theological Survey. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2013.

Stacy, Dr. Robert Wayne. “Negotiating Distances in Biblical Interpretation.” (NBST515, Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA).