St. Augustine

St. Augustine mentioned several points that people need to use in order to analyze and understandscriptures. One of the points that he mentions is to know the language(s) in which the text was written and to be well familiarized with the symbolism embedded in some terms. Certain terms have different metaphorical and hidden meanings in different languages. Using a specific language, people can identify key words used in figurative expressions, which may shed light on the idea it is trying to address. Without knowing the concepts or places the word symbolizes, the text may seem unintelligible. A snake in a passage of a text could be taken literally instead of figuratively. Zion could be interpreted as a city instead of Mount Zion (Israel).

Important metaphors or analogies could hide the true meaning of the Psalms. This point could help interpret the Psalms. In the Psalms a few passages refer to
God dominating a sea monster. I was puzzled after reading these because I assumed it referred to a shark of which people were afraid because of an accident that happened to them. But then I read the footnotes, which clarified its significance. The sea monster was an idea from canaanite religion/mythology that was incorporated into the Psalms. Without being familiar with these words that have hidden meanings, then I would not have understood those Psalms. Several of the Psalms contain metaphorical expressions, such as pit, Leviathon, lyre, etc. that would have remained mysteries if people had not studied the language and the meanings attached to them.