This rule was designed by a Bible scholar for ease of use; that is, easy to remember, not always easy to apply.  The study of Scripture has been both rewarding and challenging for scholars for centuries.  What this principle helps us do is maintain a solid starting point for extracting meaning from the text. 

Golden Rule of Interpretation:

“When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate text, studied in light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, clearly indicate otherwise.”

Source:  David L. Cooper (1886-1965).  An Exposition of the Book of Revelation (1972), Biblical Research Society, p. 9.

This is the same principle of interpretation that is used to read any other historical text; this is why it is described as "normal," "ordinary" and "literal."  This rule of interepretation is also described as historical, literal and grammatical.  This is the rule to which the Prophecy Scholars League adheres in its approach to Bible study.

John F. Walvoord, Th.M., Th.D.

The Prophecy Knowledge Handbook. 1990. Victor Books, Wheaton, IL.

Basic principles of interpretation:

1. Understand what each word means in it normal grammatical-historical sense.
2. Seek the plain meaning intended behind figures of speech.
3. Take words in context.
4. Recognize the progress of divine revelation.
5. Expect language to be phenomenal rather than technical; phenomenal language describes things as they appear.
6. Consider the various kinds of literature and Scripture’s divisions.

Special principles of interpretation when examining prophecy:  (pp. 12-13)

1. Determine the meaning of significant words.
2. Determine the time focus of the prophecy: past, present, future.
3. Examine fulfilled prophecy as a guide for unfulfilled prophecy.
4. Determine whether prophecy is conditional or unconditional.
5. Look for the law of double reference, where there is more than one fulfillment of the prophecy.
6. Determine whether the reference is literal or figurative, and to what extent.
7. Assume that a prophecy is factual and literal unless there are good reasons for accepting the meaning in another sense.

“The science and art of interpreting the Bible” (Zuck, Roy, 1991, The Basics of Bible Interpretation,  Colorado Springs, CO: Victor, p. 10)

Exegesis

Defined, Described:

• “Application of the laws of interpretation” (Chafer, 1947, Systematic Theology, Vol. I, p. 115)
• Greek meaning of term: "leading out."

Kay Arthur’s interpretive principles:

Arthur, Kay, 1994. How to Study Your Bible.

1.       Remember that context rules.

2.       Always seek the full counsel of the Word.

3.       Remember that Scripture will never contradict Scripture.

4.       Do not base your doctrine on an obscure passage of Scripture.

5.       Interpret Scripture literally.

6.       Look for the Author’s intended meaning of the passage.

7.       Check your conclusions by using reliable commentaries.

Chafer’s “Rules and Principles of Procedure”

in his Systematic Theology, Vol. I, 1947, Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press, chapt. 7.

1.       The purpose of the Bible as a whole.

2.       The distinctive character and message of each book of the Bible.

3.       To whom is a given Scripture addressed?

4.       Consideration of the context.

5.       Consideration of all Scripture bearing on any given theme.

6.       Discovery of the exact meaning of the determinative words in the text.

7.       Necessity of avoiding personal prejudices.

Geoffrey W. Bromiley, MA, Ph.D., D. Litt., DD.

Principles of Interpretation (1979), in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 1, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, pp. 61-80.

General Principles:

1.       Objectivity.

2.       Receptivity.

3.       Heterocentricity. (finding a center outside the self)

Technical Principles:

1.       Natural Exegesis.

2.       Scientific Aids.

3.       Historical Study.

Theological Principles:

1.       Divine Authorship.

2.       Christology.

3.       The Role of the Spirit.

4.       Scriptural Unity.

Remaining problems of interpretation:

1.       Interpretation is always reformable due to incompleteness of textual, lexical and historical knowledge.

2.       Some decisions must be tenable but not regarded as definitive.

3.       Opinion is unavoidable.

4.       Cultural transplantion debates continue; it’s especially pertinent in determining the difference between central and peripheral.

5.       Applying concept of Bible unity creates differences (i.e., dispensationalism, progressive revelation).

6.       Sinfulness constantly militates against “true objectivity, receptivity, and reorientation” (Bromiley, 1979, p. 79).