…or, “Why You Should Own a Study Bible.”
Originally I was going to write on a far grumpier topic, but hey, Christmas! Right? So, I downshifted and decided to talk about something that I really love: exegesis.
Don't gag. It's not as bad as it sounds! 😂
Exegesis is a noun (the verb is "exegete"--keep it down!) It's what we do when we interpret, especially Scripture, well. The word literally means, "to draw out." There's meaning in the text, you see, and we want to "draw out" that meaning. The opposite of exegesis is eisegesis. It's pejorative. It means to "stuff in" 😁, meaning we humans have a tendency to stuff our own meanings into things where they don't belong. If you've ever had someone intentionally misunderstand what you're saying, that's "eisegesis." And it's real bad.
So, in order to keep us from doing that with God's word (which is, like, waaaay worse), there is a way to do exegesis. A method of interpretation that helps keep us on the straight-and-narrow. It isn't flawless, but it is helpful. And that method is this:
Context.
The thing that your grumpy partner is doing when they intentionally eisegete you (the bad form) is that they deny all evidence to the contrary and take your statements as mean, demeaning, thoughtless, or cruel. And that "evidence to the contrary" is the context in which you were originally speaking--the stuff around the stuff you were saying to help them understand your real meaning. Let's say you were getting up to get a glass of water, and you look over to your partner and point to his/her glass. They remain motionless, so you assume they don't want a refill. You then go refill your own glass and return to the couch, at which point your partner complains at how thoughtless you were to not ask him/her whether they wanted another glass or not. Now, you never actually said, "hey, do you want another glass?" But, within the context of the setting, that was strongly implied. They're intentionally misinterpreting you by implicitly denying that they noticed that you motioned to their glass earlier.
Implicit denial of context. It's how most of the Bible is misunderstood.
And I don't wish you to misunderstand God. No, far from it! I believe that God has an amazing message for you in his word! But--and here's the hard bit--we are westerners, separated by language, culture, and 2000 years of history (at least) from the writers of the Bible. In that long history, lots of people have gotten their hands on Scripture, many of whom were... maybe not very nice people, or good people, or wise people. And some of those people mis-read parts of Scripture. And some of those misreadings got passed down. Their bad "eisegesis" eventually got cemented into our normal, everyday reading of the Bible so that, even if we are positively oriented toward Scripture and the God it reveals, we still are reading things into the text that aren't there.
This is where exegesis shines!
Exegesis, by turning our attention back to the original context of the passage or book, removes those layers of presupposition (in a best-case scenario) so that we can read the thing fresh and new again. 💐🌺🌻🌼 Ahhhhh!
So I wanted, just quickly, to help you learn how to exegete God's word for yourself so that you could read it aright, without all the weight and (sometimes) garbage of the history of interpretation. How does that sound?
OK, so you already know that "context" is the one rule. If you read a passage in the right "context," you are going to get the meaning right. Wrong, and you'll get it wrong, every time. The better you know the context, the better you'll do.
So, what is "context"?
Your passage, say Romans 13:1-7, has an internal logic. Parts of it speak to other parts of it. Internal logic is a strong and meaningful context. When Paul talks about "authority" in verse 1, that has strong implications for what he means by "authority" in verse 2. That kind of idea. You can get ideas of "authority" from other places, but those places are less strongly implied because, well, they are "other." They are further away. And the closeness or proximity of an contextual allusion is the deciding factor as to whether it is the likely one or not. The closer it is--in time, in authorship, in the text, in verbal parallels, etc.--the more likely it is to be the controlling "context."
Picture it like a bulls eye:
The dead center is your passage--the words and concepts and referents that make up the thing your studying. The relative value of context is determined by how close it is to that passage. Is it one ring out, or five? About forty years ago, it became chic in biblical studies to compare biblical stories to Norse mythology. Weird, I know. 😊 And you know it's weird, why? Because that isn't a very close analogy, is it? The biblical writers didn't know anything about Norsemen, much less their mythology (and vice-versa). It couldn't have had any real, historical or social impact on the writing. It was very far out, in other words, on the concentric circles of the context bullseye.
So, how do you--leader--do exegesis with the tools you have at present? Well, the first tool you have is the most important, so start there. The most important interpreter of Scripture is Scripture. When you read something in Paul that you don't understand, read something else of Paul's to see if it clears it up. For example, "I don't permit women to teach" in 1 Timothy 2:12 has to be taken in light of Paul sending Phoebe in Romans 16:1-2, a leader of the church in Cenchrea, to teach the book of Romans to the Romans. 😁 So, Paul definitely does "allow women to teach," so there must be another sense to what he's saying to Timothy. That sort of thing. Here, a concordance or online concordance are going to be your biggest helps, because you can search for words, phrases, or even themes throughout the Bible.
Let me say this plainly: your Bible and your concordance are your most important tools for exegesis. Nothing else is nearly as important!
For historical and social background, there are all kinds of books on that sort of thing. Don't make yourself crazy, though. Do yourself a favor and just get a "study Bible." That'll have most of what you need right in it, and that way you'll have your three most important tools (Bible, concordance, backgrounds) altogether in one place. For example, my Bible, the one with duct tape on it, has all three right inside. I can go out on a beach and read and not worry that I've left an important tool behind!
[[This one is dope, by the way 😁: https://www.christianbook.com/niv-revised-edition-bonded-leather-black/9780310448976/pd/448976]]
Yeah, actually, just look at all the stuff that Bible has! Cross-references (when the Bible alludes to itself), concordance, maps, articles, pictures--it's a walking book of context, folks!
Part of me wants to help you navigate the whole world of Biblical resources, but that's not necessary (or even very good). There's a lot of schlock out there too, unfortunately. No, let me tell you this with all seriousness. If you get a Study Bible, like the one above, and really read it for all it's worth, you will know more than 95% of other Christians. I'm serious!! The tools in there--I doubt anyone has plumbed the depths of their study Bible, and folks I've tried!
Don't make yourself crazy. Don't buy a whole library. At least until you know what a library can add. Major in the majors and get yourself a study Bible and then... study with it! Hahahah, that's really it. That's really how you do exegesis. Read your Bible; and, as you're reading, interpret these passages that God wrote for you in light of their contexts (all that extra stuff on the page other than the Bible words). That's how you learn. That's how you grow.
That's how you "exegete!"
Reading alongside you,
Cliff 📖👓💡
P.S.--If you do ever want to move out beyond your study Bible (don't do it soon--really try to get everything out of it you can!) I'd love to have that conversation with you. I do have a library. But the Bible itself is still about 90% my tool of choice. Why? Because it is context! The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing... 🤪😉
P.P.S.--If you can't afford a study Bible, I'll buy you one!!
P.P.P.S.--Seriously consider getting involved in the Bible-in-a-year thing? Even if you can't come to class, let's do it together as a church! Us all being "on the same page," as it were, wouldn't hurt. 😁 And learning together! I think Heather and I are gonna do it at least. Join in!!