Context in Studying the Bible

Why we need Context

Play a round of the Bible is funny. Give everyone two cards.

Why is this funny?

Context is what makes a passage make sense. Without context we are entering a conversation or a story part way through and we can only interpret the words being said by what we have heard or read leaving us incomplete.

Take this recent news story for instance: In November 2025 the BBC had to apologize and their general director Tim Davyy was forced to resign due to a context issue. Just prior to the election the BBC news program called “Panorama” ran a video clip of Trumps Speech from Jan. 6th 2021 in which his words according to the program were, “"We're going to walk down to the Capitol... and I'll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell." The clip when heard made it sound like the then ex-president Trump was calling for violence on the Capitol. However, the words were clipped together from two different parts of the speech. The BBC had to apologize for their error in clipping these two parts of the speech together. The corrected information was: “In Trump's speech he said: "We're going to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women." More than 50 minutes later in the speech, he said: "And we fight. We fight like hell."

Ouch. Agree with Trump or not nobody deserves to have their words twisted out of context like that. We don’t want this to happen to us and we therefore should try our best not to do it to others. Likewise, our goal in reading scripture should be similar.

I really like how Kay Arthur explained the need for context:

“Suppose someone were to ask you, “What does the word trunk mean?” How would you respond? Well, if you were going to give a helpful as well it's accurate answer, you would first have to ask, “How is the word used?” because the word trunk can mean different things.

A trunk could mean the luggage department of a car, the flexible snout of an elephant, a large rigid piece of luggage used for transporting clothing and personal effects, the main stem of a tree, or shorts worn for swimming.

Therefore the only way to know the intended meaning of the word trunk is to examine the context in which the word was used. The environment (the surrounding text) in which the word appears will show you which of these possible meanings is intended.” Kay Arthur “How to Study your Bible”

Obviously when we are reading a passage of scripture we need to place it within the larger context of what has been written around it. This is ultimately best done as we read the entirety of scripture but we can’t sit and read the whole Bible just to answer one question about a portion of it so we need to know the context surrounding that specific text.

Q1. Can you think of any ways that you have seen a Bible verse or passage taken out of context in church, a Bible study, or a conversation? Did you notice it at the time?

Jon Nielson, the author of one of the books I am using for reference, says “Sadly, I believe that people tend to do this with the Bible even more than with other books that they read. Many times, people do this with good intentions. They are seeking to find a word of encouragement for their day, an inspiring quote for a friend, or a devotional thought to share with a small group, sports team, or business gathering. They read quickly, find a verse or verses that seem to work, and grab them and go, only to discover later that they wrongly interpreted verses by missing their broader context. Despite their good intentions, such disregard for context can often result in the abuse—and misuse—of the word of God.”

Therefore here is Nielson’s principle behind Context

In our interpretation and application of any part of the Bible, we must make sure that we fully evaluate and comprehend every part of the context of the passage so that we can understand why the passage was written by the author and how it was understood by the original recipients. We will then be able to apply the text fully and faithfully to our lives.

Q2.Describe some dangers that you think might come from taking the Bible out of context.

Q3. How might taking passages out of context actually distort our view of God, his work, his character, or his actions?

Historical Context

We should read the Bible differently from other books. Other books either give us information about a specific topic or they tell us the story of another place, another person or people, at a different time. Rarely are other books meant to be taken and applied to our lives in a life-giving, purpose deriving, hope-filled way. The Bible was written to a specific people at a specific time but it is meant to be read as if it was written specially for me and you. It is a love letter written to you for you. However, the Bible cannot be read only in that way because to do so would mean that we are guilty of taking it out of context.

Therefore, in order to understand this love letter to us we also need to understand the original authors and the original recipients. This means that we need to get to know the area of ancient Mesopotamia to understand why the patriarchs of the first 5 book did what they did. We need to understand at least a bit of the pagan rituals of idol worship to know why God would want entire people groups to be destroyed. We need to understand a bit of Hebrew poetry if we are to rightly read the Psalms and Proverbs. We need to journey in our hearts to places like Antioch, Jerusalem, Rome, Corinth, Crete, or Patmos in order to get a hint of what the people were like in those places.

In order to do this we should ask ourselves some incredibly important questions.

Jon Nielson Context Questions:

When was this book written?

Who was the original audience of this text?

What was the political and cultural situation at the time of the writing?

What was different for God’s people then—and what is still the same for us today?

How to read the Bible for All Its Worth Epistle Questions:

What do you notice about the recipients themselves?

What are the attitudes of the author toward the people or the situation?

Are there any specific things mentioned as to the occasion of the letter?

Kay Arthur’s Rules of Context:

Who wrote it? Who said it? Who are the major characters? Who are the people mentioned? To whom is the author speaking? About whom is the author speaking?

What are the main events? What are the major ideas? What are the major teachings? What are these people like? What does he talk about most? What is his purpose for saying that?

When was it written? When did this event take place? When will it happen? When did he say it? When did he do it?

Where was this done? Where was this said? Where will it happen?

Why was there a need for this to be written? Why was this mentioned? Why was so much or so little space devoted to this particular event or teaching? Why was this reference mentioned? Why should they do such and such?

