Dr. Richard J. Krejcir
This curriculum is designed to
teach you how to study the Bible
with the tools a good pastor
would learn to use in a top
level seminary.
All Scripture is God-breathed
and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and
training in righteousness, so
that the man of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every
good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The Bible is a collection of
books in various literature
forms, written over a 1500 year
period to people 2000 years ago;
it speaks to history, and it
speaks to our inner soul. To get
the most out of our reading and
teaching, we must learn to use
the tools needed to dig out
these precious prospects. This
is called the science and art of
Exegetical Method.
What is Exegetical, exegesis,
xo…what? Exegesis or the
Deductive Approach to Bible
study simply means “to lead out”
or “draw out,” extracting
objectively, in a systematic
study, what a text is actually
saying to its original intended
readers in their language,
culture, and setting before we
can discover what it means. In
practice with the Bible, it is
finding the true meaning of the
passages of Scripture from word
meanings and context. It is a
tool and a discipline which
enables us to get more out of
what we read, so we can see a
text in its background and then
gain a better grasp of it by
knowing the intended meaning,
rather than just what we want it
to mean. As a tool, it is an
examiner and a detective that
interviews a passage in a
comprehensive, extensive, and
serious manner. This enables a
better understanding of the
Bible that helps draw out more
of the meaning for our personal
understanding and spiritual
growth. In this way, we can
better internalize a passage for
our personal conviction and
explain it better to others,
too. In other words, I want to
know Him and His Word, what He
is saying to me.
The Exegetical method or
exegesis does not mean going to
a passage with a presupposition,
idea, or agenda and looking for
it, although sometimes in
preparing a topical study, one
may do this. However, it is
always, always best to go to the
passage to look for what it
actually says and not what we
want to find. We never want to
try to get from the passage what
is not there, and then think we
have found something. This is
what the cults and false
teachers do! Why should I bother with this?
Because, we can gain so much
more from His Word, precepts,
and call if we just desire to
take the time to learn more of
His Word. No serious Bible
student wants to be naïve or
wants things boiled down to only
the basic, simple,
non-convicting bullet point; we
want meat and depth that can be
applied to life and taught to
others as God has called.
Exegetical Bible study is
learning how to systematically
analyze and apply the Bible for
all its worth with our best
efforts. You can be a person who
is skilled in learning His Word,
something that must be done
before engaging in teaching
people the Word. If we do not
know how to dig out the meaning
and then apply it to our own
lives, how can we ask others to
do it for their lives?
There is also a counteraction by
some who cry “foul” to
Exegetical study, saying it
liberalizes God’s precepts or
neuters the Spirit. But, it is
my intent to show you that this
is not the case. Those who are
critical to the Bible use these
tools, too. The knife that cuts
a hand or stabs a person also
carves a work of art or helps us
eat our dinner. A tool is as
good or as bad as the intent of
the person who uses it.
The Exegetical Process
And we pray this in order that
you may live a life worthy of
the Lord and may please him in
every way: bearing fruit in
every good work, growing in the
knowledge of God. Colossians
1:10 It is of the utmost importance
that we are honest and humble in
our encounters with God’s Holy
Word! The Bible is to inform us
in order to allow the work of
the Spirit to bend us and
conform us to God’s will and
standards. We do not dare seek
to bend His precepts to fit our
ideas or agendas.
To be honest careful students of
His Word, we must be willing to
dig and do the research in order
to perceive what the text says
before we say to others what it
says! It is not about what we
think it says; it is about what
it really does say! We do not
want to be the objects of
discussion from 2 Peter (false
teachers); rather, we want to
honor and glorify our Lord. To
read, study, and then teach what
the Bible honestly says is so
much more impacting and
effectual than anything we can
make up or assume!
These are three crucial areas or
rules of exegesis that we have
to know before we can interpret
correctly:
We must be aware of our
nature, as we are filled with
sin and desires that do not mach
up to His Word. We must be aware of the nature
of Scripture and the Divine
Author’s intent. The Bible was written by the
words of people through their
cultures, languages, times, and
histories, while at the same
time all divinely inspired. Thus, when we are aware of this
“tension” between the Bible’s
language, history, literature,
and our perceptions and limited
understanding, then we can be
careful interpreters so that we
are focused on Christ and His
Word and not ourselves or our
ideas.
