All in Interpretation

4 Practical Guidelines for Reading Old Testament Stories

4 Practical Guidelines for Reading Old Testament Stories

George H. Guthrie
Broader Literary Context, Cultural Background, Immediate Literary Contex, Interpretation, Methods, Reading the Bible

Harold Goddard writes, "The history of the world is determined less by the battles that are lost and won than by the stories it loves and believes in." As we live in the modern world, we see the evidence of Goddard's statement all around us. People have particular views of the world, and those views often are driven by the stories they have embraced.

God wants to pull us into his Story and shape us by it. You may not be terribly familiar with the Old Testament stories, which play a vitally important role in telling the Grand Story, but there are a number of reasons why we should read those stories (which make up a bit less than 50% of the Old Testament).

How BIG is Your View of Jesus?

How BIG is Your View of Jesus?

George H. Guthrie
Delight in the Word, Interpretation

Sometimes the experiences of life in this world can make us feel rather small. The powers—powerful people, powerful governments, powerful forces in the world—are loud in their posturing against God and his people. “Why do the nations rebel and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers conspire together” (Ps. 2:1-2). They think they are big, and they can make us feel small. Further, the normal experiences of life, whether illness, or financial distress, or relational turmoil, can be hard, soul-grinding, reducing us, making God seem distant or small. 

The Fascinating Case of the Missing Manuscript!

The Fascinating Case of the Missing Manuscript!

George H. Guthrie
Bible Translation, Interpretation, Methods, Motivation

If we look at 1 John 5:7-8 in the KJV, we find the following:

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.  

Compare this, for instance, to the ESV, which corresponds to all modern translations: 

“For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree.” 

The question, “Why the difference?,” marked out in bold type in the first quotation, makes for a fascinating story and is perhaps the clearest example of why some words found in the KJV are not included in our modern translations.

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