How to Interpret Biblical Texts | How to Study the Bible Series
Updated: Aug 31
By the time you reach the Interpretation phase of the Survey, Context, Observation, Interpretation, and Application (SCOIA) method, you will have applied specific methodologies in the Survey phase to uncover the literary structure and overall flow of the book of the Bible and passage you are studying; diligently worked to discover the macro and micro-level historical-cultural, literary, and theological contexts of the biblical texts during the Context phase; and paid close attention to the nuanced literary features the author employed to construct the passage during your Observation process. Now, you must synthesize that data into a meaningful Interpretation that the author and his original audience would have understood. In this article, I will provide high-level guidance on how to interpret biblical texts.
What is Biblical Interpretation?
Interpretation is the process of answering the questions you asked of the text, using the Bible first, and then reputable scholarly resources to dig deeper and check your work.
An interpretation is only accurate when it aligns with the ancient context of the author and audience associated with the passage you are studying. The historical-cultural context informs the meaning of a passage, and it shapes how the text was communicated by the author and received by his audience.
"The Bible can’t be detached from its ancient, human context. Its pages reflect the events and experiences of real human history, and its origin is rooted in the causes and concerns of ancient peoples.”1 As such, “If the first goal of interpretation is to determine the meaning the text had for its original author and recipients, then the diligent interpreter must be committed to using historical sources critically."2
"The Bible can’t be detached from its ancient, human context. Its pages reflect the events and experiences of real human history, and its origin is rooted in the causes and concerns of ancient peoples.” As such, “If the first goal of interpretation is to determine the meaning the text had for its original author and recipients, then the diligent interpreter must be committed to using historical sources critically."
There is simply no way to engage in an intellectually honest interpretation of Scripture apart from the means and historical-cultural perspective through which God chose to speak.
Recall the guiding questions for Context and Observation:
Context asks, What historical-cultural, literary, and theological factors shaped the formation of the text and its reception?
Observation asks, Within that context, what specific literary features does the author use to construct the passage?
Interpretation builds on those questions, asking: Based on those details, what is the author’s central message to the original audience and what response does he seek from them?
How to Discern the Biblical Author’s Main Point
There are several phases of the interpretation process that ultimately lead to discerning the biblical author’s main point: answer the questions you asked of the text, specify how the original audience would have interpreted and responded to the author’s message, explain how the author describes the nature of God, then explain how the author describes the nature of humanity, and finally, identify the main point of the passage.
Answer the Questions Asked of the Biblical Text
To determine the answer to the guiding question “What is the author’s central message to the original audience and what response does he seek from them?”, we must begin by answering the questions we asked of the text during the observation phase, including clarifying, purpose, and implication questions. The following examples are drawn from Ruth 3.
Clarifying questions focus on the “what” aspect of biblical observations: What details, descriptions, and definitions in this passage illuminate this key observation?
In Ruth 3, the words “redeem” and “redeemer” occur three times each, signaling their significance. Upon researching the Hebrew, I discovered that in the context of Ruth 3, the word גֹאֵ֖ל (ḡō·’êl) means “act as kinsman, do the part of next of kin.”
Purpose questions focus on the “why” aspect of biblical observations: Why is this word, detail, or structure used here, in this way, and at this point?
The author’s strategic repetition of “redeem” and “redeemer” in Ruth 3 emphasizes that Ruth and Naomi’s future depends on a close relative of Elimelech redeeming them. Moreover, this repetition occurs precisely when Ruth approaches Boaz on the threshing floor, and the narrator uses it to build anticipation, causing the reader to wonder whether Boaz or the nearer redeemer will act to redeem Naomi’s inheritance. It is a question that will remain unresolved until Ruth 4, yet it provides enough information to draw out the implications of Ruth 3.
Implication questions focus on the “how” aspects of our biblical observations, and are particularly relevant for interpretation and application: What does the text force me to accept or reject about reality?
