Audience as Interpreter

Using Outside Help

  • Commentary
  • Handbook
  • Dictionary
  • Concordanance

Using Good Sources

  • Mark 10:2
    • One source say that there was a gate in Jerusalem called "Needle's Eye" and that a camel would have to kneel down to pass it
    • But that is simply not true, and the point of the parable was that, it is impossible for a rich man to enter into heaven
    • Source

Psalm 14:1 "...There is no God..."

Literary Context

  • Words have meaning in sentences and sentences have meaning in paragraphs, and paragraph have meaning in context to each other

Hebrew 6:19

  • If you don't know anything about the Tabernacle, the High priest, and the Day of Atonement, what would you think the curtain is?
  • Thankfully you are able to get the context

The early church did not meet in church building but in homes

Reading Psalm 125:2 and how we interpret it will be drastically different based on our experience of mountains vs the original audience's experience of mountains in the Middle East

Bible Translation

Mandarin to English

  • 加油！
  • literally "Add oil"?
  • "do you best!"? or "break a leg?"
  • ChatGPT -> "keep it up!" or "go for it!"
  • Google Translate -> "come on"

Rom 13:14 "Flesh"

  • Physical or Spiritual?
  • Body, KJV, NIV, NRSV, NASB, ESV
  • Sinful Flesh, GNT, NLT

Cross: a "+" shape v.s. "T" shape

Vineyard -> Israel

Rightly understand what Paul mean by "Flesh" can flesh this out

"The Donkey crushes the Elephant"

  • Democrats wins against the Republicans in a land slide

A good translation would usually include notes like this in the footnote (ESV, NIV, NLT, NASB)

Matthew 20:1-16 Denarius ("penny", KJV; "a dollar", MSG) is a day's wages

Psalm 119:105

  • Should we modernize "lamp" to flash light?
  • Reading 2 Cor. 5:16 (in NASB, ESV)
    • The phrase "according to the flesh" can be understood in two ways
      1. "We" regarded Christ according to the flesh (worldly) point of view
      2. Regarded Christ in His flesh being physically here on earth.
    • The NIV made the interpretation that it is the "Worldy point of view" that they regarded Chris in

Let Scripture Interpret Scripture

  • The more you know the easier it gets

Matthew 22:23-32 Question About Resurrection

  • They [[Sadducees]] are in error because:
    • They don't know Scripture
    • They don't know the power of God

Snow -> Inuit/Eskimo Lotus (Joel 1:4) -> Israel

  • Not sure if there are differences between the different type of lotuses, could be one kind of lotus successive swarm.
  • Or could also be different names for different type of lotuses or lotuses swarms, just like how the Inuits have different names for snow, while we have few names for snow
  • What if someone was really looking for God and followed the moral law written on their heart, but never heard of Jesus. What would happen to them when they die?
  • Does the Bible approve of Slavery?
  • Exodus 23:19, study of culture
  • Criticism of the Bible/Christianity

Chinese Canadian

"You are a Banana", "The banana fields are full but the workers are few"

Yolk

Egg Yolk or Farm Yolk?