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Examples Of Historical Context

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Historical context

Historical context needs to be an important consideration in order for the reader to get the "full picture" of the passage. When reading the Bible, it is easy to automatically apply today's views and values to the stories within the Bible. It takes a little more effort on the reader's part to put themselves in the shoes of the author. For example, for us to travel today, we jump in our car or get on a plane and in hours we are in destinations across the country or across the world. In the time when the Bible was written, people walked or rode a donkey, horse or camel and often they would travel for days to make it to their destination, even longer if pulling carts. When it is a warm day for us to travel, we turn on our air conditioning and keep cruising, in contrast to having to travel at night when walking or riding an animal.

Some key factors to keep in mind are the author, the audience and the world they (author and audience) live in. You need to know who has written the passage and …show more content…

This way the reader gets the true meaning of the passage, the way God intended. Though the Bible in its original form is inerrant, our interpretation of it is not. When the Bible was written, God had very a specific message that He wanted to covey to us. It is that one specific meaning that God wants us to hear and no other. Literary context is ensuring that you use surrounding words, phrases, passages or even chapters and books of the Bible to understand that one specific message that God wants us to hear. A perfect example of how to explain literary context by Dr. Cartwright and Professor Hulshof in Everyday Bible Study is: “We would never open to the middle of a classic like The Lord of the Rings, pick out a single line such as, “Not all those who wander are lost,” and seriously expect to know what is going on merely by reading that one

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