Susan Yin (2018), public domain
What’s the key to understanding a Bible passage? Ten different people may give you ten different answers to that question, all of them helpful.
Today I’ll share the best advice I know on this topic. It’s not complicated or sophisticated or newsworthy. It’s difficult but extremely effective. Are you ready?
To understand a Bible passage, you need to read it. A lot.
Read to See the Structure
This advice is not ground-breaking, but I’ve recognized its value on several occasions since a discussion with my co-blogger Peter back in February.
We were talking about the way we prepare Bible studies, and he mentioned that his main practice is to read a passage as much as possible to determine its structure. Peter is convinced of the value of structure in understanding a passage’s train of thought and main point. He tries to understand the structure by listening for the rhythm, repetition, and other literary markers that occur in the Bible.
The more we read a passage—and this is especially true for longer passages—the more we understand the author’s intent. We notice words and phrases and themes that show up in neighboring chapters of a narrative. We see a character’s description change throughout an extended story. We observe the way a Gospel writer groups parables together to make a common point.
Peter has already written a great deal on structure. I encourage you to read his posts, starting here or here.
Advice for Rereading
Rereading a passage may be challenging. But the hard work will pay large dividends. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
- Allow yourself time. It may take 10 or 20 or more readings before you get a grip on a passage’s structure. That’s ok! We are fallible and finite, so we should not expect instant understanding of divine truth.
- Approach the passage from multiple angles. Read the passage from at least two translations. Listen to an audio version of the passage for a change of pace.
- Make an outline. After five or ten readings, sketch your own outline of the text. Don’t worry about trying to be perfect! Since we often think as we write, forcing yourself to diagram and label the various parts of a passage will help you think through the big picture.
- Adjust your outline. Change your outline as you go. Your first version will rarely be your last. As we continue to read, God often reveals more to us, so be willing to modify your work.
An Upcoming Case Study
In my next article, I’ll explain how this rereading strategy helped me prepare a Bible study on Luke 16.
If you’re unfamiliar with the chapter, it contains some confusing verses. (See especially Luke 16:9.) Heading into my preparation, I knew this might be the case, so I decided to put Peter’s advice into practice. I read the passage as much as I could before my small group meeting, and while I won’t pretend to have a definitive interpretation to offer, the repeated readings were immensely helpful.
I’ll share it all next time.
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