Step 1: Select and Identify your
Passage!
(This step can be incorporated
in the “Inductive Bible Study
Method” in the first steps of
preparation) For Bible Study and preaching,
it is always best to stick to
two to six verses unless it is a
narrative passage, such as
Genesis or Chronicles. Make sure
you are using a good translation
and not a paraphrase. Start by browsing the whole
book to see the whole picture of
what is going on. Then carefully read the
chapter of your passage, then,
reread it very carefully and
slowly in a good translation.
Keep in mind the inductive
question, “what does this
passage say?” Remember to be in a state of
prayer and humbleness before the
Father!
Step 2: Explore the General
Meaning of the Passage
(This step can be incorporated
into the first steps of the
inductive method on “What does
it say”)
Your objective is to seek the
broad-spectrum meaning, the
overarching structure of your
passage, and clarify it. Thus
you observe the structure to see
what is going on and report it.
In this way, you can understand
it then you can communicate that
understanding to your people.
The primary goal of
interpretation is to find the
“plain meaning” of the Bible so
it can be used in your life,
church, and community! What is it? Who is the author?
What is the intent, the
language, the genre…. What does the passage say?
What does the general overview
of the passage really say? Good exegesis means we write
down what God is actually saying
not what we want Him to say.
Step 3: Explore the Specific
Meaning of the Passage (This step can be incorporated
into the middle steps on the
inductive method on “What does
it mean?”)
In this step, our idea is to
explore more of, “What is it?”
Who is the author? What is the
intent, the language, the genre,
etc…. Thus, the task is to
isolate and then inspect and
analyze specific words and
phrases to better determine what
is going on in the passage. What
are the concepts being
presented? How is the passage arranged
and set up? What is the sentence
structure? The sequence of
thought? What is the
subordination (how things are
supported) and logic, and how
are they presented? What are the contexts and/or
background? Good exegesis means we
are to seek what God is saying,
and not what we want Him to say.
We are to dig out His
principles—not read in ours!
Step 4: Explore the Context (This step can also be
incorporated in the middle steps
of the inductive method on “What
does it mean?”) This is where you examine how
the passage relates to the
surrounding passages, the book
and chapter. There are two main areas of
“context” we always need to be
aware of and ask the text, “What
are the historical, and what are
the literary settings?” (That is
the content of what is going on
in the text.) What is going on
preceding and after our text?
What are the type(s) of
literature, and the various
cultural factors? What was going
on in that time in history? What
is the point? The train of
thought?
The Historical Context:
This
is about the time period and
culture of the people who God
used to write it and the people
they are writing too. The Literary Context:
This is
the type of literature genres
that refer to the meaning of the
words; the Nouns, Verbs, and
Adjectives—both the meaning of
the word(s) itself as well as
what they mean in their context
of sentence structure and
surrounding passages. What is the Genre Context?
How does the literary type or
wording in the passage effect
the interpretation? In English,
we have story, comedy, tragedy,
novel, lyric poem, and epic to
name a few. In the Greek and
Hebrew, we have narrative, law,
poetry, prophecy, apocalyptic,
parable, epistle, and even
romance. This is very important,
as this helps us interpret the
meaning of the text and whether
it is literal or figurative.
The Basic Genres:
History or Narrative: There
are stories and the epics and
include Genesis, Exodus,
Numbers, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1
and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1
and 2 Chronicles, Ezra,
Nehemiah, Esther, Jonah, and
Acts. Law:
These are the
instructions and precepts of God
given to us through Moses, such
as Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
Wisdom:
These are the
literature of maxims and sayings
such as Job, Proverbs, and
Ecclesiastes. Poetry:
These are the prose
and rhymes such as Psalms, Song
of Solomon, and Lamentations.
