Understanding and Applying the Scriptures

532 Pages·2007·2.15 MB·English

by  Craig keener

UNDERSTANDING AND APPLYING THE
SCRIPTURES

UNDERSTANDING AND APPLYING THE SCRIPTURES
Copyright © 2003 and 2008 by Danny McCain and Craig Keener
This Edition © 2008 by Danny McCain and Craig Keener
Reprinted 2008, 2012
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form by
any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission in
writing from the author and the publisher except for brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.
Unless otherwise stated, all scriptures are taken with permission from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW
INTERNATIONAL VERSION © 1984 by the International Bible Society.
ISBN: 978-36283-7-2
eISBN: 978-97890-5-2-240
Published by:
ACTS Bookshop, International HQ, TCNN,
PMB 2020, Bukuru 930008, Plateau State, Nigeria.
GSM: [phone]; E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.acts-ng.com
ACTS Branches:
• 14 Oba Akran Avenue, Ikeja Under Bridge Bus Stop, Lagos Tel: [phone]
• Garki Ultra-Modern Market (International Market) No. 143 Umar Bahago Block (“A” Courtyard),
Abuja, FCT. Tel: [phone]
• No. 23, Obio Imo Street, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Tel: [phone]
• Theological College of Northern Nigeria (TCNN), Bukuru, Plateau State Tel: [phone]
• ECWA Theological Seminary, Jos (JETS), PO Box 5398, Zaria Road, Jos, Plateau State. Tel: 0803
923 4762
• UMCA Theological College Ajasse-Ipo Road Opp. NAF H/Qtrs. P. O. Box 171 Ilorin, Kwara State.
Tel: [phone]
• West Africa Theological Seminary (WATS), 36 Olukunle Akinola Street, Ipaja, Lagos. Tel: [phone]
0628
• Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary (NBTS), PMB 4008, Ogbomoso. Tel: [phone]
• ECWA Theological Seminary Kagoro, PMB 35, Kagoro, Kaduna State. Tel: [phone]
• Theological Seminary of Northern Nigeria, Saminaka, Kaduna State. Tel: [phone]
Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST), Kenya. E-mail: [email protected]
Table of Contents
Chapters
Preface
Introduction to Hermeneutics
Introduction to the Bible
Inspiration
Canonization
Textual Criticism
English Translations
Tools of Bible Study
Rule 1. The Rule of Spiritual Truth
Rule 2. The Rule of Selectivity
Rule 3. The Rule of Simplicity
Rule 4. The Rule of Context
Rule 5. The Rule of Words
Rule 6. The Rule of Grammar
Rule 7. The Rule of Figurative Language
Rule 8. The Rule of Progressive Revelation
Symbolism in the Bible
Interpreting Narrative
Interpreting Poetic Literature
Interpreting Psalms
Interpreting Proverbs
Interpreting Prophecy
Interpreting Jesus
Interpreting the Apostles
Application in the Bible
Application in the Narratives
Application in the Epistles

Appendices
Paragraph Context Examples
Whole Book Context Examples
Background Context Examples
Examination of Jesus’ Teaching Methods
“The Theology of the Blood of Jesus”
“Prosperity: A Biblical Perspective”

