The English word “context” is derived from two Latin words meaning “to weave threads” (contextus, from con- ‘together’ + texere ‘to weave’) and so our word signifies that which is connected or woven together.
The expression “context is everything” applies in many areas of life, and it certainly applies in the study of God’s Word. Every beginning student of the Bible soon finds that many statements cannot be taken from their biblical setting and understood or used in isolation. On the other hand, even experienced Bible students sometimes forget the need to seek context in everything that is studied and especially in looking at difficult or puzzling verses. Context can be more than just reading the chapter in which a verse appears and there are, in fact, a number of different aspects or dimensions of context that all play a part in the successful understanding of scripture. As Miles Coverdale, sixteenth century translator of the English Bible, wrote:
“… it shall greatly help thee to understand scripture, if thou mark not only what is spoken or written, but of whom, and unto whom, with what words, at what time, where, to what intent, with what circumstance, considering what goeth before, and what followeth after.” — Miles Coverdale, Preface to the Bible, 1535.
This article looks at four of the most important aspects of biblical context with examples and suggested study helps.
Overall Context
The first and perhaps most important aspect of maintaining context is that of seeing and interpreting every part of the Bible in the light of the whole. Some verses, such as John 3:16, may be clear in isolation, but even then taking in the other verses relevant to this very clear statement expands our understanding and appreciation for its meaning. In many other cases overall context clearly is needed for proper understanding.
In 2 Kings 2:1 the Bible tells us that Elijah was taken up by a whirlwind “into heaven”. It is easy to misunderstand this statement without overall biblical context. But when we put other relevant scriptures together we see that from the biblical perspective, there are three heavens (2 Corinthians 12:2). Over nine hundred years after the time of Elijah, Jesus Himself said “no man has ascended up to heaven” (John 3:13), meaning the heaven of God. So 2 Kings is evidently talking about the “heaven” that we would call the sky or the atmosphere – just as the Bible speaks of the “dew of heaven” (Genesis 27:28, 39, Deuteronomy 33:28).
In the New Testament, the apostle Paul frequently stresses that salvation comes by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8,9: etc.), yet comparing this understanding with the writing of the apostle James who states that faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26), we get the whole picture. In fact, if we look further into the writings of Paul himself, we find statements which back this up. Take for example: “It is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous” (Romans 2:13). So overall context shows that we are saved by faith alone, but saving faith is never alone – living faith leads us to right behavior and good works.
Study Helps: For beginning students, putting everything together that the Bible says on a given subject can seem like a daunting task, but there are many study helps such as concordances and topical Bibles that make this task much simpler. Even the marginal references found in many bibles can be helpful in pulling important scriptures together for overall context.
Literary Context
It’s easy to think of the books of the Bible as being all essentially the same when it comes to studying its message. But the Bible contains many kinds of formats that we must keep in mind if we are to successfully understand what it is saying. Think of the phone book – it’s not all the same format: white pages, yellow pages, blue pages, all with their own format and different kinds of information. The books of the Bible not only have different types of literature – prose, poetry, messages, lists, etc. – within the overall book, but even within individual books. Take, for example, some of the things said in the Book of Psalms where David exclaims “Break the teeth in their mouths, O God” (Psalm 58:6). Such an example may be easy to see as poetic language which obviously is not meant to be understood literally, but when we remember that about 30% of the Hebrew Bible is written in poetic form it can help us better understand sections of the prophetic books, for example, where sections of narrative text are mixed with sections of poetic text. Older translations, such as the King James version, tend to obscure this fact by printing everything in the same format. More recent translations, such as the English Standard Version and New International Version, make a big difference by printing different literary formats in different fonts and layouts.
But it’s not just the Old Testament where this principle applies. Take for example, 1 John 1:2: “The Elder unto the well beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.” These verses are often taken out of context as though they indicate that prosperity and physical health are things to be highly sought in the Christian life and are of great importance. In reality this is just a common letter opening expression of that day and age, just as we might write something like “I hope this finds all well with you” at the start of a letter to a friend today.
Study helps: Different translations often help to clarify changes in format in the original texts, but not always. If wording is still unclear, try checking different commentaries on the book in question, though remember that commentaries, by their very nature, may give the personal views of their authors – so you may wish to compare several.
