It’s also important when thinking of literary context to know what kind of literature you are interpreting. If it’s the book of Genesis, then you have a narrative (story) context. The book of Psalms is Hebrew poetry. Not only do narrative and poetry read differently, but there are different laws of interpretation.

When discussing literary context there is the very immediate context, which is the verse before and after the one in question. The next immediate context is the paragraph before and after the text studied. The chapters before and after the one in question serve as the general context. The entire book is the book context. If the book’s author has other books in the Bible, then you have an authorial context. Lastly, there is the biblical context, which includes the entire Bible.

It is at this point that comparing Scripture with Scripture plays a dynamic role in interpretation. This comes from the pen of Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:13. “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” The Holy Spirit teaches by comparing spiritual things with spiritual. The following is an example of how this can work.

In Luke 14:26 Jesus says to his disciples, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” What are we to make of this? Is Jesus advocating hatred of relative? Is he teaching a hating of oneself and the practice of self-flagellation?