1. The Meanings of Words
Where does understanding the Bible begin? Assuming we have the right attitude and approach to the word of God, the first step to better understanding the Scriptures involves learning to look more closely and clearly at every section of biblical text that we read.
This is not only because the message of the Bible resides in its words, of course, but also because finding the meaning of a biblical statement in the text itself, when it is possible, is always preferable to trying to establish its meaning through comparisons with other verses or background information that we are able to bring to bear on the words we are trying to understand. Understanding what the Bible is saying, at the level of the text itself, is largely dependent on learning to recognize and understand the three types of language we may encounter in reading the Scriptures – the literal, figurative, and symbolic language used by the biblical writers – and interpreting them correctly.
Over half the verses in the Bible can be understood at the literal level, and language used literally is, of course, usually the easiest type of language to understand. That does not mean that every statement meant to be taken literally is simple to comprehend, however. Even a seemingly straightforward text such as Jesus' words "when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8) has different possible meanings and needs to be looked at closely if we are to understand it properly. There are also times when we must consider a statement carefully to determine if it is to be taken literally or not – especially in scriptures that may have doctrinal importance. The next chapter looks at some of these situations and at ways we can better understand many literal statements.
Figurative language is the next most common type of language used in the Bible. It is frequently found in both the Old and New Testaments, and its importance for understanding the Bible cannot be overestimated. Take a small example. In his third epistle, the apostle John wrote: "Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers" (3 John 1:2 KJ2K, emphasis added). This verse is often misunderstood to mean that prosperity and physical health are to be highly sought in the Christian life and are of the greatest importance. In reality "I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health" is just a common letter opening expression of John's day, just as we might say something like "I hope this finds all well with you" in writing a letter today. The chapter on the use of figurative language shows how we can better recognize and understand language of this type.
Symbolic language can sometimes be simple to understand – as in the lover's words "Your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from the hills of Gilead" (Song of Solomon 4:1). But in other cases it may involve complex symbols set in mysterious stories and prophecies and may be the hardest to understand of the different kinds of language used in the Bible. Nevertheless, symbolic language may also be the most rewarding when we do understand it. In the chapter dedicated to this type of language, we will look at the different ways in which the Bible uses symbolism to teach its lessons, ranging from individual words and phrases to stories and accounts that have much deeper meaning than the literally understood words might suggest.
As we will see, coming to know the ways in which the Scriptures use literal, figurative, and symbolic language can make a tremendous difference in our overall understanding of the text of the Bible.