The Truth Behind Exodus 8

At first glance a story of the Bible may appear to be just that, a simple story; however, when one does more than simply read the story, there are a plethora of underlying meanings to be found. Reading the Bible in search of its meanings can sometimes be confusing, which results in several different interpretations and raises many arguments amongst the readers. When reading the Bible, “it is necessary to apply tools of critical reading to find out what God wants to communicate with us,” (Smith-Christopher, 28). In order to figure out what God wants to communicate, one must use hermeneutics, the science of interpretation. Hermeneutics helps to steer the Bible’s readers in the correct direction by presenting methods that serve to assist their interpretation. Exegesis, one method of interpretation, is the process of determining the meaning of a text in the context of its composition. “To analyze something by its context involves looking at the circumstances in which it occurs,” (Smith-Christopher, 34). By understanding the circumstances in which the story is written one can infer what the author may have been thinking and what affect those thoughts may have taken on the story. An additional method in hermeneutics is the historical-critical method, the method of interpretation which asks critical questions of the text regarding history, language, genre, etc. The historical-critical method helps in furthering one’s interpretation of the bible by asking what the history was like, what language the texts was originally written in and what the genre of the story is. As the reader, one must also take into account what God meant when he inspired the author to write the stories. “In order for us to interpret Scripture correctly, we must pay...

... middle of paper ...

...Exodus: History or Mythic Tale? - My Jewish Learning." Judaism & Jewish Life - My Jewish Learning. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. .

4) Shane. "Was Moses Really the Writer of Exodus? :: July :: 2009." EEC Blog. 11 July 2009. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. .

5) "Introduction to Exodus." Home | ESV Study Bible | Crossway. Web. 17 Nov. 2011. .

6) Friedman, Richard. Who Wrote the Bible? San Fransisco. HarperSanFrancisco, 1997.

7) Dozeman, Thomas B (2009). Commentary on Exodus. Eerdmans.

8) Fretheim, Terence E (1991). Exodus. Westminster John Knox Press.

9) Houston, Walter J (1998). “Exodus”. In John Barton. Oxford Bible Commentary. Oxford University Press.