There are 2 reasons why we shouldn’t take a cookie cutter approach to interpreting the Bible.
Reason 1: We’re centuries separated from the culture and language of the ancient Middle East.
Reason 2: There are many different forms of literature present in the Scriptures.
It’s Reason 2 that I wanna focus on in this post.
As you know, there are many different kinds of literature present in our holy Bibles.
We’ve got narrative, prose and poetry.
We’ve also got a bunch of accounting records and laws.
So here’s the thing homies.
When reading the Scriptures, you gotta recognize what type of literature you’re looking at so you can interpret things in their proper context.
For instance, if you try and interpret poetry literally, you’re gonna run into a whole bunch of trouble.
Because unlike historical narratives, the purpose of Biblical poetry is to help us etch key events and lessons into our brains so they stay there.
That’s why a lotta rhyme and rhythm is employed.
This is similar to Yeshua’s parables.
They weren’t meant to be taken literally.
Again, historical narrative is a totally different can of worms altogether.
History is all about the accurate transmission of facts and should be taken as literally as possible.
Now if there’s any one type of Biblical literature that’s more misinterpreted than any other, it’s gotta be song.
Why?
Well, think about it man.
A song is filled with intense emotions and exaggerations.
In order for the author to get his or her point across, certain details are emphasized and others are omitted.
And not only that, a song is also very reflective of the moods and trends of the specific period of time in which it was created.
For instance, songs from the early 1940’s reflect World War II themes.
The music from this era ranges from concerns for family members fighting in faraway lands to mourning lives lost and sacrifices made.
On the other hand, songs from the early 70’s reflect a hippy, anti-authoritarian drug culture.
In that sense, you could consider songs to be tiny slices of history.
But they’re very subjective slices of history.
And not only that, songs also reflect the culture and slang of a given nation from a specific time period.
Consider if an ancient Middle Easterner was somehow exposed to these lyrics from the rap star Eminem.
“I’ve created a monster
‘Cause nobody wants to see Marshall no more
They want Shady, I’m chopped liver
Well if you want Shady, this is what I’ll give you
A little bit of weed mixed with some hard liquor
Some vodka that’ll jump start my heart quicker
Than a shock when I get shocked at the hospital
By the doctor when I’m not co-operating”
How do you think someone from centuries before is gonna interpret the above lyrics?
Probably not very well.
Because it makes zero sense without understanding the culture and times in which that song came about.
And the very same principle applies when we’re trying to understand Scripture.
Keep this in mind as we continue our study of the Song of Devorah.
Leave a Reply