When we try to teach or apply Old Testament passages to modern audiences, one of the biggest challenges is making sure we are interpreting the text correctly before we attempt to apply it. That sounds obvious, but in practice it is surprisingly easy to miss.

After working through the readings in this course, a few principles stand out to me as especially important when expositing and contextualizing Old Testament passages. These principles help guard against misinterpretation and help us communicate the message of the text more faithfully.

1. Context Is Not Optional

The first takeaway that stands out to me is the importance of context.

That includes historical context, cultural context, theological context, and linguistic context. Each of these helps shape how a passage should be understood. Ignoring any one of them can easily lead to misunderstanding the text.

John Walton explains this well when he points out how frustrating it is when our own words are taken out of context. He writes that “most of us have experienced the discomfort of a situation where someone takes a few words that we have said and twists them into something that we never intended, with negative consequences.”¹

The same thing can happen with Scripture.

If we isolate verses from their context or read them through modern assumptions, we can easily twist the meaning into something the author never intended. That is why context is not just helpful. It is essential.

Understanding the historical setting, the cultural background, and the theological flow of the passage helps ensure that we are actually hearing what the text is communicating.

2. Genre Shapes Interpretation

Another crucial principle is understanding genre.

The Bible contains many different types of literature, including narrative, law, poetry, wisdom literature, prophecy, and apocalyptic writing. Each genre communicates truth in different ways.

If we read poetry the same way we read historical narrative, we are going to misinterpret the text. The same is true if we treat apocalyptic imagery as straightforward narrative description.

Recognizing the genre helps us understand how the text was meant to function.

Walton illustrates this principle when discussing ancient creation accounts. He explains that in the ancient Near Eastern world, order and purpose were often the primary concerns. He writes, “In the creation accounts of the ancient Near Eastern world, order is arguably the highest value, and purpose is the most important question… When we force our (scientific) priorities on the text, we therefore risk losing any possibility of addressing what was most important to them.”²

In other words, reading Genesis as if it were written to answer modern scientific questions can cause us to miss the message the text was actually communicating.

Understanding genre allows us to interpret the passage within the framework it was originally written in.

3. Read Like the Original Audience

The final takeaway that stands out to me is the importance of reading Scripture the way the original audience would have understood it.

Walton makes a striking statement about this. He writes that “we don’t want to read like a White person, like a Black person, like an Asian person, or like a Latinx person; we want to read like an ancient Israelite… We want to read like the audience to whom the author was communicating.”³

That means stepping outside our modern assumptions and doing the work necessary to understand the ancient world.

It requires learning about the cultural setting of the text, the metaphors used by the original audience, the language patterns of the time, and the worldview that shaped how people understood reality.

This kind of study helps us see Scripture more clearly.

Walton warns that if interpretation becomes centered only on the reader’s perspective, the authority of Scripture is lost. He explains that “if the only voice that we can possibly hear is that of the reader, we are left without an authoritative message from God.”⁴

That is a powerful reminder that faithful interpretation requires humility. We have to be willing to step outside our own assumptions and listen carefully to what the text is actually saying.

Faithful Interpretation Leads to Faithful Application

Ultimately, contextualizing Old Testament passages for modern audiences begins with faithful interpretation.

Before we can apply the message of the text to our lives today, we have to understand what the text meant to its original audience. That requires careful attention to context, awareness of genre, and a willingness to approach Scripture from the perspective of the people who first received it.

When we take those steps seriously, we are far more likely to communicate the message of Scripture in a way that honors both the text and the God who inspired it.

Footnotes

1. John H. Walton, Wisdom for Faithful Reading: Principles and Practices for Old Testament Interpretation (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2023), 8.
2. Ibid., 95.
3. Ibid., 186.
4. Ibid.

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