Do you ever struggle to understand when Scripture’s words should be interpreted as literal or figurative? Many Christians do. But don’t be discouraged: You can still learn how to interpret God’s Word faithfully!
It is important to know that literal interpretation speaks of literal hermeneutics. This term refers to grammatical-historical interpretation, a method of understanding Scripture through analyzing its linguistic and historical context.
When reading the Bible, we should understand its words in their normal contextual meaning. We do not search for hidden meanings that are not in the biblical text. Scripture’s meaning does not come from the reader’s imagination but from what the text actually says.
One early church father declared incorrectly that in Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37), the inn where the Good Samaritan took the beaten man represented the church. Nothing in the context supports such an idea. This reader-based interpretation is sometimes called allegory. Instead, the reader must let the text provide the actual meaning.
We understand figures of speech in our own languages intuitively, but in the Bible, we have to study them carefully to ensure we grasp their meaning.
When examining a single expression, we must determine whether to take it literally or figuratively. In all languages, people use figures of speech frequently. In English, we note that an overcooked steak is “tough as nails.” In reality, the steak is not as difficult to chew as nails (hopefully!), but the phrase gives us a word picture that quickly provides a vivid meaning. Another example is a sportscaster announcing that a batter “hit the ball a mile” for a home run. Of course, no one hits the ball a literal mile. Rather, this hyperbole or exaggeration makes a point stick in listeners’ minds. Most people easily understand figures of speech in normal conversation or literature.
When we read the Bible, however, we are separated from the writings by language, culture, and time. This distance makes discerning biblical figures of speech a bit more difficult, but it is still possible to comprehend them! We understand figures of speech in our own languages intuitively, but in the Bible, we have to study them carefully to ensure we grasp their meaning. Here are two methods to ensure correct interpretation.
1. Consider Biblical Context
Figures of speech must be understood in context. One controversial example is Jesus’ statement in John 6:54–55: “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.” Some have taken Jesus’ body and blood in this passage in a woodenly literal way to justify the idea that, in communion, we literally eat Jesus’ flesh and blood to help gain eternal life.
However, when we examine the contexts of both chapter 6 and the rest of the Gospel of John, we see that eating Jesus’ flesh and blood is a figurative term. The context of John 6 shows that Jesus was talking about partaking of His imminent death on the cross by faith (John 6:35–36, 40, 47). John also used the metaphor of drinking Jesus’ “living water” as a figure of speech to proclaim “putting faith” in Christ (4:7–14). In John 7:37–39, the text clearly equates coming to Christ to drink as believing in Him. Jesus used many other figures of speech throughout the Gospel to represent placing faith in Him for salvation (6:35; 8:12; 10:9, 11; 15:5).
2. Reference Previous Passages
Figures of speech are sometimes defined for us in earlier passages. For example, John writes of a vision of “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars” (Revelation 12:1). Who is this woman who is about to give birth to the Christ child (v. 2, 5)? Some believe she is Mary. However, the woman is called a “sign,” which means she is symbolic (v. 1). Another view designates the woman as the church. However, Christ gave birth to the church, so the church could not give birth to Christ. The best view identifies the woman as Israel. The image of Israel as the sun, moon, and stars was defined way back in Genesis 37:9–11 when Jacob, his wife, and their sons were described symbolically as the sun, moon, and stars.
Jesus used many figures of speech throughout the Gospel to represent putting faith in Him for salvation.
Similarly, when most people read that Christ will return with a sword coming out of His mouth to smite His enemies, they do not take it literally (Revelation 19:15). Christ is not going to have a piece of steel hanging off of His tongue when He comes back. Instead, the image is a picture of Messiah Jesus destroying His enemies by the power of His word. In fact, the image of an instrument of judgment in His mouth appeared as far back as Isaiah 11:4, where it was prophesied that the Messiah will strike the earth with the “rod of His mouth” and kill the wicked with the “breath of His lips.” This makes the figure of speech in Revelation 19:15 both certain and vivid.
Everyone who reads the Bible should understand confidently that he or she can interpret figures of speech correctly. Although many methods of literal interpretation are helpful, two of them stand out: (1) interpreting based upon context, and (2) referencing figures of speech used and defined earlier in the Scriptures.
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