🔑 Key 6, Genre key Part 2: Remaining Genres & Application
- Thad DeBuhr
- Nov 24
- 10 min read
Updated: 13 hours ago
Day 9 of 11: STOP Reading the Bible Wrong: Use the 6 Keys to Unlock Context
DON'T MISS THE FREE GENRE CHEAT SHEET & VIDEOS ABOUT THE WHOLE STORY OF THE BIBLE --- SCROLL DOWN TO THE RESOURCES SECTION
Remember: Think of the Bible like a library.
Before we dive into the final four genres, let's remember the core principle from yesterday: Your Bible is a Library, not a single book!
Just as you wouldn't read a cookbook the same way you read a novel, you must recognize the genre (the "section of the library") you are in before you start reading. This step sets your expectations and determines the rules for interpretation.
Reminder: The Two Pillars of the Genre Key
Yesterday, we established that the Genre Key is built on two pillars:
Genre is the Rulebook: Reading the text according to its proper literary type.
The Master Map: Understanding that the entire Bible tells one unified story of Creation, Fall, and ultimate Redemption through Jesus.
Today, we will cover the final four genres and learn how to apply the Genre Key immediately.
Before you dig into the story in this lesson, I would encourage you to read through the passage in two different bible translations from this list: NIV, NLT, NASB, ESV, NKJV
Learn more about our exciting out-of-the-box ministry here
Genres 5-8: Messages, Feelings, and the Future
5. Poetry (Examples: Psalms, Song of Solomon, Lamentations)
What it is: Creative writing used to express deep human feelings, sadness, worship, and love using rhythm and powerful metaphors (like songs).
How to read it: Read to understand emotions and metaphors (like calling God a 'rock'). The meaning is in the feeling or comparison, not in a literal, rigid doctrine.
6. Epistles (Examples: Romans, 1 Corinthians, and all other New Testament letters)
What it is: Formal letters written by early leaders (like Paul) to specific church communities or individuals to give them instruction, correct mistakes, and clarify Jesus’s teaching.
How to read it: Treat it like a one-sided conversation. To understand the answer, you must know the original problems or questions the recipients were dealing with.
7. Prophecy (Examples: Isaiah through Malachi, and Revelation)
What it is: Messages from God, delivered by a prophet, that give warnings, call people back to God, or predict future events (near or far).
How to read it: Look for the main warning and the overarching plan of God. Don't assume you know everything; some parts are deliberately unclear and only reveal the truth in time.
8. Apocalyptic (Examples: Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Revelation)
What it is: A very specific type of prophecy that uses intense, often bizarre symbols and dramatic imagery (beasts, strange numbers, heavenly visions) to talk about world crisis.
How to read it: Interpret the symbols by checking how they are used in the rest of the Bible. Do not make up your own meanings or let emotion guide your interpretation.
Applying The Genre Key: Your Decoder Guide
When you encounter a new book or chapter, the goal is always to pause and ask two core questions: "What am I reading? And where does it fit on the Master Map?"
Here is your four-point checklist for making sure you read the Bible correctly every time:
1. Identify the Genre
Before reading, quickly look up or recognize the genre of the text (e.g., Law, Narrative, Prophecy, Poetry, Epistle). This step defines the rules for interpretation.
🛑 Doing it Wrong (The Default Mistake): You open up a letter from Paul (like Romans) and assume every sentence is a timeless quote that stands alone, without looking at the whole letter's argument.
✅ Doing it Right (Setting the Rules): You open up a New Testament letter and identify it as an Epistle. You know this means you must read the entire letter, from beginning to end, to understand the flow of the argument.
2. Determine the Rule
Ask: "What are the rules for reading this type of writing? Should I look for an emotional truth (Poetry) or a specific historical contract (Law)?"
🛑 Doing it Wrong (Misusing the Rule): You read a passage in the book of Revelation about a seven-headed beast and decide it must represent a specific modern-day political leader. You ignore that these symbols (beasts, horns, numbers) are used throughout the Old Testament.
✅ Doing it Right (Context is Key): You recognize the passage as Apocalyptic and ask: "How are these symbols defined in other parts of the Bible (like the book of Daniel)?" You correctly conclude these images represent types of earthly powers and empires, not necessarily one specific modern person.
3. Place it on the Map
Ask: "Does this passage fall in the 'Kingdom Established,' the long 'Kingdom Lost,' or the 'Kingdom Restored' section of the Bible's story?"