How is it done? How did it happen? How is this truth illustrated?

Jeremy Kimble’s “How can I get more out of my Bible reading?”

Try to figure out how the paragraph you’re studying contributes to the argument of the book. Always remember to locate where you are in the biblical storyline.

Literary Context

Next we need to understand the method or methods being used by the author. If you don’t understand that all of the Bible is not a narrative story you are going to be pretty confused when Moses starts giving the Law. You will be more confused when David gives us his Psalms, or when Solomon speaks of his marriage in flowery and graphic ways. Or when Daniel and John speak the words of the Lord Apocalyptically. There are many different literary genres in the Bible and in order to understand what we are reading we need to know what kind of genre you are reading. This can change from verse to verse as often the New Testament writers will use Old Testament writings of many different genres to help them make their point, so pay close attention while reading.

The different genre’s of writing in the Bible are: poetic writings, prophetic words, narratives (stories), epistles (letters), apocalyptic literature.

Canonical Context

As I said earlier, when we are reading a passage of scripture we need to place it within the larger context of what has been written around it. This is ultimately best done as we read the entirety of scripture but we can’t sit and read the whole Bible just to answer one question about a portion of it so we need to know the context surrounding that specific text. Therefore, we need have a Big picture view of the Bible so that we can know how and why the words of the Author matter.

Jeremy Kimble gives a great 6 word overview in his book, “How can I get more out of my Bible reading?”:

The whole Bible in six words: Jeremy Kimble

• Creation: God made all things out of nothing (Gen. 1:1–2:3).

• Fall: Humanity rebeled against God; sin and death entered the world (Gen. 3:1–24).

• Israel: As God’s chosen people in the Old Testament, Israel was called to keep the covenant and live holy lives. Ultimately, they failed and were exiled from their land (Genesis 12–Malachi 4).

• Salvation: Jesus came. As God in the flesh, he lived a perfect life, died in our place, bore God’s wrath against our sin, and rose again, offering us salvation from our sin by faith alone in him (Matthew—John).

• Church: The people of God who were saved by faith in Christ gather into local assemblies to commemorate the gospel and oversee one another’s membership through biblical preaching and the ordinances (Acts—Jude).

• New Creation: Christ will return and consummate his kingdom. Sin, Satan, and death will be done away with forever. There will be no more crying, pain, or sorrow, and we will be with God as his people joyfully worshiping him forever (Revelation).

This is just a basic overview but having something even as simplistic as this helps us to place whatever we are reading in the proper Canon of the Bible so that we can determine where we are and where we are going. Another simplistic concept is to know that the entire Bible points to Jesus so no matter where you are reading you can ask the question:

How does this point me, the original reader, the concept, the law, the emotions etc. toward Jesus?

Here are some other helpful questions to ask:

How to read the Bible for All Its Worth Epistle Questions:

What are the letters, natural and logical divisions?

Jeremy Kimble’s “How can I get more out of my Bible reading?”

What covenants have come before?

How does that shape your understanding of the passage?

What covenants and promises come after what you’re reading, and how should that shape your understanding?

When we use this context tool we avoid some major pitfalls. First we realize there really is no benefit to blindly opening your Bible to a page and pointing. All that that will accomplish is confusion.

Secondly, it helps us not to interpret scripture falsely. People have used scripture to their own devices and to keep others in their place. This is spiritual abuse and should be called out wherever it is seen. We cannot use scripture to condone Slavery, or the demeaning of women, or the approval of homosexuality, or any number of other false interpretations.

Thirdly, context helps us to not miss the point. Scripture is nuanced and there is some much that we can take from the passage but we should never focus on the subpoints to the neglect of the main point. Those subpoints cannot be focused on outside the main point. So we should figure out the main point of the passage before we start to dissect it into its smaller subpoints.

Fourthly proper context cannot rewrite history. To ignore the events and historical eras in order to make the Bible say what you want to say is rewriting history. Jon Nielson says, “This is a very dangerous mindset in Bible study and interpretation because God’s word has indeed broken powerfully into our world in the midst of real historical events. To ignore these events and read the Bible as if it has no relation to the historical context in which it was written is to misrepresent the real history of this world.”

Putting it to Work

Let’s put our context tool to work by looking at a passage in light of the context we know and can see around it.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

What are some ways that Jeremiah 29:11 could be taken out of context to mean something that it really does not mean? Explain how, and why, this might happen.

Considering the wider context:

What is the historical context?

What is the literary context?

What is the canonical?

With that work done, what is the right interpretation of God’s promise to his people in Jeremiah 29:11?

Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

What are some ways that Philippians 4:13 could be taken out of context to mean something that it really does not mean? Explain how, and why, this might happen.

Considering the wider context:

What is the historical context?

What is the literary context?

What is the canonical?

With that work done, what is the right interpretation of God’s promise to his people in

Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

What are some ways that Revelation 3:20 could be taken out of context to mean something that it really does not mean? Explain how, and why, this might happen.

Considering the wider context:

What is the historical context?

What is the literary context?

What is the canonical?

With that work done, what is the right interpretation of God’s promise to his people in

For further study use 1 Cor. 13 and Genesis 39