Immediate Context
Ecclesiates 7:28, out of context, makes a seemingly startling statement: “While I was still searching but not finding – I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all.” At first sight this sounds like a very sad situation, but if we look carefully at the immediate context, we see that the section beginning in vs. 26 is talking about prostitutes who snare unsuspecting men. All Solomon is saying here is that although there may be “one in a thousand” men who resist such a woman (clearly using an idiomatic expression for a round number), he found not a single upright woman in this group. Other verses in this book – Proverbs 12:4, 31:10, etc. – show this is certainly not a condemnation of all women; and the Bible talks of many upright women, of course.
In the New Testament, a scripture with which most Bible readers are familiar is found in the Book of Matthew: “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Matt. 18:20). While this verse is frequently taken to mean gathering in church fellowship, the actual immediate context is about correcting someone for a problem (vs. 15-18), and asking God’s help in the process (vs. 19). The teaching here is quite different from how it is often understood out of context.
Study Helps: This kind of contextual setting doesn’t usually need tools, though good commentaries can sometimes help if the verse just isn’t making sense. Also remember your Bible’s marginal references – sometimes they will point to a similar section of scripture where the same point is explained more clearly.
Cultural Context
Sometimes only knowledge of the cultures in which biblical stories are set can help us to understand exactly what a biblical narrative means. In Genesis 15: 9-21, for example, in the story of God sealing his covenant with Abram, God instructed Abram to take various animals and sacrifice them, dividing them into halves in such a way that someone could walk between the halves of the carcasses. Genesis then states: “When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram …” (Genesis. 15: 17-18a). This strange event is understandable when we realize that in many ancient Near Eastern cultures, land ownership “contracts” were sealed by the participants dividing sacrificed animals or walking between the parts of the animals. Without this cultural context the details of the story would be difficult to understand, but knowing the background helps us to see that God was simply utilizing the legal practices of the time in order to confirm his promises to Abram/Abraham.
In the New Testament, the story of the women who anointed Jesus’ feet and head (Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, Luke 7:36-50, John 12:1-8) can be much better understood in cultural context. When we understand that a “denarius” was the average wage earned by a laborer for a full long day of work, and that the perfume used by the women would have cost upwards of 300 denarii – almost a year’s wages (Mark 14:5), we begin to realize the sacrifice these women, who were not rich, were making in their gifts.
Usually cultural context does not affect our understanding of doctrine or principles of living, but it can frequently illuminate the biblical stories and make them more understandable and real to us.
Study Helps: Carefully selected background books can help with understanding cultural context, but many are very detailed and it can be difficult to find the information needed. This is an area in which the internet shines. Doing a search for “dividing animals in sacrifices,” “biblical sacrifices + ancient Near East” or just “Genesis 15: 17-18” may find information on the background for the example used here. It is often worth doing a quick online search for background information (being careful to evaluate the quality of the site, of course) when cultural context is not clear.
Keeping these four types of context in mind can answer a good many questions about the scriptures and make them seem less puzzling. They can also deepen our understanding of the scriptures and make them more meaningful to us.
An Alpine Symphony, by Richard Strauss, depicts a dawn to dusk climb up a mountain.
Why do we climb mountains? You can get almost as many answers to that question as you can find climbers to ask. Some will say because the mountains are there, others because of the challenge, and others just because. But deeper down I think there really is something about climbing that mirrors a profound human urge to overcome and surmount obstacles.
I think that desire is something we tap into with things that are important to us, as in the Christian goals of growing and overcoming. And I don’t think I’m the only one who sees the parallels between climbing and some of our higher goals. As Edmund Hillary, celebrated “conqueror” of Everest, wrote, “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.”
We call it “the Christian walk”, but I often think it’s more like a climb than a walk – both in terms of when it gets tough, and the rewards of accomplishment. I used to enjoy rock climbing, and although I don’t do it anymore, I can’t really think about climbing without thinking of some of the analogies between it and the Christian life. The parallels may be basic, but I know many of climbing’s strategic and tactical lessons have helped me, so I discuss some of them here.
