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.
For thousands of years there have been many transcriptions and changes to the words of God, For example, just in the last thousand years there has been three different transcriptions, The New Testament, Homer, and also Sophocles. For a person not to look for their own interpretation of the lord’s book is
...yne A. The HarperCollins Study Bible New Revised Standard Edition . New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993. 1645-1722. Print.
The Hebrew Bible, better known as the Old Testament, is a collection of tomes that form part of the Biblical canon. Many scholars around the world do not think that a single author wrote the books contained in the Hebrew Bible, but rather that it represents centuries of stories frequently compiled after the events they describe . The stories were created with visions for the future, in order to allow audiences insight into communities and beliefs that were common thought during their era. The stories responded to the issues and problems of their time, but also addressed contemporary climates. While the stories themselves may not be true, they convey truth without needing literal readings. For example, the creation stories in Genesis, portray God as creating the universe, and while this is considered as not ‘literally true’; the stories communicate theological truths about mankind’s relationship with God through the eyes of Hebrew writers .
Burns, Thomas J. Canonical Texts: Selections from Religious Wisdom Traditions. San Diego, CA: Cognella/U Readers, 2012. Print.
Harris, Stephen. Understanding The Bible. 6 ed. New York City: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2002. Print.
Sakenfeld, Kathaine Doob, ed. The New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible: D-H: Volume 2. Vol. 2. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2007.
Rourke, Nancy. “Christianity Notes.” Religion 101 Notes Christianity. Entry posted April 14, 2011. https ://angel.canisius.edu/section/default.asp?id=43760%5FSpring2011 (accessed April 18, 2011).
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.
Carson, D, & Moo, D. (2005) An introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
" Christianity & Literature 58.1 (2008): 81-92. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. Fienberg, Lorne. "
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.
Kerr, H. (1990). Readings in christian thought (2nd ed.). H. T. Kerr (Ed.). Nashville: Abingdon Press.
Answering these questions is the purpose of this essay. I begin by arguing that the Bible cannot be adequately understood independent of its historical context. I concede later that historical context alone however is insufficient, for the Bible is a living-breathing document as relevant to us today as it was the day it was scribed. I conclude we need both testimonies of God at work to fully appreciate how the Bible speaks to us.