One of my favorite apologists explains very neatly about how important it is to know about the author, the time and place where he lived, the customs of his time, who his target audience was, and much more when trying to understand the meaning of ancient texts. He is speaking of the Bible with this particular example.

Look at the varied meanings of this simple sentence:

I didn't say you stole the money.

I didn't say you stole the money. (someone else said it)
I didn't say you stole the money. (I didn't say anything)
I didn't say you stole the money. (I said something different)
I didn't say you stole the money. (I said someone else stole it)
I didn't say you stole the money. (I said you found it)
I didn't say you stole the money. (I said you stole the car)

This is why not everyone is equally able to know what it all means. If we are not knowledgable of all the background info needed to understand it, we must at least rely on folks who do.

Of course the truth is, this idea is true even with modern documents...

Another point to consider re the Bible is that the Greek that most of the New Testament was written in has no punctuation.

Look at the varied meanings of this [admittedly extreme] example:

godisnowhere

Is this "God is now here" or "God is nowhere"?

...just thought I'd pass this along... I am allowed to ramble on this board aren't I? :D

These are some very good examples of how things can get a little jumbled. Very thought provoking. I couldn't agree more.