This page introduces key tools used by scholars to study and interpret the Bible. These methods help us better understand the biblical authors’ intentions by placing their words in historical context, recognising literary style and identifying how texts were shaped and compiled. Each tool helps us “get at” the deeper meaning behind the words on the page.
“Since God speaks in Sacred Scripture through men in human fashion, the interpreter of Sacred Scripture, in order to see clearly what God wanted to communicate to us, should carefully investigate what meaning the sacred writers really intended, and what God wanted to manifest by means of their words.”
— Dei Verbum, §12
The literary tool of understanding writing in the historical, cultural, and biographical context of the author, as a means of "getting at" the intended meaning of their text.
The literary tool of understanding writing in the context of the literary genre and conventions in which an author composed a text, as a means of "getting at" the intended meaning of their text.
The literary tool of understanding writing in the context of the original and independent sources that went into the composite text as we see it today, as a means of "getting at" the intended meaning of the text.