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<html><head><title>Rule 3 - Interpret within the historical and
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cultural context</h2></div></div><p>
At first we are not asking "What does it mean to
me?" but "What did it mean to the original readers?"; later we can ask, "What does it mean to me?" We have to take
into account the historical and cultural background of the author and the recipients.</p><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><h3 class="title"><a name="h2-rules-hcontest-ex3a"></a>Example 3A</h3></div></div><p> "3 days & 3 nights" (Mt.12:40) have
led some to come up with a "Wednesday crucifixion
theory," esp. the cult of Armstrongism. How could Jesus die on Friday afternoon and rise Sunday morning
yet "be raised on the third day" (Mt.16:21)? Exact meanings of "three" or "days" won't help explain the
apparent contradiction.</p><p>We need an historical tidbit: Jews counted any part of a day as a full day, as we would count buckets
of water (if there were six and one-half buckets of water, we would say there were 7 buckets of water even if one was only partly full). So to the Jewish
mind, any part of a day counted as a full day, and days started at 6 p.m. and ended at 6 a.m. Friday from 3
p.m. to 6 p.m. = day 1. Friday 6 p.m. to Saturday 6 p.m. = day 2. Saturday 6 p.m. to Sunday 5 or so a.m. =
day 3. Interpreting within the cultural context keeps us out of trouble.</p></div><div class="section"><div class="titlepage"><div><h3 class="title"><a name="h2-rules-hcontest-ex3b"></a>Example 3B</h3></div></div><p>Gen.15:7-21. The historical context
is that cutting animals in two and then walking between
the pieces was the normal way of entering a contract in Abraham's day. Both parties walked between, taking
the pledge that dismemberment would happen to them if they didn't live up to their part of the contract. But
in this case only God goes thru, making it a unilateral covenant.</p></div></div><div id="bottom-nav" style="position : relative; width : 100%; height : 185px; left : 0px; right : 0px; top : 0px; margin-top: 100px; background-image : url('help:/common/bottom1.png'); background-repeat : repeat-x; background-color : transparent; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; z-index : 25;"><img src="help:/common/bottom2.png" align="right" height="59" width="227" alt="KDE Logo"><div id="navtable2" style="width : 100%; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; z-index : 15; background-color : transparent;"><table width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="position: absolute; top: 70px; left: 0px;"><tr><td width="33%" align="left" valign="top"><a href="h2-rules-context.html">Prev</a></td><td width="34%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="index.html">Home</a></td><td width="33%" align="right" valign="top"><a href="h2-rules-normal.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="33%" align="left">Rule 2 - Interpret within the biblical
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