Knowable Word

Helping ordinary people learn to study the Bible

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100th Post Giveaway

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We’ve now blogged 100 posts, and we decided to celebrate with a brand new website and a FREE ESV STUDY BIBLE (personal size).  This is the best study Bible I’ve come across.  Check out my Goodreads review if you don’t believe me.

We’re giving a way a free personal size ESV Study Bible

To enter the giveaway, you can place as many entries as you want, within the following guidelines.  You’ll get one entry for each of the following:

  • Going onto our Facebook page and Liking the post on our timeline that says, “We’re giving away a free ESV Study Bible.”
  • Adding Knowable Word into your Circles on Google+.
  • Following Knowable Word on Twitter.
  • Re-tweeting any of Knowable Word’s old tweets.  Each RT earns one entry.
  • Finding old posts you liked on the Knowable Word blog and commenting on them thoughtfully.  Note: your comments must be thoughtful, i.e. engaging with the post’s content.  Our panel of strict judges will not accept comments along the lines of “great post!” or “thanks for writing this one!”  Each comment, up to a maximum of one comment per post, gives you one entry, with one exception: A bonus entry will be given for each comment that employs both of the words “study” and “Bible.”
  • Leaving a comment on this post telling us what you think of the new site (such as how it looks, how easy it is to find stuff, etc).  Only one entry per person will be granted for commenting on this post, with one exception: A bonus entry will be given if your comment references a Scripture passage.

We are giving away one (1) free personal size ESV Study Bible.  The winner will be selected at random from all entries.  Entries will be accepted until 7:30pm Eastern Time on Thursday, November 1, 2012.

The winner will be posted on this site by November 5, 2012.  The winner will have until November 19 to contact us with his or her shipping address for the free Bible.

We take no responsibility for any comments that fail to survive our spam filtering software.  Please make sure you don’t comment using an email address like KVUSGAVSYXP2@yahoo.com.

Thank you for helping us spread the word about how to study God’s Knowable Word!

Why Should We Interpret?

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The second major step in the Bible study process is interpretation.  To ask why we should do it is to assume the answer.

Do you get it?  Interpretation is all about asking WHY.

In the Observation phase, we deal with what a passage says.  In the Interpretation phase, we deal with why the passage says what it says.

Please tell me “Why?”

My 2-year old daughter just entered the interpretation phase of life.  It’s a significant milestone!  I remember when it happened.  We got home from church, and my wife told the children to get out of the van and go into the house.  Charlotte immediately asked, “Why?”

I’m pretty sure she doesn’t even know what “why” means.  She’s just heard her older siblings say it so much that she figured she should do so as well.

God created us to interpret.  Communication always moves beyond the What to the Why.  A sidelong glance appears to imply romantic interest.  A grunt gets interpreted as displeasure.  Failure to make eye contact seems to indicate uncertainty.  Such analysis is the stuff of slumber parties and network news programs.  We move from Observation to Interpretation all the time.

We ought to do it in Bible study as well.  Don’t stop with Observation.  Keep moving forward to make sure you understand the Why.  That’s the key to interpretation.

What to Observe: Four More Tips

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We’ve seen five things you can observe when you study a Bible passage: words, grammar, structure, genre, and mood.  Here is a final hodgepodge of things to observe.

  1. Repeated Words.  I can’t repeat it enough.  Pay attention to stuff that repeats.  This is one of the simplest observations you can make.  Get a Bible that you don’t mind writing in, and highlight repeated words with the same color.  The author’s big ideas will jump right off the page.  For example, Genesis 14 repeats the word “king” more than 20 times.  It’s even built into one of the character’s names (Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”).  The author wants us to think about what a true king looks like!
  2. Comparison and Contrast.  A passage often shows how two or more things are similar (comparison) or different (contrast).  Picking up on that connection can help.  For example, Gen 24, Gen 29, Exod 2, and John 4 all describe interactions between a man and a woman at a well of water.  What is similar and different in each account?
  3. Characters.  Pay special attention to how each character is named in a passage.  Authors will communicate important stuff just by using certain names.  For example, Genesis 21, which has a lot to say about Ishmael, never mentions his name.  He’s always “the son of Hagar” or “the son of the slave woman.”  Why do you think that is?
  4. Connectors.  Words like “therefore,” “in those days,” or “in the same way” draw significant connections between sentences, paragraphs, or chapters.  Notice the connections so you can work to figure out why they’re there.  For example, Genesis 15:1 begins with “after these things.”  How might it affect your understanding of this chapter, if you think about how Abram might be feeling immediately after the events of chapter 14?

What else can we observe?

Observations about Women in Proverbs 31

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On Saturday, the Huffington Post ran a Religion article about what Proverbs 31 says (and doesn’t say) about women.  The journalist makes some excellent observations from the text.

The unfortunate thing is that he concludes that a woman’s value ought to be found in her character and accomplishments, when the Bible claims that one’s value derives from Christ and not self (Col 3:1-4).

Check it out!

What to Observe: Mood

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Scottish writer Thomas Carlyle said, “There are good and bad times, but our mood changes more often than our fortune.”  It’s no less true for the authors of Bible books than it is for us.

When you sit down to study a Bible passage, you’ll make great progress by observing words, grammar, structure, and genre.  One further element is important, although more subjective: mood.

What is mood?  Let me demonstrate by writing the same sentence a few different ways:

  1. I’m not upset with you.
  2. I’m not upset with you.
  3. I’m not upset with you.
  4. I’M NOT UPSET WITH YOU!!!

Can you sense a slightly different intention behind each one of those statements?  Can you picture a context in which you might express yourself simliarly?  For example, #1 might be a simple statement, but #4 might come after days of pestering (and it might be followed with, “but I will be if you keep this up!”).