• Plan the ascent. Climbers know that many mountains may be safely scaled only by one route which is not necessarily the easy path. We can’t succeed without a path to follow, and it’s not just a matter of memorizing a set route. Sometimes we need course corrections, and we have to continue to plan as we move upward throughout the climb or the Christian life. Proverbs 22:3 says: “The prudent person sees trouble ahead and hides, but the naive continue on and suffer the consequences.” Do we plan ahead to circumvent problematic situations, to avoid slippery paths and treacherous spiritual terrain? We must live one day at a time, but planning our daily walk is a big part of getting where we want to go. How much time do we actually spend in doing this? Darkness falls fast in the mountains, you have to plan your activities to be ready. Do we plan where to best fit in our spiritual activities, or do they get relegated to whatever time, if any, is left at the end of the day?
• It’s a group activity. Mountains can be wonderful places to be alone, to hike, enjoy the serenity and meditate. The Gospels show that on many occasions Jesus went up on a mountainside by himself to pray (e.g., Matthew 14:23). But ascending the highest peaks profits from teamwork. Although even great mountains have been scaled by individuals climbing alone, the lone climber has no one to help him or her and helps no one else – so everyone loses something. The same principle applies in obvious ways in our Christian lives. In spiritual climbing, you need a climbing buddy, or several. It’s a group activity.
• Safety in humility. Experiencing the majesty, vastness and age of mountains can be humbling, as many climbers and others have written. From Jane Austen’s “What are men to rocks and mountains?” to veteran climber Robert Macfarlane’s “Mountains refute our excessive trust in the man-made,” humans have frequently extolled these awesome pinnacles of creation. But every climber knows that staying humbly aware of one’s own vulnerability is a necessary part of climbing safety. So too, basic humility can be a big part of realizing our spiritual vulnerability to potentially deadly mistakes. “Let he who thinks he stands beware, lest he fall” (I Corinthians 10:12).
• Use the right equipment. Some of the most basic climbing equipment is similar to the gear mentioned by the apostle Paul in the military equipment analogy he makes in Ephesians 6:10-18. Take, for example, the helmet of faith. In climbing a helmet is not so much for if you fall, but if things fall on you such as falling rock and ice chunks. Faith is a good helmet too, against unexpected onslaughts of life that seem to hit out of nowhere. Much of the equipment the climber uses is different, of course, but it carries its own reminders – for example, ropes. There is nothing like dangling from a rope with hundreds of feet of empty space below to help you appreciate the value of a lifeline. I think of prayer as a lifeline I don’t want to be without. If I let it slip, I usually find myself dealing with a hard fall.
• Don’t look back/down. More accurately, don’t focus on the down. Fear and vertigo can sometimes happen to even experienced climbers. There is also a spiritual vertigo. We can erode our ability to keep climbing by focusing on the past and the abyss of past sins. You have to believe in the rock to which you are anchored – what climbers refer to as a “bomber” or “bomb-proof anchor”. Psalm 121:1 (a song of ascents) talks about one: “I lift up my eyes to the mountains — where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord…” As Christians we know what that bomb-proof anchor is in our lives. “Though the mountains are shaken and the hills are removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord …” (Isaiah 54:10).
• Focus on the goal – and on the around. There is a weird thing about climbing. Looking up the climb ahead you get what is termed “perspective foreshortening” – the mountaintop may seem close at first, but it can seem to get further away as you climb. Life can feel that way, too, sometimes. You just have to be committed to keep climbing no matter how far the goal may still appear to be. On the other hand, while climbers have to focus on the goal in climbing, they try not to miss the pleasures of the spectacular views as they climb. Life should be enjoyed, too. Focus on the top, but don’t miss the scenery on the way up!
I knew a Christian climber who used to say he thought that God loves the mountains and climbed them, too. He quoted Amos 4:13 as indication of this: “He who forms the mountains … and treads on the heights of the earth…” I’m not so sure this verse actually means climbing the heights of the earth, but I do know that climbing mountains – or just reading about climbing them– can remind us of principles we need to keep in mind for the more important climb to which God calls us.
