Four Keys to Effective Exegesis

1/22/2012 | By Will Brannon

Currently in Greek class, we are covering the basics of exegesis and textual criticism. This past week in class, the professor did a lecture on four important aspects of biblical exegesis. These four point are taken from Bock and Fanning's book Interpreting the New Testament Text.

1. The Authors Original Meaning

In other words, what did the author mean when he wrote the text. This prevents what is commonly known as "springboard preaching." A preacher "springboards" when he, instead of explaining what the text actually says, simply uses the verse as a starting point to jump into a topic of his choice. For example, 1 Samuel 17 contains the popular passage about David and Goliath. Many sermons have been preached by explaining that David had to face a huge problem in Goliath, and, only by the power of God could he defeat his giant. What is the "giant" in your life that you need God to help you defeat? What is your "Goliath." Then the sermon gets really good by picking five ways to slay the troubles in your life based on the five stones David chose.

That may sound good, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the text. There is no indication that the original author had "five solutions" in mind when he wrote that David chose five stones. Nor is there any exegetical reason to assume the author wanted us to think of Goliath as a generic problem that we deal with in the year 2012.

2. The Text's Original Language

Although we have a number of excellent, scholarly translations, there are still nuggets of gold in a given passage that can only be found in the original language. It is important to note that a preacher does not have to know Greek or Hebrew to understand and preach a passage effectively. I have heard numerous sermons and lessons taught that do not even mention Greek syntax. However, understanding the languages of Scripture lets a preacher dive deeper into a text in a way an english translation simply does not allow.

3. Sound Hermeneutics

Hermeneutics is simply the science of interpretation. Sound hermeneutical study includes a proper understanding of words, grammar, sentence structure, genre, and historical context. Solid hermeneutics helps us understand historical customs, and thus lets us better see how the text could apply today. Which leads us to the final point...

4. Modern Application

The first three points all lead up to the ultimate goal of exegesis: application. We study God's Word to understand God's Word, so that we can apply God's Word to our lives. Any student, scholar, or layperson can complete the first three aspects of exegesis. Some atheists who have a hefty knowledge of Greek and history understand the Bible more than the average Christian. But a secular scholar cannot possibly, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, powerfully and properly apply a text to today. The Bible cannot stay in our minds, it must come out in our living. Without explaining how a given passage applies today, the preacher fails to practice meaningful, effective, life-changing exegesis.