Prophecy: These include both
major and minor prophets such as
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel,
Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos,
Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk,
Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah,
and Malachi. Apocalyptic: These are
combinations of narrative and
prose written in vivid imagery
and poetic phrases that are
intended to exaggerate for a
purpose such as Daniel and most
of Revelation. Parable:
These are the sayings
of Jesus that are narrative and
instructional, contained in the
Gospels. Epistle: These are the letters
written to a specific audience
that are practical for us today
such as Romans, Corinthians,
Galatians, Ephesians,
Philippians, Colossians,
Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus,
Philemon, Hebrews, James, Peter,
John, and the first three
chapters of Revelation. Romance:
These are narrative,
written also as love stories,
such as Ruth and Song of
Solomon. Then, ask how the type of
genre (type of literature) shows
you the significance and
implication of the general
overview? How does the type of genre
contribute to possible meanings
of specific words and then the
point of the passage?
Step 5: Explore the Contents
(This step can also be
incorporated into the middle
steps of the inductive method on
“What does it mean?”)
In this step, you will want to
carefully examine all the parts
of the passage, define the key
words, and compare the passage
to other similar ones. You have
done the overview; now it is
time for the specifics. This is
where you can incorporate
Inductive reasoning and
questions to pull out more
information, acting like a
detective to see what is going
on in the text and determining
its impact. Good exegesis means we look to
what the passage actually means,
not what we want it to mean.
What are the different topics
that are involved and how do
they relate? Such as, how does
topic “x” support topic “y;” how
are they interrelated,
illuminated, supported, what are
the conclusions, and so forth? This is where the word studies
come in. Look up key words in
lexicons, and Bible dictionaries
to discover their meaning. One
word from the Greek can have
several sentences of meaning and
give you more insights and
precepts into a verse. This is
why translating a Bible is so
daunting, doing it word for word
(literally), meaning to meaning
(dynamic), or somewhere in
between. Then, incorporate to
the context and genre for more
developed and logical
understanding and thought. Now, write out in your own
words, and in a meaningful and
fruitful way, what the main
words mean.
Step 6: Put it all Together
(This step can be incorporated
into the final steps of the
inductive method on “How does it
apply? and “Charting”).
This is where you reconstruct
your work for the intended
purpose for Christ’s glory. Now,
go back to your paraphrase and
add what you missed; and, if
needed, subtract what you got
wrong or rework what needs to be
clarified, and start to polish
it up. You can have an exegetical
paper, sermon, or Bible study
that looks like this: Your
paraphrase is about a paragraph
or two that explains the general
meaning of the passage in a way
that you and your audience can
clearly understand. Smooth it out; add further
explanations, questions, and
illustrations, depending on how
you will use it. Make sure you do not go by
your experience; rather, seek
His experience. Be an humble
learner of His Word and an
humble teacher too! Pride has no
place either in the pulpit or in
the Kingdom of God!
Hermeneutical Questions to Ask
Yourself to Help Prepare Your
Lesson: How can you best take what the
Bible is saying and bring it to
the people you are teaching?
Your goal is to write and/or
teach so your audience can
understand and apply His
precepts to help them learn
about and then lead transformed
lives. In prayer, ask God how
you can do this and do it
better. Ask what the implications are
and how you can understand and
communicate them. What do you want your audience
to understand? What can I do to make God’s
Word real in the lives of the
people in my care? What will be
my church’s response? How will I
handle people’s negative
opinions and objections to
growing and learning, and do so
in kindness and love? Good exegesis means that the
precepts we have dug out are to
be applied and not set aside.
To grow in Christ, we need to
be equipped by His precepts and
be ready for His service. (2
Tim. 3:15-16) Remember, the Word of God’s
purpose is to transform us into
the image of God—to model His
character! And then, we can show
and tell others. Pray and ask God how to
implement His truth in you
before you ask others to do so. The Word of God should lead us
to model the character of
Christ, and to form us in the
image of God. How should we
carry out these changes and then
communicate to others how to do
so?
You Can Do it!
