How does a historical, grammatical, literary, and cultural study of a passage help guide the micro-observation step of Bible study?

[Austin]

shows the nitty gritty details of the book or passage.

[Austin]

We could miss the meaning of the passage

[Austin]

Following these four steps of context in micro-observation gives the reader important clues about the exact and correct meaning of the text that is being studied. They allow the person studying to put the individual passages or verse into the proper perspective. Without utilizing these contexts one might erroneously interpret the scripture through the “modern lens”. So to accurately interpret any passage the reader must also answer the questions of who, what, when, where, why, and how. Only then can a person decipher correct information of the contexts of a Bible passage.

[Austin]

Each Bible book has a historical setting. But as we explore individual texts within a book, we find that many of these texts have a different historical setting than other texts in the same book. Observing cultural norms and laws that shaped family structure, community relationships, agrarian practices, pace of life, and Jewish laws and customs are all crucial components to accurate interpretation of a Bible passage. But most Bible books contain more than one style of writing and switch from one genre to another without announcing that switch. So, in our micro-observation step we have to note the specific genre or genres of any passage we study. To understand a passage’s meaning we have to identify and explain how the author used nouns, pronouns, adjectives, direct and indirect objects, and other basic grammatical constructions. The more skill we develop in observing specific grammatical details, the better we will be at studying our Bibles.

[Austin]

All the details about history, grammar, literature and cultural background of a passage are key to understanding what the author is saying and as we correctly look at these details we are able to more accurately interpret and properly apply the main point of the Scripture we are studying.