To some people, the language in which the Bible was written will make it difficult for some parts to be clearly understood. Lightfoot says: "The greatest difficulties of the Scripture lie in the language; unlock the language and phrases and the difficulty is gone." Since the Bible is a book for all ages and for all kinds of people, it was written in the kind of language and terminology that could be understood by the common people of all ages.
As Torrey says:
The most plain and obvious meaning of any passage in the Bible is always to be preferred to a subtle and ingenious one; for the Bible was written for plain, honest-minded, humble minded, common folk and not for a few sublimated mystics (R.A. Torrey, The Importance and Value of Proper Bible Study, p. 70).
The Bible is not a scientific textbook. As Tuck explains:
The object of the Bible is not to teach science, but moral and spiritual truth. Scientific facts and truths may be discovered by the intellect and industry of man, and hence no revelation of them is needed. But our origin and destiny, our relations to God, the way of peace and purity, the link between here and the hereafter — the highest wisdom of man has only guessed at these things, and here comes the need that God shall speak (Robert Tuck, Handbook of Scientific and Literary Bible Difficulties, p. 233).
Though the Bible does give the basic foundation for understanding science, it is written in language for the average man — not in some technical and scientific terminology that could be only understood by scientists and experts in fields of technology. "Each book was strictly adapted to the apprehension, and the capacity, of those who first received it" (Ibid., p. 234). When the "sun stood still" during the time of Joshua's long day, the Bible is not speaking in the language of scientists. Technically the earth may have stopped rotating. But to the observer on earth the "sun stood still."
Tuck makes this conclusion:
Beyond the legendary chapters of Genesis, which demand a separate and distinct treatment, there is no scientific statement in the whole Word of God that is gravely disputable, or beyond reasonable, easy, and common-sense explanation. When we have ceased, in familiar speech, to talk of the "sun rising and the sun setting," we may begin to complain of the Bible writers expressing themselves in the line of their natural observation rather than in the line of scientific precision (Ibid., p. 235).
Is the Language Figurative?
Much of the Bible is written in the form of poetry or in language that is descriptive or figurative. The description of a thunderstorm in Psalm 18 is a good example. In Psalm 42:9, David describes God as a rock and Psalm 91:4 speaks of His wings and feathers. These descriptions are not to be understood literally. The spiritual attributes of God are compared to physical objects so that we, as human beings, can more adequately comprehend spiritual beings. There would be no end of such "absurdities" if you were to interpret such passages in a literalistic and matter-of-fact way. We can know when a scripture is speaking in a figurative language if we are honest and use common sense when studying it.
Angus gives this rule about figurative language:
To ascertain, therefore, the meaning of any passage of Scripture, whether the words be employed figuratively or literally, we must ask the following questions: What is the meaning of the terms? If they have but one meaning, that is the sense. If they have several, we then ask, Which of those meanings is required by other parts of the sentence? If two or more meanings remain, then, What is the meaning required by the context, so as to make a consistent sense of the whole? If, still, more than one meaning remains, What then is required by the general scope? And, if this question fails to elicit a clear reply, What then is required by other passages of Scripture? (Joseph Angus, The Bible Handbook, P. 200.)
What did the writer intend to convey? We must not read a meaning of our own into that of the writer. "We must interpret literally everything which was meant to be interpreted literally, and we must interpret figuratively everything that was meant to be interpreted figuratively" (Martin Anstey, How 12, Master the Bible, p. 14). When Christ said to a certain man, "Let the dead bury their dead" (Luke 9:60), He could not have been speaking literally. He was talking about people who are spiritually dead — those without spiritual life — the unconverted (see I Tim. 5:6). Christ was calling this man to be his disciple in preaching the kingdom of God. This was a far more important calling than looking after elderly people until they die. Others who have no spiritual understanding can take care of such physical matters as burying the elderly when they die.