Selected Bibliography
General Index
Preface
I taught my first class in hermeneutics in 1976. The course was entitled
“Principles of Bible Study and Interpretation.” Since I was teaching in the USA
at that time, where all our students had access to good textbooks, I basically used
a textbook and did not prepare any extensive personal notes. By the second time
I taught the course, I started developing my own notes on interpreting the Bible.
When I came to Nigeria in 1988 and found out that the average student did not
have access to a textbook, I expanded my notes and started making them
available to my students in a mimeographed form. I have continued to upgrade
and hopefully improve these notes every time I go through them.
In 1999, while my good friend Prof. Craig Keener was staying in my house in
Jos and lecturing at the University of Jos, we discussed the need for a
hermeneutics textbook that would be tailored especially for Africa. Prof. Keener
and I eventually agreed to co-author a book on hermeneutics. Prof. Keener, who
is a prolific writer, immediately went to work and completed his part of the book
within four months. However, it took me over three years before I was able to
get my part of the book in a publishable condition.
Co-authoring a book is tricky because both authors have their own personalities
and styles of writing and theological convictions. Because of this, it is hard to
“marry” two parts of a book that have been written by different people. We have
worked hard at it but we are very aware that it is not a perfect union.
In fact, it should be noted that we deliberately left some of the first person
singular pronouns in the book like “I” and “me.” These are usually found in
sections where we are giving examples from our teaching. To make the project
very personal and easy to read, we have chosen to keep those personal pronouns
in the text as we would use them in our oral lecturing. With the explanations
given below about who wrote what sections and through careful observation, it
should not be too difficult for the careful reader to figure out which of us is the
“I” in these sections.
One thing that we try to keep in mind in teaching here in Africa is that the
One thing that we try to keep in mind in teaching here in Africa is that the
average pastor and Bible teacher does not have access to all the Bible study
resources we have in the Western World. Therefore, in this book I have tried to
give enough background information and the appropriate principles that will
help the sincere Bible student to extract from the Bible the messages that were
intended by the original authors. In other words, this book is written with the
assumption that the reader will have very few Bible study materials.
This book can be divided into four general divisions. In the first part, I attempt to
give a general overview of the Bible. It is my conviction that we cannot
understand the parts of the Bible without having a reasonable understanding of
the whole. Therefore, I have described the Bible from the time it was in the mind
of God to the Bibles we read every day. This includes a general introduction to
the Bible in which I discuss everything from the name of the Bible to the chapter
and verse divisions. In this section, I use the educational principle of going from
the “known to the unknown” and from the “general to the specific.” After that, I
talk about the topics of inspiration, canonicity, textual criticism and translation.
The second part of the book is the “tools and rules” section. I wrote all of this
material except the chapter on context. When Prof. Keener teaches
hermeneutics, he spends more than half his time simply studying problems
associated with context. That is why the chapter on context is one of the longest
in the book. In addition, there are three appendices that contain additional
examples related to the chapter on context.
In this section I spend a couple of chapters explaining what I see to be the most
important tools of Bible study. After that I focus on eight different rules of
interpretation. Certainly there are more than eight rules related to interpreting the
Bible. I have created eight general categories related to interpretation. These
enable me to discuss the many principles related to interpreting the Bible. For
example, one of these rules is the “Rule of Grammar.” Even primary school
students know that there are many different rules of grammar. That means that
there are many different ways knowing and using the rules of grammar will
influence our study of the Bible. In this book, however, I have lumped all those
principles together in that one rule called the “Rule of Grammar.”
The third part of the book is what theologians call “special interpretation.” Most
of the eight rules referred to above relate to interpreting any kind of written
document, whether in the Bible or not. However, the Bible also contains some
genres that are not commonly found in other literature such as psalms, proverbs,
prophecy and parables. Prof. Keener prepared most of the material in this
prophecy and parables. Prof. Keener prepared most of the material in this
section.
The final part of this book focuses on application. One of the most common
mistakes my students make is to confuse interpretation and application. We
cannot do appropriate application until we have done proper interpretation.
However, once we have done our interpretation, we need some guidelines on the
best way to apply these truths into our contemporary lives. Prof. Keener and I
have tried to supply some of those guidelines in the last three chapters of this
book. I wrote the general chapter on application and Prof. Keener wrote the
chapters on interpreting and applying narratives and epistles.
Because I live in Nigeria and am more familiar with the communication patterns
of African students, Prof. Keener has allowed me to be responsible for the
general layout and design and to edit his own material freely. Therefore, any
mistakes found in the text are entirely my responsibility. I have also been
granted the responsibility of writing the preface on behalf of the writing team
and publishers.
We are most grateful to all those who have assisted us in the creation of this
book. This includes hundreds of students, at all levels—from diploma students to
post-graduate students in universities, seminaries, Bible colleges and seminars,
whose questions and observations have helped to shape the book into what it is
now. We are also grateful to my colleague at the University of Jos, Dr. Gwamna
Dogara, who has not only read this manuscript but has taught hermeneutics
using these materials. To my colleagues in Africa Christian Textbooks, Rev. Dr.
Scott Cunningham and Rev. Dr. Sid Garland, who have both read the manuscript
and made most helpful suggestions, we are most grateful. My daughter, Carmen,
has proofread the manuscript and my wife, Mary, has worked many, many hours
proofreading, checking references, creating the index, doing visual editing and
all the other tedious things that have to be done before a book can be published.
To both of them, I am most grateful. I am also grateful to Africa Christian
Textbooks for agreeing to publish this book. I must express my personal
appreciation to Prof. Craig Keener for his hard work on this book and also for
agreeing to work with me on this project.
Finally, we must give thanks to God who has given us the rich privilege of not
only teaching the Bible but also teaching others how to study it.
It is my prayer that all who interact with this book will experience what the
people in Jerusalem did when Ezra read the law to them: “They read from the
Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the
people could understand what was being read” (Nehemiah 8:8).
Prof. Danny McCain
May 2008