A Comprehensive Analysis: Interpreting the Bible's Three Worlds

This essay explores the interpretation of biblical texts through the lens of three interconnected worlds: the world behind the text (historical and cultural context of the author), the world of the text (literary devices and textual context), and the world in front of the text (the reader's perspective and understanding). It emphasizes the importance of considering the social, cultural, and historical backgrounds of the authors, as well as the literary context of the scriptures, to avoid misinterpretations. The essay argues that a comprehensive understanding of these three worlds is crucial for accurate and meaningful biblical interpretation, ensuring that readers grasp the intended message while accounting for their own biases and contexts. Desklib provides resources for students studying biblical interpretation.

Worlds of Biblical Text
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Introduction
Christians use the Bible as the scriptural source of their faith. The Bible is a
compilation of different books that were written by different authors. It is also important to
note that the different books were written at different times. Christians believe that the
authors of the Bible were inspired by the holy spirit when writing the bible. Due to this, the
Bible is holy and contains the word of God. When reading the bible, it is common for
Christians to take the general meaning of the text. It is also common for people to take verses
of the Bible in isolation and apply them to a particular aspect or event. There is also a
category of the Christians that take the bible to literary mean everything that is written. In
light of this, it is true to conclude that the interpretation of the bible is an important factor in
the journey of a Christian. This paper is going to focus on the aspects that are important to
understanding in order to interpret the bible correctly. These aspects are categorized as three
worlds, that in front of the biblical text, the one behind and the world of the text.
The World Behind
As observed above, different Christians may have different interpretations of the
bible. In order to understand the Bible well, it is important to understand the social and
cultural factors that existed when the bible was being written. Since there are different books
and different authors, it would be important to consider looking at the social and cultural
factors that revolve around the author of the bible. This social and cultural perspective of the
bible is the one that is referred to like the world that is behind the text1. It is very important to
have an understanding of this world. Most authors were affected by the social and cultural
environments that they were in at the time of writing the bible. Extensive evidence reveals
that these factors almost always influence authors, be it in the historical or contemporary
times. Therefore, an author of a novel in contemporary society is likely to be influenced
1 Wright, The Genesis of Fiction, 14

by their sociocultural environment. There is one main reason for this. The reason is that
people tend to relate more with what they have already interacted with. This was not different
for the writers of the bible. Although they were influenced by the holy spirit, their culture
influenced some of their views/ writings. It is therefore important to understand the
sociocultural background of the author of a biblical text in order to interpret it well. Let us
take an example with Paul’s first letter to Timothy chapter 2. In the letter, Paul commands
women to dress modestly and to be silent in churches. An understanding of the Jewish culture
would help understand this command.
When we read the bible while putting into consideration the sociocultural background
of the author, we are likely to have a better understanding of the biblical text (the world of the
text)2. An example in the contemporary world would help us understand the significance of
the world in front of the text. Suppose one’s culture prohibits eating certain animals, say pig.
If such a person authors a book and indicates severally that they visited a hotel and never
ordered pork, we would understand the reason if we are aware of the person's cultural
background. The authors of the bible came from different cultural and social backgrounds3.
This influenced their views on such factors as gender roles and sacrifices. The following
section is going to discuss the world that is considered to be behind biblical text.
The World of the Text
The world of the text simply refers to the literary devices that are used in the scriptures. In
order to understand the bible, it is important to view every sentence as having been
influenced by the preceding ones and influencing the following ones. Let us take an example
2. Hjelm, Ingrid and Thomas, Biblical Interpretation, 21
3. Oeming, Contemporary biblical hermeneutics, 14