Ruth 3 implies that God accomplishes His purposes through the choices of ordinary people. Naomi seeks security for Ruth, Ruth acts in loyal obedience to Naomi and entrusts herself to Boaz by requesting his protection and provision by redeeming her, and Boaz responds by promising to redeem Ruth in the event that the nearer redeemer chooses not to.
Each person acts deliberately for the well-being of another person, and their seemingly insignificant decisions seem to build toward a resolution that God had been providentially superintending all along. Therefore, Ruth 3 invites us to accept that God’s providence does not encourage passivity or lack of accountability or responsibility on our part; rather, it reveals that God can accomplish His sovereign purposes through people who use their relationships, influence, and resources faithfully to pursue the well-being of others.
Naturally, answering the questions you asked of the text goes beyond answering clarifying, purpose, and implication questions for your key observations. It is just as important to answer the questions you formulated as you studied the text, focusing on questions that seem to carry the most weight. Then you can continue to the next phase of the interpretation process: determining how the original audience would have understood the author’s message.
The Original Audience’s Interpretation
Next, we must use the historical-cultural research we have gathered to consider how the author’s original audience would have understood the message.
The author and original audience shared assumptions about God, social dynamics, events, and theology that governed how they lived, communicated, and understood Scripture. Because these assumptions were familiar to them, the author often did not need to explain them, putting the onus on modern readers to engage in careful historical-cultural research to help us understand the assumptions the authors and audiences shared.
Refer to your historical-cultural, literary, and theological context research as you write your overview of how the original audience would have interpreted the author’s message. Those contextual details will protect you from imposing modern ideas onto ancient texts and forcing the text to mean something it never could have meant to the original audience.
Describe The Nature of God
The Bible is both divine and human: it is the inspired Word of God, written by human authors with diverse backgrounds, through which God reveals Himself, His will, the nature of humanity, and His relationship with humanity and all creation. It also presents history as the unfolding of God’s sovereign purposes from creation to new creation, ultimately revealing that the whole Bible is about Him. That is why it is essential to understand what the passage you are studying reveals about God.
As you review the text, pay special attention to what the author directly communicates or implies about God's nature and character (who He is and how He acts), His redemptive purposes (what He plans), and His historical activity (what He does).
Use your historical-cultural research to clarify the assumptions and circumstances shared by the author and his audience, especially pertaining to religion and theology. Then, using your theological context research, explain what the passage reveals about the biblical storyline and progresses toward its fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Describe Human Nature
Just as Scripture reveals God, it also presents humans as God’s image‑bearers, capable of faith, obedience, and good works, while simultaneously being prone to doubt, rebellion, and sin.
As you review your passage, examine what the author reveals about human nature. Pay special attention to what the author directly communicates or implies about the best and worst about humankind, and what it reveals about our core desires and needs, including such things as forgiveness for sins, deliverance, spiritual, psychological, or physical safety and strength, love and companionship, or a sense of purpose. As appropriate, trace how those needs and desires are ultimately fulfilled by Christ.
Identify the Biblical Author’s Main Point
Finally, you will identify the biblical author’s main point. This involves three steps:
First, review what you learned about the historical-cultural, literary, and theological context, what you observed in the passage, and what you discerned about the nature of God, the nature of humanity, and the original audience as it is revealed in the passage you are studying.
Second, identify the recurring ideas you noticed throughout your study, and how they relate to one another. Specify whether they are themes, motifs, or elaborate the author’s main point.
Third, combine those recurring ideas into a paragraph of three to five sentences explaining exactly what the human author communicated to his original audience. To dig deeper, write a one- to two-page interpretation essay, breaking it down by the headings used in this article.
Editor’s Note: This is Part 3 of a 4-part series from Jessica Durrett called How to Study the Bible. Access the full series here.
Quotes from:
Fuhr, Richard Alan, Jr., and Andreas J. Köstenberger. Inductive Bible Study: Observation, Interpretation, and Application through the Lenses of History, Literature, and Theology. (Nashville, TN: B&H), 2016.
Klein, William W., Craig L. Blomberg, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr. 2017. Introduction to Biblical Interpretation. Third Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
