Literary Context Of The Bible

To interpret a passage responsibly and reflectively, one must study the literary context around the passage. By literary context I mean how the context shapes the meaning of the text. If we know it or not, each time we come to a text, we are already implying our presuppositions about what we know. More than often, our presuppositions are incorrect because we receive them from our present day in age and not that of the day the text was written. We need to throw these out, and study the text around our passage. Whenever we come across an argument, oracle, plotline, or wisdom saying, we must turn to surrounding texts and study the meaning of the information. Because the times and regulations were different in Biblical times, it’s important to …show more content…
When we do not place the text in the particular social and historical context of the day, we fail to read the passage appropriately. We must read the text as if we were in the readers shoes pertaining to the information presented. A cultural background nugget that helped give me a better understanding of the text, is that of the slaves in ancient Greco-Roman times. Seeing that a large percentage of their population consisted of slaves, helped me better understand the book of Philemon relating to the the relationship between the slaves and their owners. A preconception that was corrected was that of the significance of a birthright. Before I just viewed a birthright as an object similar to a birth certificate. Now I understand it as the inheritance of goods and position of first born. So, when Esau gave Jacob his birthright he not only is losing the position of first born, but also that of being one who received an inheritance. A custom that helps make sense of the ‘foreign’ aspect of the Bible is that of hospitality. Understanding that the people of Bible times were very hospitable to everyone, helps us understand why Paul would write many letters to many different people and church’s. Wherever Paul traveled he always seemed to be welcomed by believers into their homes. Understanding the socio-historical context moves us in the right direction to reading closer to the original meaning of the