There are five contexts that we must check our interpretation with: immediate, literary, historical, cultural and scriptural. Can you explain what each one focuses on? Can you explain the importance each context plays in doing accurate interpretation?

[Austin]

Immediate: Does my interpretation make sense and flow with the rest of the text.
Literary: Does my interpretation make sense and flow the the rest of the Book
Historical: Does my interpretation make sense and flow with the original writer’s and reader’s historical situation
Cultural: Does my interpretation make sense and flow with the original reader’s culture
Scriptral: As stated in the lesson, the greatest guide to interpreting scripture is scripture itself. Does my interpretation make sense and flow with what scripture teachers.

[Austin]

1) Immediate context – This tells us if our interpretation makes good sense and contributes to the flow of the verses and paragraphs around it.
2) Literary context – This tells us if our interpretation makes sense in light of the message of the book it is written in.
3) Historical context – This tells us if our interpretation fits the writer’s and reader’s historical situation.
4) Cultural context – This tells us if our interpretation fits the culture to which it was addressed.
5) Scriptural context – This tells us if our interpretation agrees with what the rest of the Scripture teaches. We need to realize that the best guide to interpreting scripture is scripture itself.

Immediate can let us know if we have had any preconceived notion(s) about that passage and if those notion(s) were right or wrong.
By understanding the genre, style and grammar of the passage we can better understand what the writer is saying.
By understanding the history behind the passage we can better understand how it fits into the rest of the Bible.
By understanding the cultural setting of the passage we can better understand the people, the customs and laws of that passage.
By understanding that Scripture through the Holy Spirit is the best guide in interpretation we can better allow the Scripture itself to guide us.

[Austin]

There are FIVE ways to check our interpretation and they are:

Immediate which is does the interpretation make good sense and contribute to the flow of the verses around it

Literary is does our interpretation make sense in light of the message of the book it is written in.

Historical is does our interpretation fit the writer’s and the readers historical situation.

Cultural does our interpretation fit the culture to which it was addressed.

Scriptural does our interpretation agree with what the rest of what Scripture teaches.

[Austin]

Immediate – the surrounding passages; does the exegesis make sense in light of the surrounding passages?
Literary – the genre; does the exegesis make sense in light of the genre the author has appointed to communicate his message?
Historical – the time and place; does the exegesis make sense in light of the specific demands and preoccupations of the author and audience’s time and place?
Cultural – the ways of living, laws and practices of the Jewish people; does the exegesis make sense in light of the Jewish way of life or the intended audience’s way of life?
Scriptural – the whole counsel of God’s Word; does the exegesis make sense in light of the whole counsel of Scripture? What do other parts of the Bible say about this topic, theme, etc?