The true meaning of a passage is the meaning intended by the original author (authorial intent)
Individual passages are products of different historical circumstances (historical context)
Ideas develop over time
Archaeology - dig up remnants of ancient world
Social-scientific - economics, power, politics
Form criticism - small oral units for certain occassions
Source criticism - different documents and authors within a biblical book
Redaction criticism - editors made books out of various stories
Text criticism - comparing versions to distinguish original text from errors in copying
Readerly interpretation - meaning is the interaction between the text and the reader
Many readers so many meanings
What the Bible means today or means to me may be different from what it meant to the original authors
Modern scholars claim to be neutral but everyone is biased so embrace your perspective