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Meaning (Biblical Interpretation)

theological_term theological_term standard

In biblical interpretation, meaning is the sense a passage communicates in its words and context. Readers should seek the author’s intended meaning, not impose foreign ideas onto the text.

At a Glance

The meaning of a biblical passage is the truth or message conveyed by the text in context.

Key Points

Description

In biblical interpretation, meaning is the truth or message a biblical text communicates through its words in context. A grammatical-historical approach seeks that meaning by attending to vocabulary, grammar, literary form, surrounding argument, and historical setting, while also reading each passage within the whole canon of Scripture. Conservative evangelicals affirm that Scripture, as God-breathed, has a real and knowable meaning anchored in the text rather than in the reader’s preferences. At the same time, interpreters should distinguish between the primary meaning of a passage and the applications or implications that may rightly be drawn from it. Because some passages are difficult or debated, careful interpretation requires humility, prayer, and attention to clearer texts.

Biblical Context

Scripture regularly assumes that God’s words can be understood, explained, and obeyed. In Nehemiah 8, the Law is read and its sense is made clear to the people. Jesus and the apostles also interpret Scripture as having a definite meaning that can be recognized in context.

Historical Context

The church has long insisted that biblical interpretation must respect the text itself rather than import outside ideas into it. The grammatical-historical method developed as a disciplined way to ask what the words would have communicated in their original setting, while still affirming the unity and authority of Scripture.

Jewish and Ancient Context

Second Temple and rabbinic Jewish interpretation often emphasized careful attention to wording, repetition, and context. Those traditions can illuminate the interpretive world of the Bible, but they do not override the text’s own meaning or the final authority of Scripture.

Primary Key Texts

Secondary Key Texts

Original Language Note

The Bible does not give a single technical doctrine-term for 'meaning,' but it uses language of understanding, explaining, and making known the sense of a passage. In both Hebrew and Greek, interpretation is tied to what the words actually communicate in context.

Theological Significance

Meaning matters because doctrine must be built on what God has actually said, not on private impressions. If interpretation is detached from meaning, Scripture can be made to say almost anything. A stable doctrine of meaning protects biblical authority, guards sound teaching, and keeps application grounded in the text.

Philosophical Explanation

Meaning is not created by the reader; it is discovered in the text. The interpreter asks what the words would have communicated in their literary and historical setting. This does not deny that passages may have rich implications, but those implications must be controlled by the passage’s actual sense.

Interpretive Cautions

Do not confuse meaning with personal application, devotional impression, or later theological synthesis. A passage may have one intended meaning while supporting many faithful applications. Be cautious with figurative language, poetry, prophecy, and apocalyptic material, where context and genre are especially important.

Major Views

Conservative interpreters generally hold that a biblical passage has a determinate meaning rooted in authorial intent and textual context. More subjective approaches may treat meaning as largely created by the reader or community, but that sits uneasily with the Bible’s own claims of clarity, authority, and communicable truth.

Doctrinal Boundaries

This entry concerns hermeneutics, not a separate doctrine of inspiration or revelation. It should not be used to deny legitimate typology, canonical development, or legitimate applications. However, it must not be used to justify readings that ignore grammar, context, or the plain sense of Scripture.

Practical Significance

Good interpretation begins with asking what the passage meant before asking what it means for today. This protects preaching, teaching, counseling, and personal Bible study from distortion and helps believers apply Scripture more faithfully.

Related Entries

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