The New Testament tells us that one day a disciple asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” Jesus replied: “When you pray, say …” and then he proceeded to give what is called “The Lord’s Prayer” (Matthew 6:9–13, and Luke 11:2–4):
We see that this prayer was probably intended as a model, which could be used as an outline and expanded in our own words, by the fact that the wording is different in the two gospels in which it occurs – so reciting its exact words is clearly not as important as following its points. The following guide gives examples of how the Lord’s Prayer can be expanded in our own words for regular formal prayer which effectively covers all aspects of our relationship with God. The scriptures given are examples showing the principles covered in each point of the prayer.
OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN
The first section of the prayer outline establishes our relationship with God as our Father and prepares our mindset for an audience with Him.
• Praise God as Creator of Heaven and Earth and Father of our human family (Genesis 1:1; 1 Corinthians 8:6)
• Thank God for the privilege we have of praying to Him in Heaven (Psalm 150:1; John 4:23)
• Thank God for the personal son/daughter relationship we have with Him (Romans 8:14-16; 1John 3:2)
HALLOWED [HONORED] BE YOUR NAME
The second section of the prayer outline offers true respect and praise to God – for everything He is and has done – and reminds us to honor His name.
• Praise for what God is – Creator, Ruler, Sustainer, Love, Righteousness, Mercy and Truth (Psalm 100:3-5; Psalm 145:8-17)
• Praise for all He has done – His compassion, patience, sacrifice and salvation (Psalm 146:1-10; John 3:16)
• Ask God’s help to honor His name, never misuse it, always use it with respect (Exodus 20:7; Psalm 86:12)
YOUR KINGDOM COME, YOUR WILL BE DONE, ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN
The third section of the prayer outline focuses on the establishment of God’s Kingdom and Will in our lives and eventually throughout the world.
• Pray for help to accept God’s will and that He grow His Kingdom in our lives and the lives of all believers (Mark 4:30-32; Romans 12:2)
• Pray for God’s help in bringing His truth to many more people, to continually grow His Kingdom (Luke 10:2; Matthew 28:19-20)
• Pray for leaders and those helping others that good may be done wherever possible (Jeremiah 29:7; 1 Timothy 2:1-2)
• Pray for the spiritual needs of God’s people and the support and guidance of His Church (Ephesians 6:18; 2 Thessalonians 3:1)
FORGIVE US OUR SINS AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO SIN AGAINST US
The fifth section of the prayer outline shows that we should ask forgiveness for our sins and the sins of others –as well as for help to forgive others.
• Ask forgiveness for our own sins, and give thanks for the sacrifice of Christ and God’s grace (Psalm 51:1-2; 1John 1:9)
• Ask for help in forgiving others fully as God forgives us; to let go of anger and bitterness (Ephesians 4:31-32; Matthew 6:14-15)
• Pray for those that sin against us that God be merciful to them as He is to us (Luke 23:34a; Acts 7:60)
LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION
The sixth section of the prayer outline requests God’s help, for ourselves and for others, to avoid unnecessary trials and overcome things that tempt us to sin.
• Ask for help in overcoming temptations and sins identified in our own lives (Luke 22:40; Hebrews 2:18)
• Ask for help for all those fighting weaknesses, addictions, sins (Hebrews 4:16; 1 Corinthians 10:13)
• Pray that those who have escaped sin will have the strength not to return to it (2 Peter 2:20; Galatians 6:1)
DELIVER US FROM EVIL
The seventh section of the prayer outline asks for protection from physical and spiritual evil, and for all fighting against evil or held in its sway.
• Pray for physical and spiritual protection for all who look to God for help, especially in persecution (2 Samuel 22:3-4; John 17:15-17; )
• Pray for all who are working to suppress evils that are harming people (Hebrews 13:17; Romans 13:3)
[FOR YOURS IS THE KINGDOM, THE POWER AND THE GLORY, FOR EVER. AMEN]
The final words of the Lord’s Prayer appearing in some translations were not in the earliest Bible manuscripts, but they reflect Christian traditions which remind us to:
• End prayer as we began, with praise and thanks (Psalm 9:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Is patience a gene? I have always been impatient. Overcoming this failing is part of my personal climb. I have read the biblical verses relating to this subject many times over and some have been helpful, but trying to be patient when you’re feeling impatient is a bit like trying to be well when you are feeling sick. It’s a nice try, but it usually doesn’t go far, and I know I still have a ways to go. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit of God, of course, but that doesn’t mean that God makes us instantly patient if we ask for his help with it. As someone wryly observed, if you ask God for patience, don’t expect a quick reply. But seriously, we have to develop patience with the help we are given. That’s why I was particularly happy with something I was reading in the Book of Ephesians recently. As I read in the New International Version, I saw something I hadn’t noticed before. Paul writes:
“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4: 1-2).