Although ancient literature didn’t have conventions like bold and italic fonts or punctuation, there are certainly other ways to communicate mood.

Look at Luke 2:13, NET: “Suddenly a vast, heavenly army appeared with the angel, praising God and saying…”  What sort of a mood comes across?

How might the mood come across differently if Luke had said, “Other angels were present to affirm the message.”

Or, “With a grand chorus, multitudes of angels gave voice to their delight at this new development in world history.”

Or, “Spiritual forces of darkness were able to run rampant around the world that day, because all the good guys had gathered in one place to proclaim what a big deal this little baby was going to be.”

Or, “The shepherds listened with delight to the tune of these humble servants of God.”

The author of a Bible passage is able to communicate not just the details, but how the participants experienced those details.  In doing so, he desires the audience to experience this story similarly.

As far as the mood goes, Luke 2:13-14 should make you think more of “I don’t know what I’ve been told” than “Silent Night.”

Make sure you pay attention to the mood.

 

 

How to Read this Blog

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Since I’m writing this blog to help ordinary people learn to study the Bible, it makes sense (at least to me) to help you learn how to read this blog profitably.

Different people learn in different ways.  So I’ve taken a few different approaches to communicate our ideas.

Learner #1: Just the Facts

Some people learn best by hearing the main ideas first.  Once they understand the principle, then it helps to see them illustrated.  This is the more intuitive thinker.  If you are this person, you likely would prefer to look up an address on Google Maps rather than having someone give you their own set of directions to their house.

If this describes you, you might benefit by clicking on “Method” under “Categories” in the sidebar.  In the “Method” posts, I start with the principles before implementing them.  I also presented the principles in a (somewhat) orderly manner.

Learner #2: Show Me the Money!

Some people learn best by seeing something done.  Once they see it in practice, and can experience the payoff directly, they’re more interested in going back to understand the principles behind the practice.  This is the more step-by-step thinker.  If you are this person, you likely would prefer to have someone describe the tried and true route to their house rather than needing to figure it out yourself.

If this describes you, you might benefit by clicking on “Bible Study” under “Categories” in the sidebar.  In the “Bible Study” posts, I aim simply to demonstrate good Bible study of specific passages.

If you’d like more help with the principles, you can click on “How’d You Do That?” under “Categories” in the sidebar.  In these posts, I explain the principles behind a few specific “Bible Study” posts.  The “How’d You Do That?” posts link to the posts they explain to enable you to read the two posts in conjunction.

Learner #3: Give Me More

Some people will be interested in help with specific parts of Scripture, or in seeing more and more examples.  If this describes you, just type the name of a book of the Bible into the search bar.  That will bring up a list of all posts on passages from that book.

Learner #4: Prove to Me You’re Not a Weirdo

Some people want to make sure I’m not the only person in the world saying the things I’m saying.  That’s not a bad desire, in light of how common it is for teachers to lead others astray with “innovative” or “superior” ideas.

That’s why, from time to time, I point out examples on the internet of other Bible teachers who demonstrate important Bible Study principles.  You can find these posts in the “Check it Out” category.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions on further ways I can help you grow in your study of God’s Knowable Word!  I’d also love to hear which type of posts you’ve found most helpful.

How can the Bible be true if we know snakes and donkeys don’t talk?

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Robin Schumacher at the Christian Post just posted a great article entitled “Talking Snakes, Donkeys, and Believing the Bible.”

In his article, he discusses how to read the Bible as literature.  Then he goes on to discuss the implications on stories like talking snakes (Genesis 3) and talking donkeys (Numbers 22-24).  Can the Bible be true when we know such animals don’t talk in real life?

Check it out!

How’d You Do That? (9/16/12)

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From time to time we like to “show our work” and explain what principles drive our Bible study.

In Sunday’s post, we examined Proverbs 1:10, ESV (“My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent”) and saw how the Bible commands us to reject easy money.  Here’s how we got there.

Observation

By observing the grammar of the verse, we noticed that the main sentence is a command: “Do not consent.”  Also, we observed the words: the thing we ought not consent to is enticement from sinners.

Interpretation

In my study, I started with a question: what is the enticement from sinners that we ought not consent to?  Is it just anything, or does Solomon have something specific in mind?

Answering that question led me to observe the whole section (Prov 1:10-19) in its context.  This examination led me to observe the final verse (Prov 1:19), which makes clear that the chief enticement Solomon has in mind is toward “unjust gain.”

What is “unjust gain”?  Acquiring money or possessions through any unlawful means.  Since most of the section describes a gang recruiting someone to violence against another person, it would appear that Solomon considers “unjust” any means of gaining money that will hurt other people.

Thus, my conclusion of the main idea: “the pursuit of a quick buck, at the cost of serving others, will always keep us from being wise.”

Application

From here, we merely had to consider what it looks like in our generation to gain more money at the cost of serving others.

The chief heart application is that we allow ourselves to be sucked into money-making schemes (like going into more credit card debt, getting a new car like the neighbor’s, or spending too much time at the office).

By way of head application, we must know which things will tempt us, and we must choose in advance to watch out for them.

For hands application, we should make different choices when the temptation comes.  We should reject easy money.

See here for an explanation of these three types of application.

 

My hope in walking through this process is that you will be able to duplicate it in your own study of the Bible!