There are two steps to Bible interpretation are:

Exegesis and Hermeneutics

Exegesis is the careful systematic study of scripture to discover the original meaning. It is therefore understanding the there and then.

Hermeneutics is knowing how the writer's intentions and words find contemporary relevance to us. It therefore means understanding the here and now

As a good bible student, you must be able to do proper exegesis and one of the approaches while doing exegesis is knowing the historical context. This deals with knowing the time, culture, geography, when it was written, and what necessitated the writing.