An orderly method prevents a passage from becoming a collection of unrelated guesses. First locate it within the discourse and identify the kind of difficulty; then use the interpretive tools appropriate to that difficulty.
Unfamiliar words call for lexicon and reliable reports. Difficult constructions call for grammar, ellipsis, word order, and pronoun analysis. Unclear allusions require context and sound historical evidence. Legal tensions require comparison with other texts; abrogation must not be assumed from superficial conflict.
The explanation of rare vocabulary and the knowledge of abrogating and abrogated passages each clarify a different dimension of the text.