Background on the Books of the Bible

Why are you doing this?:

Because context matters. Too often, we read the Bible while imposing our own cultural

and individual interpretations on it, (I think the word is exegesis?) while not wondering about the original intention of the books. The Spirit of God reveals truths to us through the Word all the time, new revelations even. Yet I believe there is a revelation to be found by understanding what the author of the book intended for the target audience. Plus, I'm also a history nerd so background information is my thing.

Who Wrote It?

One thing that I've learned after at least five years of actual Bible study is that church tradition will say that a book of the Bible has one author, and then theologians and historians will say "nahhh". And who authored what matters, once again, because of exegesis. By giving certain Biblical characters books, we can impose our interpretation of what their interpretations could be into the text, leaving the actual purpose of the text a mystery due to having a different author. So knowing who wrote what matters.

Where Was It Written?

The history part!!! Yes, it is important to know where these books were written and in what time period because while God's Word is true and everlasting and unchanging, human culture is not. And trying to impose 1st century A.D. cultural norms into a 21st century A.D. world is not it. Also, knowing the historical events that were occurring at the time a book was written can help us to understand the author's intention, who were the competing voices in culture at the time, and what kind of world that the audience to the books was living in. Speaking of audience...

Who Was It Written for?

Spoiler alert: we are not the original audience for any of the 66 books in the Protestant Bible (there's a conversation about which books got added, taken out, etc. but I'm not having that conversation. This year, anyway). Therefore, value is had in learning not only about the original audience but what the original audience was supposed to learn from the text. Keep in mind that most people in the ancient world could neither read nor write, so these books were being read aloud in synagogues, homes, and public squares. It was meant to be read aloud and commented on and discussed at length.

This is my Bible Study project for the year, and I'm really excited to meld together my love for God's Word, my love for history, and my grad school research skills that I haven't used in x amount of years.

I'm starting with the Gospel According to John and will stay in the Gospels for the rest of the month. See you there!