Biblical interpretation is a virtual science these days. Many PhDs are granted each year in this impressive academic discipline. Scholars study genre—looking at forms, styles, and particular audiences. They look at the context of texts. They examine authorship. They construct chronologies to determine the precise dating of texts. These are just at the tip of the iceberg of an enormous body of scholarship that is collectively known as biblical hermeneutics, also known as biblical interpretation.
But you don’t need a PhD in order to use hermeneutical tools to understand the Bible better. Here’s a quick “top ten” list of hermeneutical tools we can all use:
1. Prayer. People read the Bible for a myriad of reasons. In sum, there are two umbrella approaches: for academic understanding and spiritual guidance. Often, people are using both of these at the same time. However, the believer should approach Bible reading with a posture of prayer. A key passage here is Psalm 86:11 (NLT): “Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth! Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you.”
2. “What it Meant is What it Means.” Ben Witherington argues this is a good starting point. We should aim to understand what the author actually meant to say, without hindsight of the later, scholarly interpretation of those words.
3. Genre Identification. Apocalyptic literature (e.g., the book of Revelation) has uniquenesses that are entirely different from rather straightforward genres, such as Paul’s epistles. Poetry is meant to be read differently from books of history.
“You don’t need a PhD in order to use hermeneutical tools to understand the Bible better.”
4. Historical context. Analyze the history of a particular text. For example, did Paul likely write this epistle early or late in his career?
5. Social-scientific context. Analyze socio-cultural insights of a specific text regarding issues such as marriage, honor/shame, or gender roles and expectations.
6. Avoid “proof-texting.” When we base our beliefs off just one verse, ignoring other relevant passages, we cherry-pick a passage that may have a larger context that we are missing. For example, someone could possibly cite the “baptism for the dead“ reference in 1 Corinthians 15 to “prove” that Christians should baptize for the dead. But that passage has perplexed scholars for centuries and should cause hesitancy in interpretation. One cherry-picked passage can lead one to accentuate something in one’s mind that is not accentuated in the larger context of the scriptural canon.
7. Church history. What has the Christian tradition said about a particular passage over the course of 2,000 years? This is not always helpful, as tradition can at times eclipse the meaning of the Bible. But if one’s interpretation is entirely unique, then one must ask how they reached a conclusion that has scarcely been reached before.
8. Word study. This often requires at least a familiarity with biblical languages, but there are many resources that can help here such as commentaries, concordances, and Bible dictionaries.
“There are many resources that can help here such as commentaries, concordances, and Bible dictionaries.”
9. Examination of translations. Many translations were done by one person. This is not typically ideal, as theological emphases and biases can come into play. At least with a body of scholars, each translator must answer to the others they are working with. So, if you consult multiple translations, it can help you get a broader understanding of the passage. 
10. Cruciform approach. For Christians, Jesus is the hermeneutical key for understanding the canonical text. If a scholar does not honor Jesus as Lord, then the interpretation is subject to scrutiny. A decidedly Christian interpreter comes to the text knowing that Jesus is absolutely central to the message of the Bible. A non-Christian interpreter sees the text through a completely different lens.
And while we’re at it, another majorly important rule of biblical interpretation is that some things are more important than others. The apostles knew this. Paul discusses this at length in Romans 14. Some people eat meat; others (whom Paul calls weak, showing his carnivore cards) are vegetarian on principle. But these are not things considered to be crucial to the Christian faith. Rather, the things “of first importance” are explicitly listed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:3–7 (NIV):
“That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all of the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also.”
“Another majorly important rule of biblical interpretation is that some things are more important than others.”
According to Paul, a hierarchy of importance certainly exists in our Christian teaching, but figuring out that hierarchy is not always easy to do.
Even the apostles and early church leaders had their share of challenges when it came to correctly interpreting God’s revelation. For example, in 1 Corinthians 1, it is clear that the church at Corinth was quarreling about authority and interpretation. The debate seems to have been about whether they should follow Paul, Apollos, Peter, or Jesus. In Galatians, Paul tells us of his heated conflict with Peter (Galatians 2:11). In Acts, we learn that Priscilla and Aquila heard Apollos preach on one occasion and “took him aside and explained to him the way of God more adequately” (Acts 18:26). A serious conflict arose between John and Diotrephes in 3 John 9, and the result was that John and his faction were apparently barred from visiting that church. He accused Diotrephes of “spreading malicious nonsense.” It is reassuring to know that church conflict has been ongoing since New Testament times. Our contemporary church conflicts may not be so unusual. Perhaps living in a faith community is not so easy…and never has been.
All of us are struggling to understand the truth of Christ better, more clearly, more faithfully. A charitable Christian should not be overly eager to condemn others in their interpretations, just as we would prefer not to be condemned for our conclusions. However, it is important to articulate truth as we understand it. And maybe God will lead us to a Priscilla or an Aquila who can help us to understand the way of the Lord more adequately if we begin to stray too far in this or that direction.
