How else do you propose we understand? To understand any text requires interpretation. Interpretation just is the process by which one determines a text's meani

How else do you propose we understand? To understand any text requires interpretation. Interpretation just is the process by which one determines a text's meanings. You seem to have in mind particular kinds of interpretation which are and are not appropriate (I notice you keep using the word "reinterpretation" below, which is not the word I used.) You may or may not be able to defend a particular approach, but you can't just skip the interpretive step altogether. Of course I don't claim to 'know' what god wants. All I can do is do my best with the information I have.