Chapter 34

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF INTERPRETATION--1. Signification of the Terms employed how ascertained, with some Superadded Remarks--2. On Ascertaining the Sense of Scripture--3. The Scope General and Special--Its Supreme Importance illustrated--How the Scope is to be ascertained--The Author's Statements; Inferential Remarks; Historical Circumstances--Important Help derived from the Repeated and Careful Perusal of a Work--4. The Context defined and distinguished from the Scope--Indispensable Necessity of attending to it--This illustrated by Examples--Question respecting the Limits of the Context--In some Cases no Context exists--On the Use of Biblical Texts as Mottoes--Various Applications of the Principle contained in a Given Passage a Legitimate Mode of Exposition--5. Parallelisms Verbal and Real--Help derived from the Former--Subdivision of Real Parallelisms into Doctrinal and Historic--Importance of Doctrinal Parallelisms with Illustrations--Value of Historic Parallelisms illustrated--Difficulties arising from them, and the Principle of their Adjustment--Illustration--6. External Acquirements--Various Illustrations of the Importance of these--7. Sound Judgment--Office of this Quality illustrated--Inept Interpretations: Interpretations Contrary to the Nature of the Subject; Necessary Limitations of an Author's Meaning; Reconciliation of Apparent Contradictions; Forced and Unnatural Explanations and the Rejection of Well-established Facts--8. Remarks on the Proper Office of Reason in Interpretation