Rightly Divide · Exegesis vs Eisegesis · Lesson 1

Context changes everything

Two of the most quoted verses in the Bible are usually quoted wrong. Read them in context and watch what changes.

10 minutes7 flashcards6 quiz questionsLeader pack

Every verse in the Bible means something. The question is whether it means what the speaker says it means. Two skills decide that. Exegesis draws the meaning out of the text: what did the author say, to the people he wrote to, in the words around the verse? Eisegesis does the opposite. It reads a meaning in, starting with what we want the verse to say and bending the text until it agrees.

Paul set the standard for Timothy, a young pastor surrounded by people mishandling Scripture:

Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15 (BSB)

Accurately handling the word of truth is work. It is also protection, because the verses most often mishandled are usually the most loved ones. Two of them carry this whole lesson. Each is read twice below: the way it is usually quoted, and then in its context. Watch what changes.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

2 Timothy 3:16 (BSB)

Reconstruction: the great bronze Nicanor Gate of Herod's Temple in Jerusalem, with the temple courts around it
The Nicanor Gate of Herod's Temple, the bronze doors between the courts: a reconstruction of the temple Jesus and the apostles knew. Jeremy Park, Bible-Scenes.com, via Free Bible Images. CC BY 4.0

Jeremiah 29:11, the promise on the poster

As it is usually read

"God has a plan to prosper me. This verse proves my life will go well: the job, the exam, the future I want. God has said so, personally, to me."

Read in context

Read the chapter. Jeremiah wrote a letter to the exiles in Babylon, people deported from their homes. Verse 10 sets the timetable: after seventy years in Babylon, God would restore them. Verse 7 tells them how to spend the wait: seek the prosperity of the city that held them captive, and pray for it. The plans of verse 11 are God's plans for that people, on that timetable, ending in a return home. Read in place, the verse teaches something stronger than the poster version: God keeps his word to his people across seventy hard years, and his people can trust him inside a long, unwanted season. It is a promise about God's faithfulness, not a guarantee that any individual's next year will prosper.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 (BSB)

For this is what the LORD says: “When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place.

Jeremiah 29:10 (BSB)

Seek the prosperity of the city to which I have sent you as exiles. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

Jeremiah 29:7 (BSB)

Philippians 4:13, the verse on the gym wall

As it is usually read

"I can achieve anything I set my mind to. This verse is my fuel for the tryout, the audition, the business plan. With Christ's strength, no goal of mine can fail."

Read in context

Read the paragraph. Paul is writing from prison, thanking a church for a gift. In verses 11 and 12 he says he has learned the secret of being content in every situation: filled or hungry, plenty or need. Verse 13 is the secret itself. The "all things" are the circumstances of verse 12, enduring hardship and enjoying plenty without either one mastering him. The strength Christ gives is strength for contentment, and verse 19 adds God's promise to supply his people's needs. Read in place the verse does not shrink. It grows: Christ is enough in the cell as well as in the palace.

I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances.

Philippians 4:11 (BSB)

I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound. In any and every situation I have learned the secret of being filled and being hungry, of having plenty and having need.

Philippians 4:12 (BSB)

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

Philippians 4:13 (BSB)

And my God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19 (BSB)

Three questions that guard any verse

Before you quote a verse, ask three questions of it. Who is speaking, and who were they speaking to? What do the verses immediately around it say? And does my reading fit the whole Bible, since Scripture interprets Scripture? Paul promised Timothy that this kind of careful handling leaves a workman unashamed. It also leaves him with verses that survive contact with real life, because they were never made to promise what God did not say.

so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:17 (BSB)

Words to know

  • Exegesis. Drawing the meaning out of a text: what the author said, to the people he wrote to, in the words around the verse.
  • Eisegesis. Reading a meaning into a text: starting with what we want the verse to say and bending it until it agrees.
  • Context. Everything that surrounds a verse and fixes its meaning: the chapter, the book, the audience, the moment in the story.

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