The bible was written as an account of what many viewed that God had accomplished so his actions and words could be passed on for generations. Some believe it is a literary account and some believe it is a historical account. The word of God in the bible comes in many forms and is left up to interpretation by the reader. Some believe that the word of God should be the only word and should be strictly followed. Some believe that the words are meant as a guideline to help us through life. Whatever your belief is you can always seem to find the meaning behind your belief through the word of God in the Bible.
Although the bible is left up for interpretation, many believe that over time the words have been misconstrued. They yearn to know and understand the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic versions of Scripture. But, for those of us who choose take in the word of God in a form that we can understand, it doesn’t mean that we are taking in a less informative form. After all the word of God was intended to be heard by everyone no matter how it is received.
Words come in many forms and express how we feel, what we are thinking, and how we want others to understand and take us in. Therefore language is a key aspect when it comes to understanding the Bible. Jost Zetzsche makes reference to when Moses asked God what his name was and God replied, “Ehyeh asher ehyeh or I Will Be What I Will Be.” This is significant because instead of God giving a name he painted a picture which enforced the fact that a name was irrelevant. We find God when we receive his message by reading the Bible which is more important than associating a name with God.
Throughout the Bible we find many different kinds of languages. Jost Zetasche state...
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...ough Jesus Christ our Lord, by glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
Works Cited
Zetzsche, Jost. "KNOWING WHAT THE BIBLE REALLY MEANS." Christianity Today 57, no. 3 (April 2013): 43
Tchividjian, Tullian. "God's Word in Two Words." Christianity Today 57, no. 7 (September 2013): 34.
Bunting, Joe. "RELIGION VS. RELATIONSHIP. (cover story)." Bible Study Magazine 5, no. 6 (September 2013): 10.
Ryken, Leland, and Leland Ryken. Words of Delight: A Literary Introduction to the Bible. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Book House, 1992.
Myers, Allen C. The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary. Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdmans, 1996.
Attridge, Harold W., Wayne A. Meeks, and Jouette M. Bassler. The HarperCollins Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version, Including the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books with Concordance. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2006.
Carson, D. A. New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. 4th ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994.
The Bible: The Old Testament. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. Sarah Lawall et al. Vol 1. 7th ed. New York: Norton, 1999. 47-97.
The Bible is read and interpreted by many people all over the world. Regardless, no one knows the absolute truth behind scripture. Walter Brueggemann, professor of Old Testament, wrote “Biblical Authority” to help people understand what he describes as six different parts that make up the foundation to ones understanding of scripture. He defines these six features as being: inherency, interpretation, imagination, ideology, inspiration, and importance. As Brueggemann explains each individual part, it is easy to see that they are all interconnected because no one can practice one facet without involuntarily practicing at least one other part.
James L. Mays.Harper Collins Bible Commentary,with society of biblical literature. HarperSanFransico.United states of America.New York. 1988 .985.
...yne A. The HarperCollins Study Bible New Revised Standard Edition . New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993. 1645-1722. Print.
Green, Joel B., & Longman, Tremper (Eds.). Holy Bible -- The Everday Study Edition. Dallas: Word Publishing. 1996.
Drane, J. W. (2000). Introducing the Old Testament (Completely rev. and updated.) (46). Oxford: Lion Publishing plc.
Collins, John J. A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007.
This essay will argue that the eschatology of the Book of Revelation forms an integral part of John’s attempt within the pages of his book to form a literary world in which the forms, figures, and forces of the earthly realm are critiqued and unmasked through the re-focalization of existence from the perspective of heaven. It will attempt to show that, in response to the social, political, religious, and economic circumstances of his readers, the Book of Revelation forms a counter imaginative reality. Through drawing upon an inaugurated sense of eschatology and evocative imagery, John is able to pull the reader in and show them the true face of the imperial world and consequences of its ideology, forcing the reader allegiance to fall with either ‘Babylon’ or the New Jerusalem.
Bromiley, Geoffrey William, Fredrich, Gerhard, Kittel, Gerhard. “Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.” Struttgart, Germany. W. Kohlhammer Verlag. 1995. Print.
The biblical narrative is one that is still going on to this day. The biblical narrative tells the story of God and how he reveals himself to us. Rhodes points out that “God comes to each through a historical event or series of events” (2). It is in this way that God reveals himself to us and this maintains the relevance of the biblical narrative in our lives. God reveals himself through formative stories in the bible such as Creation, Adam and Eve, the Fall of Man, The Flood, God’s Covenant with Noah, and the Tower of Babel. From the very beginning of the biblical narrative we see that God relates to us on a personal level. He created us, he formed us, he created the world in which we live, and he has been an active participant in the narrative since before it began.
LaSor, W., Hubbard, D., Bush, F., & Allen, L. (1996). Old Testament survey: The message, form, and background of the Old Testament (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans
Kerr, H. (1990). Readings in christian thought (2nd ed.). H. T. Kerr (Ed.). Nashville: Abingdon Press.
With the advent of the printing press and the protestant reformation in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Word of God became available to the common believer. Now, in the twenty first century, people all over the world, can read for themselves the scriptures in their own languages. Consider the Bible studies going on in any given country on any given evening, where people are encouraged to interact with the sacred scriptures. As encouraging as this may be, it may present a problem. Could discussions of what a scripture ‘means to me’ cloud out what the scripture originally meant? Is it even possible to know the author’s intent? Even if we could understand a first century text as its author intended, can we also grasp what it’s supposed to mean to us?
Carson, D.A., and Douglas J. Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament. 2nd Edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2005.