Session 2: The Encyclopedia Approach to Words

Reading the Bible as a cross-cultural text is exciting. The idea of knowing you’re reading a translation preps you up for a challenge. You understand that there’s some extra work, extra effort you need to make.

Learning about the encyclopedia approach of reading the Bible is a fantastic experience. And as Lady Michelle said, I also never thought about it. It’s just so awesome. Imagine having to rely solely on the dictionary for the meanings of unfamiliar words or expressions! That would be quite limiting.

But with the encyclopedia mindset, as with the hard and soft copies of encyclopedia, one has the luxury of exploring the rich background of a word or concept, with many examples across time, place, people groups, and so on. And with this mental shift, we realize that the meaning of a word is never as simple as looking it up on a dictionary.

Since languages, cultures, history and ideas evolve over time, the usages and meanings of words equally change. To get the most out of a text therefore, (especially a cross-cultural text), we must make use of our mental and modern encyclopedia. However, the recipient must be careful not to impose their concepts into the text or into the author