How To Study The Bible In Context
Imagine you’re at work and you happen to notice your coworker crying at her desk. You dash back to your workspace, grab one of the chocolates from the stash in your desk drawer, and write her an encouraging note. When you arrive back to her desk, she is still wiping tears. You prepare to ask her if everything is okay, but suddenly, she sees your sympathetic expression, chocolate, and note, and says, “Oh—I’m so sorry! I’m not sad. I’m just eating a lunch that’s spicier than I’m used to!” On her desk, you see a bowl of take-out Indian curry. Ahhhhh, it all makes sense now!
With kindhearted intention, you took her tears out of context. You didn’t see the full story. Though this example is silly and ultimately harmless, taking things out of context is not always so innocent. Taking words or actions out of context may lead us to misjudge someone based on things we didn’t understand or situations we misread. It can be easy to come to a rash conclusion before we have all the answers. Have you ever been there?
Why It Is Important to Know Context
Context is vital in helping us come to the right conclusions and then follow through with the right actions. For this reason, context is extremely important to reading Scripture. Sometimes, we can be quick to come to God’s Word and read our own meaning into our favorite passages, or perhaps take an unfair view of a book of the Bible because of a single verse or passage. Taking Scripture out of context could lead us to a belief about God that simply isn’t true—an incorrect assumption that may distance us from the God who loves us.
But if we take time to dig a little deeper, we can to see each verse in light of the greater picture. We begin to see each verse as a piece of the puzzle, rather than the picture itself. We begin to see God’s grand story of redemption unfold before our eyes. That is, if we are willing to slow down and ask a few questions.
First, what is context?
Context is the information surrounding a passage that helps us understand the passage’s meaning. These could be the verses before and after a text, the book itself, or even the passage’s location in the entire narrative of the Bible. Every verse in Scripture is set within a context that can breathe life into the verse itself. By understanding a passage’s context, we better understand Scripture, and thus, better understand, know, and love our God.
The Two Types of Context
Now that we understand what context is and why it’s important, we can learn how to study texts in light of the context surrounding it. To best do so, we need to understand the two types of contexts that all biblical texts are impacted by: basic context and deeper context.
Put simply, basic context is made up of key facts that may influence the meaning of the passage. This may be the author of a passage, the date that it was written, or even what book of the Bible the text is found within. Deeper context reaches beyond the surface of the passage to study the theological, historical, and literary realities that impact the text’s meaning.
How To Determine Basic Context
To help us determine the basic context of a passage, we can rely on the simple questions, “Who, what, when, where, and why?” to help us gain a robust landscape of knowledge about the text we are studying. These questions help us to think deeply and critically about the author’s primary intent in writing, and the audience’s likely understanding of the text. Because we come from a modern context, we are prone to imposing our own contexts upon Scripture. Asking these simple questions will help us fight this temptation. Here are a few examples of who, what, when, where, and why questions that you can use to begin your study of basic context.
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Who is the author of this text?
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Who is the audience?
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What is the author trying to communicate to their original audience?
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In what book of the Bible is this text found?
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When was this text written?
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When did the events described in this passage occur in the overall narrative of Scripture?
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Where is the author located?
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Where are the recipients located?
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Why is the author writing?
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Why is this particular audience being addressed?
These are just ten of many questions you can ask of the passage of a passage of Scripture to determine its meaning. The opportunities are truly endless! Do not be afraid to venture apart from this list and allow these questions to spark questions of your own! God’s eternal and enduring Word can handle the weight of our questions.
How To Determine Deeper Context
Diving deeper into a passage’s context involves peeling back the layers to determine the literary, historical, and theological realities that impact a passage’s meaning. It’s easy to forget that thousands of years separate us from the original writings of Scripture. Because of this cultural and temporal gap, we may find it difficult to understand phrases or even entire passages in Scripture. And yet, we know that Scripture is living and active (Hebrews 4:12)—just as applicable for us today as it was for its original authors. We might just have to roll up our sleeves and dig a bit deeper to see how.
Literary:
Studying literary context involves viewing the text as a piece of literature, complete with main ideas, genres, and even literary devices like metaphors and foreshadowing. Here are a few questions to think about as you study the literary context of a passage:
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How do the texts surrounding (before and behind) the passage impact its meaning?
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What is the “main idea” of the passage?
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How is the passage broken up or divided?
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How does the genre of the book impact the text’s meaning?
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Do you see any literary devices in the passage? (Think similes, personification, metaphors, etc.)
Historical:
Because thousands of years separate us from the passage’s original context, we must consider the cultural, political, and religious environments at the time the passage was written (or written about). While we cannot time travel to the days of ancient Biblical history, we can humbly gather as much information as we can to help us better understand how the original audience would understand the passage. Keep in mind that some texts may be more influenced by historical context than others. Consider asking yourself or researching these questions:
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What factors motivated the author to write this text?
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How might the politics, surrounding religions, and culture have impacted the text?
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What religious customs seem unfamiliar? Are there any textual cross-references that can help you understand?
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What was the audience experiencing when they received this text? (For example: persecution, exile, division amongst themselves, etc.)
Theological:
Studying theological context involves understanding what the passage of study teaches us about God, mankind, or the gospel. It helps us connect the dots with other themes we see throughout Scripture to help us to better know and love our God. Here are a few questions to ask yourself when studying theological context:
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What biblical themes are present in this chapter?
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Are there any words that you don’t understand? Research them to determine their meaning.
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Do you see any covenants, prophecies, or other verses referenced in the text you are studying? What is the connection that the author is trying to make?
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How does this text fit into the overarching story of Scripture?
(For more help determining the basic and deeper contexts of a passage, check out The Bible Study Handbook from The Daily Grace Co, which will provide even more details, tools, and systems to help you gain a full picture of the passages you are studying.)
Ultimately, context can help us determine the meaning of Scripture. And understanding the meaning of a given passage or verse helps us to rightly apply God’s Word to our lives. Determining context is not always a quick and easy process, yet it is essential to our study of God’s Word.
We want to be a people who care about God’s Word enough to slow down. God is worthy of our time, and so is His Word. As we dig deeper into Scripture, may our roots grow deeper into His steadfast love and faithfulness. May we, through the study of His Word, love Him more tomorrow than we do today.
Sources:
Davidson, Katie, Tiffany Dickerson, Krystal Dickson, et al. The Bible Study Handbook. Houston, TX: The Daily Grace Co, 2024.
Fuhr, Richard Alan Jr., and Andreas J. Köstenberger. Inductive Bible Study: Observation,Interpretation, and Application through the Lenses of History, Literature, and Theology. Nashville,TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2016.
Additional Resources:
For Additional Resources To Studying Context in Scripture, check out these resources from The Daily Grace Co Shop.
