Chapter 6: The Grammatico-Historical Sense

The previous chapters lay the groundwork of discerning the meaning of words in order to consider grammatico-historical sense of Scripture. The grammatical sense of Scripture is the same as the literal sense. It is the approach to the Scriptures that takes a simple, direct, and plain sense of its phrases and sentences. The historical sense seeks to transport the interpreter back in time as it were and consider the manners, customs, and times in which the Scriptures were written. The true work of an exegete can do nothing more than take the biblical author at his word and derive his grammatical principles from the author’s own use of language. The biblical interpreter should also trace the historical data to gain a better understanding of the usus loquendi of a biblical writer.

The essential principles for determining the meaning of words can be justly applied to discovering the grammatico-historical sense of Scripture. Attention to internal definitions given by the author and form used assuming the author never means to contradict himself. Examining the whole text of a book or letter to gain its subject, scope, and purpose should also be sought to gain a proper grammatical construction of sentences. This should be done as much as possible from the author’s historical viewpoint. The grammatico-historical sense is singular in nature. It must never be presumed that the biblical author seeks to speak in a riddles and double meanings unless the text itself indicates such. It is upon this principle that the miracles of the Bible are taken literally. There is no indication from the text of the account of the events that the authors meant anything other than to relay an actual event.

If such reasoning is to be rejected, then what could be said of the resurrection of Jesus? The biblical accounts of the resurrection give the reader no ground to interpret the event as anything other than an actual historical occurrence. Jesus’ resurrection is indeed a literal and historical event. The plain, simple, and direct accounts and teaching regarding the resurrection of Jesus throughout the entire New Testament leave no other conclusion than the event happened as the author’s described it did, or that they willfully and knowingly lied about it for which they were willing to suffer horrendous trials and deaths to maintain the falsehood. No one in their right mind would do such a thing.

Employing the grammatico-historical interpretation of Scripture necessitates that the interpreter be familiar with the original languages of the Bible. The positions of words or phrases in the Greek language sometimes indicate particular emphasis. Verb tenses also serve to illume the text with regard to present, past, or continual action not always discernable in translations. The Scripture itself exhorts the man of God to be diligent to show himself approved of God as workman, or laborer, that doesn’t need to be ashamed (2 Timothy 2:15). Therefore, such principles that teach us to pay close attention to the meaning of words, their tenses and moods, their relationship to one another, the use of language, and the scope, context, and plan of the biblical author are the labors of the one who loves the Scriptures.