Understanding what we read

Some things to be considered:
The author's circumstances and worldview.
The author's purpose in writing.
When the writing was done.
Who is being addressed, their circumstances and worldview.
The form/style of writing.
Our own worldview (Are we looking at other century concepts with 21st century eyes?)
When we try to understand things that are written in other than our native tongue, other things to consider:
Idioms unique to that particular language.
Words and phrases that have no meaning in our native tongue.
The reliability of translators and their source documents.
The reliability of reference sources.

Focusing on words and definitions alone without considering all these other things is like focusing on grains of sand and missing the splendor of the seashore: the beach, the shoreline, wave action, patterns in the sand, beach debris, beach breezes and the beach's natural inhabitants.