Questions to establish the correct context

Followers of the Messiah - Strategy 3

Before we continue our investigation, again, I would like to make some comments on how very blessed we are in this time in history, in terms of Yahweh’s Word.

I believe that our generation has far more access to different versions of the Bible that any other group in history. Because of technology, we can easily examine the meaning of the original Hebrew or Greek words, & so can have improved understanding of Yahweh’s Word.

Let’s give praise & thanks to Yahweh for this wonderful blessing, & let’s decide to use it as well as we can !

Another strategy that we can & should use, Strategy 3, involves what is called checking the CONTEXT of a word, verse or chapter. It is very important to discover the “correct context” that an author may have intended, if we are going to understand Yahweh’s Word.

I encourage you to use the following information & questions to establish the "correct context" of a word, a scripture verse or chapter. As well as reading verses before and after the verse we are studying, we can further define the CONTEXT of a word or verse, by answering the following questions as they relate to the verse or chapter.

Who wrote this book ? When was it written ?

Who was the original audience - who was it originally written to ?

Why was it written ?

What was their culture ? What was their legal system ?

What was their religious background ?

What Hebrew idioms did they use ?

What did they already know about the subject ?

What future group does it affect, & how will they be affected ?

Let’s apply Strategy 3 to Exod 20:7 to see if we can find out more. - remember, these are "my" answers; yours may vary.

Q: Who wrote the Book of Exodus ?

A: It is generally agreed that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible, including the Book of Exodus.

Q: When did Moses write the Book of Exodus ?

A: It seems likely that Moses wrote the Book of Exodus sometime after Yahweh spoke to Israel at Mt Sinai.

Q: Who was the original audience - who was the Book of Exodus originally written to ?

A: The original audience was the Israelites who had been freed from their slavery by Yahweh.

Q: Why did Moses write the Book of Exodus to the Israelites ?

A: The Book of Exodus was written to the now freed Israelites who, as a result of their assimilation into Egypt, had forgotten who Yahweh really was, and what He required of them – they needed to be re-educated about Yahweh’s kingdom.

Most of them had lost their identity, their land, their language, their independence, & their rituals. Yahweh wanted to build His kingdom - one based on a different foundation to the Egyptian one, these now free Israelites had experienced for a long time.

Q: What was their culture ?

A: Because of their assimilation into Egypt, the Israelites knew all about the Egyptian culture, history, mythology, religion & cosmology. They understood & believed the same as the Egyptians did – they had a Egyptian world-view.

Q: What was their legal system ?

A: While in Egypt, the Israelites lived in a legal system where the Pharaoh was a god – everything he said was law. The Pharaoh also had conquered other nations, & these lesser nations were often vassal states of Egypt. There was what is known as a suzerainty-vassal treaty or covenant, where the greater king would promise his protection, in exchange for the weaker nation paying taxes, & for their loyalty.

In Exodus 19:5-6, Yahweh offers a suzerainty type covenant to Israel. He promises to be their Elohim, (God) if they listen to His voice, & keep His covenant. There are conditions for being in this covenant with Yahweh, which are written in Exodus 20 to 23.

Again, this covenant is between the great king (Yahweh), & the weaker party (Israel). When Israel accepted Yahweh’s covenant proposal, (Exod 19:8 & Exod 24:3 & 7), they understood that it had legal conditions attached to it, & there were blessings for keeping it, & serious curses for breaking it.

Q: What religious background did the Israelites have ?

A: When they first came to Egypt about 400 years before their Exodus out of Egypt, the Israelites had a belief in Yahweh, their one & only Elohim. Because the Israelites had been slaves in Egypt for probably 150 to 200 years, they probably had assimilated with Egypt, & almost certainly, they had adopted their religious practices. This would include the Egyptian’s many gods, & their various Egyptian pagan rituals, such as worshipping images of those gods, such as a calf.

Q: What Hebrew idioms did the Israelites use ?

A: Let’s review a couple of English idioms so that we get the idea of their use.

When someone says, “I’ll give you a penny for your thoughts”, they are really asking “what are you really thinking ?”

When someone says, “please don’t beat around the bush”, they are really saying, “please stop avoiding the subject”.

There are many Hebrew idioms used in the Bible. Again, these are phrases that were used by the original author that don’t make sense literally, but were clearly understood by his original audience.

Example In Gen 9:13, Yahweh says “He have set His bow in the cloud”.

Gen 9:13 I have set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.

A “bow in the cloud” is a Hebrew idiom for a “RAINBOW”.

Example In Gen 14:22, Abram says “I have lifted up my hand to Yahweh”.

Gen 14:22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand to Yahweh, the most high El, the possessor of Heaven and earth (HRB)

“I have lifted up my hand to Yahweh” is a Hebrew idiom meaning “I have taken a solemn oath”.

Q: What did the original Israelites already know about a subject ?

A: To demonstrate this, let’s look again, at Exod 20:7.

You shall not take the name of YAHWEH your Elohim in vain; for YAHWEH will not leave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain.

Have you ever noticed that this is simply a statement that is made only once, with absolutely no explanation ?

What does this imply ?

It implies that the original audience clearly understood who Yahweh was, that He was their Elohim, their “mighty one’, & that Yahweh would punish them if they brought His name to naught.

If you take notice, you will see that there are many, many times in Yahweh’s Word, when statements are made, just once, indicating a clear understanding of what is written !

On the other hand

If we consider verses such as Exod 20:9-10, where Yahweh instructs the Israelites that they are to work for six days, & rest on the 7th day, we notice that this is repeated several times – see Exod 23:12, 31:15, 34:21 & 35:2. I'll provide Exod 23:12, & allow you to check the others.

Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

Exo 23:12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

Why would Yahweh repeat certain instructions ?

I believe it is because, as slaves in Egypt, they worked everyday, & so had no concept of having a day off to worship an Elohim like Yahweh, on His 7th day Sabbath - they needed to be reminded a few times.

Q: Why is knowing what Yahweh’s Word is saying in its original language, to an original audience, important ?

A: Yahweh’s Word was written TO an original audience, not to us. While it was written FOR us, if we are to understand it, & interpret it correctly, we must know what it meant to its original audience.

Because Yahweh’s Word was written TO an original audience, if we are going to correctly interpret what He is telling us in His written word, don’t we need to find out as much as we can about what that original audience knew & understood about that written word ?

Q: What future group does a biblical topic affect, & how will they be affected ?

A: Again, Yahweh’s Word was written at first, TO an original audience. However, it was written FOR those who lived after that original audience died.

Sometimes, Yahweh tells us specifically in His Word, that an instruction or principle, is also for those who follow the original audience, such as in Exod 31:16.

Exo 31:16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

For our generation, because we are so far removed from the original audience, & the original languages in which Yahweh’s Word was originally written, it is often difficult for us to really know what His Word is telling us.

For most of us, all we have are different versions, that are all translations. Without going into all the details, all translations are problematic !

So if we are to really understand what Yahweh’s Word is telling us, & requiring of us, isn’t it important that we take the time to learn as much as we can, about those original audiences, & what they knew & understood by what was originally written ?

Strategy 4 A very simple & extremely useful Bible Study Strategy is to LISTEN to the Chapter as you READ it.

If you have e-Sword, click the Concordance Tab, & click the KJV Audio, as shown below.

Another source of an audio Bible is @ https://www.biblestudytools.com/audio-bible/kjv/

Exercise

Use Strategy 3 to carefully examine 2 Tim 3:16. Here are the questions again.