An Important Rule
Another rule to remember is: Any passage in the Bible should be understood as those who were addressed would have understood it. Words that were addressed to any people were generally intended to be understood by them. Paul wrote to the Corinthians and said, "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him" (I Cor. 16:2). Did he mean they were to collect an offering at their Sunday morning church service? The booklet, Which Day is the Sabbath of the New Testament? by Mr. Armstrong explains this was not the case at all. The Corinthians knew and understood that Paul was referring to a collection of food and clothing for the poor church members at Jerusalem. The Corinthians also knew that Paul was referring to meat offered to idols when he said, "Whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no questions for conscience sake" (I Cor. 10:27). The idea of eating unclean meat such as pork and rabbit didn't enter their minds. Yet, these scriptures are misunderstood today because people don't read Paul's letters from the point of view of those who received them. Paul's letter to Philemon cannot be really understood at all unless you know the background and what was on Paul's mind. Onesimus was once Philemon's slave who ran away and then became converted through Paul's preaching. Paul tactfully requests Philemon to take Onesimus back — not as a bondslave, but as a brother in Christ. Paul really wanted Philemon to willingly release Onesimus of his duties so Paul could use him in carrying out the gospel (verses 13-14). The tact and diplomacy Paul used is remarkable to see once you read the letter in this light. Another problem: some say the "fruit of the vine" in Matthew 26:29 means grape juice — that the word wine itself is not used in the Gospels in connection with the New Testament Passover. But, according to the Encyclopedia Biblica (article, "Wine"), "fruit of the vine" was an expression used by the Jews at that time in a benediction over the wine cup.
Figures of Speech
Everyone uses figures of speech, even though unknowingly. A figure is a word used out of its ordinary sense or put out of its usual order in a sentence. Or it could be a sentence constructed in a peculiar form such as by expressing something in an unusual manner. It is a deviation from a natural and simple way of expression. A figure may not be true to fact, but it is true to feeling. These figures of speech are often used in the English language. We may say, "the ground is thirsty" or "the crops suffer." These are not so true to fact, but truer to reality and to feeling. When we say "the kettle boils" we do not mean the kettle literally, but that the water in the kettle boils. Similar figures of speech were used in the Hebrew and Greek languages of the Bible. How can we recognize a figure of speech? Bullinger says:
Whenever and wherever it is possible, the words of Scripture are to be understood literally, but when a statement appears to be contrary to our experience, or to known fact, or revealed truth; or seems to be at variance with the general teaching of the Scriptures, then we may reasonably expect that some figure is employed. And as it is employed only to call our attention to some specially designed emphasis, we are at once bound to diligently examine the figure for the purpose of discovering and learning the truth that is thus emphasized. (E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible, p. xv.)
In his work of over 1,000 pages, Bullinger has classified 217 figures. There are figures that affect words and others that affect thoughts. There are figures involving omission, change, repetition and addition. The Greeks gave them such names as Ellipsis, Metonymy, Synecdoche, Asyndeton, Hypocatastasis and Metaphor. Examples of an ellipsis or omission are found in Matthew 5:20 and II Thessalonians 2:9. The ellipsis in these cases has been supplied by the translators and is given in italics in the King James Version. An example where the ellipsis is not supplied is in I Corinthians 7:19 which should be correctly rendered as: "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but [on the contrary] the keeping of the commandments of God [is something]." Bible writers will also use figures of speech involving change. Certain things may be said to be done by one man in one place whereas in another place it may be said to be done by another person who acted on his behalf (see Mat. 8:5-6 compared with Luke 7:2-3 and Mark 10:35 compared with Mat. 20:20). Sometimes the plural is used when the remark is actually to be applied to one person only (see Mat. 26:8 and John 12:4; Mat. 27:44 and Luke 23:39-42). In these cases there is actually no contradiction. Figures of speech involving repetition and addition will usually present no difficulty. They are used for emphasis.
Hebrew Idioms
The King James Version of the Old Testament often uses the idioms and expressions of the original Hebrew. These are to be understood, therefore, not according to the English, but according to the Hebrew idiom. When expressing comparison, for example, love and hate were used as an expression for preferring one thing to another. Genesis 29:31 says Jacob "hated" Leah, but the previous verse shows that it was only a matter of Rachel being loved more than Leah — a matter of comparison (see also Deut. 21:15). The Jews in the time of Christ continued to use this type of expression. Thus it is said in Luke 14:26, "If any man come to me, and hate not his father..." whereas Matthew 10:37 says, "He that loveth father or mother more than me...." It is thus clear that "hate" is a relative term that means our love for our parents is like hatred in comparison with the love we should have for Jesus Christ. We are not told to literally hate our loved ones. Most, if not all, of these idioms and figures of speech can be easily clarified by consulting a translation in modern English. A good translator will be aware of these expressions and will translate them into the English equivalent if possible. A translation is never as good as the original, of course, and there will invariably be some loss. This loss, however, will not affect our understanding of the basic doctrines and the truth of God's plan and purpose.
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