The Bible is not a difficult
book to interpret (Some passages
and books like Revelation
present some challenges because
the genre, word meanings, and
phrases are not what we are used
to and may have meant something
entirely different to the
original readers than they do in
the English today), yet many
gifted scholars over the
centuries have taken very
different views of various
passages. This has caused
divisions and conflicts that
were needless and without
purpose that, ironically, only
served to give glory to the
devil‘s ways while distracting
us from its main purpose of
allowing us the opportunity to
know about God, learn His
precepts, and then to apply them
to our daily lives. To escalate
the conflicts between scholars
and interpretive approaches,
many current sensationalists
like to reinterpret the Bible as
they see fit and suit it to
their erroneous agendas and
their corrupt whims. Thus, they
lead people off course, far away
from the treasures and wisdom
they could have had!
I do not take my venture into
God’s Word lightly. In fact,
having studied His Book
intensely for over 25 years, all
my degrees, readings, research,
and experience has not prepared
me for the exegetical quest. I
am a sinner with my own
fallibility coming before His
Wondrous Holy Word. To think
otherwise would be significantly
arrogant. I approach His Word as
a learner and as an humble
student, and I suggest you do so
too. Our intention at Into Thy
Word is to stimulate your
thinking and provide you with an
honest and open look into God’s
Word from an exegetical and
inductive perspective. We seek
to honor the science and art of
careful biblical interpretation
and analysis. We have discovered
that through the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit, God has given
us something that is very
important and clear for us to
understand today.
I challenge you to be a
faithful, honest student of His
Word, whether you are still in
high school, in seminary, or
have decades of pastoral
experience behind you as well as
advanced degrees, to come to His
text without preconceived,
theological agendas or personal
viewpoints. Rather, research
carefully; do word studies (look
for original meaning), conduct
searches, and use sound reason
and logic. In addition, do not
forget the historical
examination as well as context
and comparisons with other
passages in the Bible. This may
sound like too much or seem
overwhelming, but you can do it.
You may discover that what you
thought you knew fails to
compare to what you can further
know that will enhance your
teaching too. God indeed has a
deeper purpose for you to
observe, build, dig out, manage,
and apply His Word into your
daily lives and thus, serve your
churches better!
Make the commitment to be a good
exegete to His Word. Do not
assume; rather, come to the text
without your theological bias
even if it is a good one. If
your theological bias is good,
then what you discover will back
it up, help you understand it
better, or show you how you need
to modify or change for the
better. Do not just state the
usual perspectives in your
teachings, seek the trends of
the day, or try to argue your
view without careful evaluation
of the facts. And, never, ever
twist Scripture to fit your
ideas or just go by your
theological education or lack
thereof or even your
denominational agendas. This is
what false teachers and cultists
do! Rather, challenge your
thinking by seeking Christ and
His facts and honestly examining
what God’s inerrant Word says,
in context and in truth, through
the Spirit.
My other intention is to
challenge my, and perhaps your
thinking, too, concerning
biblical thinking and theories,
and to seek sound reason and
Scripture—not myths, traditions,
or popular theorems. However, I
want to state up front that
whatever theory or theological
framework to which you or I
subscribe is not as important as
our love for the Lord and our
desire for His Truth and
authentic, spiritual growth.
These are the things that are
truly and eternally important!
Arguing over conjecture or
spurious, elusive doctrine does
not bring glory to Christ; it
only proves Satan!
Consequently, faith comes from
hearing the message, and the
message is heard through the
word of Christ. Romans 10:17
|
|
Richard Joseph Krejcir is the Founder and Director of Into Thy Word Ministries, a missions and discipling ministry. He is the author of several books including Into Thy Word, A Field Guide to Healthy Relationships and Net-Work. He is also a pastor, teacher, and speaker. He is a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California (M.Div.) and holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Practical Theology from London (Ph.D). He has garnered over 20 years of pastoral ministry experience, mostly in youth ministry, including serving as a Church Growth Consultant. © 1985, 1989, 1998, 2006 R. J. Krejcir Ph.D. Into Thy Word Ministries www.intothyword.org Taken from: Exegetical Bible Study Methods
|