{
  "id": "dict_003300",
  "term": "Lexical range",
  "slug": "lexical-range",
  "letter": "L",
  "entry_type": "hermeneutics_term",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "The range of meanings a word can legitimately carry in different contexts; context determines which sense is meant in a given passage.",
  "simple_one_line": "Lexical range is the span of meanings a word may have, with context deciding the meaning in each passage.",
  "tooltip_text": "The possible senses a word can have; careful interpretation reads the word in context rather than importing every possible meaning into one verse.",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [
    "Hermeneutics",
    "Word Study",
    "Context",
    "Exegesis",
    "Authorial Intent",
    "Translation"
  ],
  "see_also": [
    "Semantics",
    "Polysemy",
    "Etymology",
    "Semantic Domain",
    "Lexicon"
  ],
  "lede_intro": "Lexical range refers to the legitimate senses a word may have across its usage in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, or English translation. In Bible study, it helps readers avoid forcing every possible meaning into every occurrence.",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "The span of meanings a word can have across different contexts.",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [
    "Words often have more than one legitimate sense.",
    "Grammar, context, and authorial intent determine meaning.",
    "Good word studies distinguish range of meaning from meaning in a specific verse.",
    "The concept protects against over-interpretation and wordfallacies."
  ],
  "description_academic_short": "Lexical range refers to the possible meanings a word may carry in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, or translation. In interpretation, it explains why the same word may be rendered differently in different contexts and why context must control sense.",
  "description_academic_full": "Lexical range is the span of legitimate senses a word may have across its usage in biblical and related language contexts. This concept is important for interpretation because many words in Scripture can express more than one meaning, and the surrounding grammar, sentence structure, literary setting, and historical context help identify which sense is intended in a particular passage. A careful grammatical-historical approach recognizes lexical range without assuming that every possible meaning is present in every occurrence. Used properly, the concept helps readers avoid overloading words with meanings the text does not require and encourages attention to context, authorial intent, and ordinary language use.",
  "background_biblical_context": "Scripture is written in normal human language, so words often have more than one valid sense. Biblical interpretation must therefore ask how a word is being used in its immediate context rather than assuming one fixed meaning for every occurrence.",
  "background_historical_context": "Lexical study has long been part of grammar, lexicography, and translation work. Modern Bible study uses the term to describe the set of meanings available to a word in actual usage and to distinguish that set from the specific meaning intended in a given verse.",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "Hebrew and Aramaic words, like Greek words, can carry related but distinct senses depending on context. Ancient readers and translators also relied on context, usage, and parallel passages to determine meaning.",
  "key_texts_primary": [
    "No single proof text defines the term. The concept is illustrated wherever a biblical word is used in more than one legitimate sense and context determines the intended meaning."
  ],
  "key_texts_secondary": [
    "Helpful examples for study include passages where the same word or root is used in different ways across Scripture, especially in translation, word-study, and context-sensitive interpretation."
  ],
  "original_language_note": "Lexical range is a language-study term, not a doctrine. It applies to Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and translated Scripture, and it reminds readers that words must be interpreted by usage and context.",
  "theological_significance": "Lexical range supports sound doctrine by protecting against faulty word studies and proof-texting. It helps interpreters distinguish what a text actually says from what a word could possibly mean elsewhere.",
  "philosophical_explanation": "A word is a sign whose meaning is fixed by usage in context, not by the full list of possible dictionary senses. Interpretation therefore asks what the author meant in this sentence, not what the word could mean in abstraction.",
  "interpretive_cautions": "Do not import every possible sense of a word into one passage. Do not argue from a broad lexical range without contextual support. Do not confuse etymology with meaning. The intended sense must be established from context, grammar, and usage.",
  "major_views_note": "Responsible interpreters agree that words have a range of meanings, though word-study methods differ in how much weight they give to lexical tools, etymology, and semantic domains.",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "This term concerns interpretation, not doctrine. It should serve Scripture rather than override context, theology, or authorial intent.",
  "practical_significance": "Lexical range helps Bible readers, teachers, and translators avoid mistakes in word studies, choose accurate translations, and read verses in context instead of building doctrines on a single word alone.",
  "meta_description": "Lexical range is the span of meanings a word can have; context determines which sense is intended in a biblical passage.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/lexical-range/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/lexical-range.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}