with the book of Romans chapter 12. The first verse, "therefore, I urge you, brothers and
sisters…". The first verse of the chapter starts with the word 'therefore'. In this verse, Paul is
urging the Romans to lead lives that are holy and pleasing to God. The use of the term
‘therefore' means that he is building from what he has already written. Considering that this is
the last chapter of the book, it would be true to conclude that Paul is building his conclusion
from what he has been saying in the previous eleven chapters. It is without a doubt that
reading the previous chapters would be important in understanding chapter 12.
A person who fails to consider the literary context of the bible may interpret the text
wrongly4. It is analogous to joining people when they are in the middle of a conversation. It
could also be likened to taking a book and starting reading it towards its end. When we
consider the literary context however, we are able to follow the thoughts of the author as
he/she intended them. Let us take some more examples in order to appreciate the importance
of understanding the literary context of the bible. Whereas some of the scriptural books were
written in prose, there were others that took the form of either songs or poems. Psalms and
songs of songs were written as songs. If one were to interpret texts from these books well, it
would be appropriate for them to consider the literary format of songs5. Since the bible has
been translated greatly, these books may have lost the rhythm and other aspects of songs that
were in the original text. However, understanding that the books were a compilation of songs
would help one understand the world that is in front of the text.
When writing the Bible, the writer intended to pass across a certain message. Therefore, the
correct interpretation of the Bible should lead a person to the message that the author
intended to put across. There are certain cases where one person may have a different
interpretation of the text from another. This should not happen. Sometimes, it is important to
4. Village, The Bible and lay, 14
5. Bartholomew, Introducing biblical hermeneutics, 23

engage the help of experts in order to truly understand what the text means. The bible has
been translated greatly in the both in the last 2 centuries. Linguistic studies argue that it is
almost impossible to translate a literary piece from one language to another and still maintain
the exact meaning of the original piece. This is the case with the bible. Sometimes, it would
help to learn what a particular text meant in the original language.
The World In Front
This is the world that looks at the aspect of the reader6. This world is concerned with
the reader of the bible. We have already seen that there are some people who go with the
literal meaning of the bible. This is not a good thing for it may hinder the true understanding
of the scripture. Let us consider a person leading the books of the law for example. Suppose
such a person learns that there were some sacrifices that were being offered for the atonement
of sins. If such a person takes the literal meaning, they might take some bulls to the priest for
the atonement of their sins. However, this person erroneously interprets the bible by failing to
consider the historical context. Such practices were done before Jesus came. After his
coming, he died once and for all for the atonement of our sins. In order for the reader of the
bible to understand the world in front, it is crucial that they consider the two worlds described
above. This would mean that they consider both the historical and literary contexts of the
text. This is the best way to interpret the biblical text appropriately.
Conclusion
The world behind refers to the historical and social background of the author of a
biblical text. Authors of the Bible were influenced by cultural and social backgrounds while
writing the bible. Since the bible is an anthology of different books, it has different authors.
6. Fee and Douglas, Read the Bible, 21

All these come from different social and cultural backgrounds. It is important for a person
reading the bible to put this into consideration. It would help in understanding what the
author intended to say in the text. The other aspect of interpreting the bible is the world of the
text. This refers to the literary devices that are used to make the workflow together in a
harmonious manner. It is important to know that every verse is built upon the preceding ones
and that it influences the proceeding ones. It is also important to understand that whereas
most books of the bible were written in prose, some were written as poems or songs. This
understanding is important if the reader of the bible is going to have a better understanding of
the world in front of the text. The main aim of reading the bible is to understand what it
means. It is therefore important to ensure that one considers the historical and literary
contexts while reading the bible.

References
1 Bartholomew, Craig G. Introducing biblical hermeneutics: a comprehensive
framework for hearing God in scripture. Baker Academic, 2015.
2 Fee, Gordon D., and Douglas Stuart. How to read the Bible for all its worth.
Zondervan, 2014.
3 Hjelm, Ingrid, and Thomas L. Thompson, eds. Biblical Interpretation Beyond
Historicity: Changing Perspectives 7. Routledge, 2016.
4 Oeming, Manfred. Contemporary biblical hermeneutics: An introduction.
Routledge, 2017.
5 Village, Andrew. The Bible and lay people: An empirical approach to ordinary
hermeneutics. Routledge, 2016.
6 Wright, Terry R. The Genesis of Fiction: Modern Novelists as Biblical
Interpreters. Routledge, 2016.
4. Fee and Douglas, Read the Bible, 21