Now I just happened to look at these verses again in the King James version and noticed something different in the last part of the verse: “…with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love.”
The difference is small, but it triggered a thought in my mind: The semicolon used in the NIV directly before “be patient” makes it look like there are two separate thoughts (being humble and gentle on the one hand and patient and bearing with people on the other), whereas the series of commas in the KJV looks more like a continuous, connected thought. The original Greek of the New Testament doesn’t have punctuation, of course; but as I looked at it, it seemed to me that the sense of the verse really is one continuous subject and thought – with humility, gentleness, and patience seeming to be grouped together as related qualities.
Then when I looked at what Paul says in Colossians 3:12-13, I saw the same pattern: “… clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another…” Here we have compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience grouped together – the same qualities we see in Ephesians 4 with a couple more added.
What struck me about these verses is that the qualities Paul is talking about can indeed be interrelated, and this has a practical application which I found I was able to put into action. Instead of thinking about patience as an abstract goal when I’m feeling impatient with someone, I found that if I work on one of the more concrete qualities in the group Paul brings together, it helps with the impatience at the same time. For example, thinking about and working on being humble when I’m feeling impatient really makes a difference.
After all, when I remind myself I’m not the center of the universe, what does it matter that someone is late to meet with me? If I think about what it means to be compassionate, I can better empathize with the overwhelmed driver in front of me who is holding up all the traffic, and so on. If I focus on the other qualities on Paul’s list, I don’t even have to think about patience directly in order to better apply it.
Anyway, I think this small tactic is helping me grow in this area. Perhaps not as quickly as I would like, but I have to be patient.
* We now have a Free e-book on patience: Why Every Christian Needs More Patience – download your free copy here.
An irony of faithful regular Bible study is that the more you read it, the more familiar the Bible becomes – and sometimes we may feel we are just not seeing as much as we did when we first, excitedly, came to the word of God. Now clearly, our major responsibility in this is faithful prayer along with the study – prayer to see and understand more each time we continue our journey in the book. We also need to study with a purpose – not just to be reminded of things we know, or to see something new, but to learn more of the mind of God, and to learn how we might take on that mind in the small things of which everyday life is composed.
But there is something else we can do to keep our interest level high and to be rewarded with new understanding. Get a new translation. Many of us stay with the same old translation simply because we like to stay with the same physical Bible. It’s “the Bible” to us, it’s comfortable and may have our markings and notes built up through years of reading. But we don’t have to end our relationship with that Bible in order to try a new translation.
I have my own favorite translation and it is the one to which I most frequently turn, but when I feel that I am not seeing anything beyond what I saw the last time I read a biblical book or pondered a single chapter or verse, I turn to another translation. It’s not that my regular version is not accurate enough, but that I want to hear the words with different stresses, from a different perspective as it were. Just recently I did this with the Book of Job. Rereading Job in a different translation opened up dozens of new insights for me. The words themselves were not necessarily so different from the translation I usually use, but time and again seeing the same verses from a different perspective helped me to see things I had read over earlier.
But I’m not talking about comparing lines or verses in different translations. That is fine for detailed study of exactly which words are “best” in translating a given verse. I’m talking about just taking a different version and immersing yourself in it – getting used to its speech patterns and style in the same way you would if you were listening to a new friend speak.
The great thing is just how simple it is to try another translation. If you like reading on a screen, many Bible versions are available online on various Bible websites (see our article “Five Bible Study Sites Compared”) and many Bible versions can now be obtained free for reading on the Kindle or with the Kindle for PC application or other e-reader. So, if you sometimes feel that Bible study is not as exciting for you as it was, or if you would just like to maximize what you see in a given study session, give yourself a lift – try a new translation.
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