When we observe a text, we collect all the raw materials for interpretation. And that which drives interpretation forward is the asking of questions. To interpret well, we must be intensely curious and investigate our observations as fully as possible.
But the asking of questions ought not be a complete free-for-all. Different kinds of questions have different uses. Let’s take advantage of those differences.
Spinning Cyclones
The OIA method of Bible study is not intended to be strictly linear. It’s not as though you follow a list of 12 steps from number 1 through to number 12, such that you end up with a clear and relevant set of answers from your text.
No, the method is much more like a funnel or cyclone. The sort of funnel or cyclone you get when you drain a sink filled with water. It spins round and round until the substance all makes it through the access point.
In a similar way, observation and interpretation ought to cycle round and round, back and forth, until you’ve mastered the text to the point of grasping the author’s main point. So good observation will naturally raise questions you’ll want to explore. And those questions generally ought to be answered by further observation. Such observation raises more questions, which require deeper observation. And on and on, back and forth—or more precisely: round and round, in tighter and tighter circles—until you have zeroed in on the big idea. The chief message. The main point.
Crossing Bridges
With that said, I find it helpful to recognize the role our interpretive questions can play to help us cross bridges between observation and interpretation, and between interpretation and application. Keep in mind that this is not a straight-line process, but more of a cyclone. Yet your questions still help you to constantly cross those bridges from one aspect of your study to the next, in ever tighter spirals as you get close to the main point.
How do different types of questions help you to cross those O-to-I and I-to-A bridges?
In his seminal work Methodical Bible Study, Robert Traina puts interpretative questions into three categories: definitive, rational, and implicational. In my book Knowable Word, I sought to simplify his schema into the three categories of “what,” “why,” and “so what” questions.
- Definitive or “what” questions build a bridge from observation to interpretation.
- Rational or “why” questions make up the primary work of interpretation proper.
- Implicational or “so what” questions build a bridge from interpretation to application.
How the Bridges Work
The most important thing to remember about all interpretive questions is that the questions should be about your observations. They are not random questions, nor are they merely intuitive insights. You don’t come up with your questions by staring at the ceiling, nor by going off on a mountaintop and thinking really hard.
You don’t have to be particularly insightful to ask great questions. You only have to be intensely curious about what you observe.
Here’s a simple example from the brief episode in Luke 18:15-17. I observe a clear contrast between the disciples’ rebuke of the children or parents, and Jesus’ call to invite them (“…they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him…”). Now with that simple observation, I can utilize different kinds of questions to different ends.
- “What exactly is being contrasted here?”
- This definitive or “what” question helps me to define the contrast. Is Luke contrasting only the words or also the attitudes? Is the rebuke/call directed at the infants, the parents, or both? Is the rebuke/call directed to the bringing of the infants, or to the desire for Jesus to touch them (Luke 18:15)?
- By defining precisely what Luke is contrasting, I’m able to move from observation into interpretation proper.
- “Why does Luke contrast these things?”
- This rational or “why” question helps me to interpret the observation. Having seen and defined what it says (the contrast), I can now explore what it means. Why it’s here. What role it plays in Luke’s message.
- “So what should we conclude from this contrast?”
- This implicational or “so what” question helps me to move toward application. It doesn’t do all the work of application for me, but it yields some initial ideas or principles that will help me get more concrete and specific later.
- By recognizing the observation’s implications, I’m well suited to discern how the text would have landed with the original audience—getting me one step closer to the author’s main point.
Different Uses
Let your questions work for you. If you are observing lots of great stuff and you’re not sure what to do with it, try some definitive questions to make sure you’ve got the right information. If you’re struggling with what it all means, you can’t go wrong with more rational questions; just keep asking “why?” And if you can perceive the message but you struggle with application, ask some implicational questions to ensure you’ve figured out how the message of the text should have impacted the original audience.
The right question at the right time might be just what you need to get you unstuck and moving forward.
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