🛑 Doing it Wrong (Just a Moral Story): You read the Book of Lamentations (Poetry) and focus only on the deep sadness and pain described, concluding that the entire message is about despair.
✅ Doing it Right (Seeing the Big Picture): You place Lamentations in the 'Kingdom Lost' section of the Bible (during the Babylonian exile). You understand the pain is real, but it confirms the truth that God will restore His people as part of the bigger Redemption plan.
4. Find the Connection to Jesus
If the passage is from the Old Testament ("Kingdom Lost"), ask: "How does this event or rule show the need for Jesus, or how does it point toward the solution that Jesus provides?"
🛑 Doing it Wrong (Only Seeing the Past): You read a Prophecy passage about a coming King who will save Israel (like in Isaiah) and you think the prophecy was only fulfilled by King Cyrus or another historical figure.
✅ Doing it Right (Seeing the Fulfillment): You read the Prophecy and ask how it points to Jesus. You see that the prophecy describes a perfect, eternal King (Jesus) whose reign is still unfolding, fulfilling the deepest meaning of the prophecy far beyond any temporary historical fulfillment. Every Old Testament book points forward to the solution God provides in Jesus!
FEATURED RESOURCES:
Are you reading a poem like a legal contract? Are you treating wisdom literature like a guaranteed promise?
The Bible is a Library of 66 books, not a single book. If you read History, Law, Poetry, and Prophecy with the same expectations, you will misapply the text every time.
Unlock the author's original intended meaning today!
Get the FREE Bible Genre Cheat Sheet—your ultimate guide to the 8 biblical genres. It gives you the rules you need to read every book correctly.
✅ The rule for reading Law (Leviticus). ✅ The focus when reading Poetry (Psalms). ✅ The core context needed for reading Epistles (Romans).
Stop guessing and start interpreting with confidence!
The "short" version of How the whole Bible fits together!
The "Long" version of How the whole Bible fits together!
The Restoration of All Things
If you’ve ever wondered what the Bible is all about, this is the teaching for you. This teaching tackles the entire Bible from Genesis 1 through Revelation 22, providing the overarching narrative and highlighting every significant character, event, and theme within, for the purpose of rooting the placement and context of the Kingdom of Heaven for the remainder of the Kingdom and Empires series. Only when we understand this grand narrative and the major movement of shalom can we truly understand why Jesus came proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of Heaven, and what part we play in this unfolding story.
Day One Video Here
Day Two Video Here
Meet Your Resources 📚
How many times have you listened to a powerful sermon or teaching, heard the context revealed, and thought, "That's incredible! How did the pastor know that?"
Often, teachers will say, "Here's this great study method," but they don't give you the rest of the essential information: what reliable resources they use, or how they discovered the rich historical and political intel they are including in their lesson. That changes here.
With this series, we want to be completely transparent. We want to teach you the method (The Six Keys) AND point you directly to the trusted resources we use to teach those keys. These commentaries are your investment in understanding the Worldview Key and applying it to every biblical book.
Your Essential Context Library
1. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament
Overview: This volume is structured like a commentary, moving through the New Testament book by book, verse by verse. It focuses entirely on providing the cultural, historical, and social background needed to understand the text. It helps you see the Honor/Shame conflicts, the Greco-Roman cultural pressures, and the common rabbinic practices that influence the text.
Why it helps with the Worldview Key: It is essentially a Worldview Translator, giving you rapid access to the cultural details behind Paul's arguments or Jesus's parables, making sense of why characters acted the way they did.
2. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
Overview: The Old Testament counterpart to the New Testament volume. It provides cultural, historical, and archaeological notes on virtually every passage in the Old Testament, explaining the tribal society practices, ancient Near Eastern laws, and the temple's central role in the Hebrew worldview.
Why it helps with the Worldview Key: It illuminates the Hebrew mindset, showing how their life was completely governed by external covenant obligation (their form of honor/shame) rather than personal, internal feelings of guilt.
3. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Set: Old Testament
Overview: A multi-volume, richly illustrated set that digs into the historical, geographical, and archaeological context of the Old Testament. It features photos, maps, and drawings that bring the ancient Near East to life, helping you visualize the agrarian and tribal societies.
Why it helps with the Worldview Key: The illustrations and in-depth articles provide a visual and thematic understanding of the cultural pillars—from village life and family structure to the political hierarchy of the surrounding empires—making the Honor/Shame context tangible.
4. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Set: New Testament
Overview: The New Testament companion set, focusing on the Greco-Roman world, the social stratification, and the various Jewish sects of the first century. It provides detailed commentary on the cultural situations behind the Gospels and Epistles.
Why it helps with the Worldview Key: This resource excels at explaining the Greco-Roman cultural clash, detailing the honor-seeking values of Paul's audience (e.g., in Corinth or Ephesus) and making clear why the Gospel message was so revolutionary to people seeking public status.
💡 Budget Recommendation: Best Bang for the Buck
If you are just starting and need to choose the most cost-effective and accessible tools, I highly recommend starting with The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament and The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament.
These two volumes together provide the most direct, practical, and comprehensive cultural commentary for your budget, making them the best choice for immediately applying the Worldview Key to your daily reading.
A Word on Study Bibles
Most modern Life Application Study Bibles are designed to help you find quick, topical tips for your personal struggles today. While there may be truth in their takeaways, they often guide you toward a quick, modern conclusion without first requiring you to think about the Bible as an ancient text, not written to you today. They prioritize a personal takeaway over the original historical context.
To truly master the method of The Six Keys, you need a study Bible that prioritizes the WHEN and the WHO before the what-should-I-do-today.
To that end, I would strongly suggest you put your life application study Bible on the shelf for this season and go with a resource that focuses on the necessary context instead: the Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible.
The Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible
This excellent study Bible is available in a few different translations, and knowing the difference between them will help you choose the best fit for your style of reading and studying.
To truly master the method of The Six Keys, you need a study Bible that prioritizes the WHEN and the WHO before the what-should-I-do-today.
Choosing Your Best Fit: Translation Guide
This great resource is available in the NIV (New International Version), NKJV (New King James Version), and NRSV (New Revised Standard Version). Here is a breakdown to help you choose:
The New International Version (NIV): This is a very popular and highly recommended choice for new readers. The NIV works to achieve a good balance between being very accurate to the original words and making the text flow naturally in modern English. It's easy to read and understand without losing the seriousness of the ancient message.
Best for: Most new Bible readers who want clarity and easy reading for their initial deep dive.
The New King James Version (NKJV): This version keeps the traditional tone and rhythm of the classic King James Bible but updates the older, confusing language. It works hard to match the original words precisely.
Best for: Readers who prefer a more traditional, formal sound but still want the accuracy needed for serious study.
The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV): This translation is highly valued by scholars and universities for its precise, literal translation of the original languages. Because it prioritizes literal word-for-word accuracy, the phrasing can sometimes feel a little less natural or fluent to a brand new reader.
Best for: Readers who are ready to tackle a slightly more technical reading experience for maximum scholarly precision.
I have the hard copy of this version, but upon recent searches, it does not appear to be available except on Amazon Kindle or E-Book versions.
This resource offers thousands of detailed notes that specifically explain the customs, political situations, and historical backdrop necessary for correct interpretation. It moves you past superficial applications and into the rich, true meaning of the original message.
BE SURE TO WATCH THE VIDEO PODCAST THAT GOES WITH THIS STUDY GUIDE
See viewer comments and questions on screen at the end of the podcast.
🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-daily-bible-podcast-with-pastor-thad/id1838217398
🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6NA8lvRahCOhBNTxWaI16Q
🎧 Listen on Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2a5a9f7e-e5b3-4fd6-a523-20da6910774a
🎧 Listen on PodBean: https://www.podbean.com/pw/pbblog-xbsb7-1450dee
MORE RESOURCES TO HELP YOU GROW AS A CHRISTIAN
Your Jesus Journey is an independent, non-denominational Christian ministry. We're fueled by God's grace and the generosity of our supporters. Our team—led by Pastor Thad and his wife Kaila—is made up of dedicated disciples from all over the United States. Together, we work to help people understand the Bible, find Christian friends, and grow as disciple-makers.
Be sure to grab our free E-Book, "Stop Reading the Bible Wrong: 7 Strategic Shifts that Change Everything." Just click the Free Gift button at the top of our website, and we'll send it to you today!
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To learn more about YJJ, Thad and Kaila, and Your Jesus Journey, check out our ABOUT US section: https://www.yourjesusjourney.com/learn-about-thad-and-kaila-and-the-journey-church-online.
There's lots more to see and learn on our website, from our "what we believe" page to hundreds of blogs. We encourage you to swing on by and take a look around at www.YourJesusJourney.com!
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