Knowable Word

Helping ordinary people learn to study the Bible

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Don’t Give Up: You Can Understand the Bible

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Marshall Segal understands what it’s like to wrestle with the Scripture, trying to understand it.

I’ve battled to get through the census records in Numbers. I’ve labored through the kidneys, livers, and “entrails” of the Levitical laws. I’ve grown weary of the repetitive failures of Israel in 1–2 Kings. I’ve sometimes struggled to see what Hebrews sees in the Old Testament. Much of the imagery of Revelation is still a mystery to me. And so, I regularly find these clear and accessible words from Paul all the more meaningful and encouraging:

Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. (2 Timothy 2:7)

In the remainder of the article, Segal reflects on the amazing truth of 2 Timothy 2:7. Yes, such understanding will come only from the Lord. But such understanding will not require less work on our part but more.

I commend this piece to you. Check it out!

Top 10 Interpretive Book Overviews

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Much of the time, when you read a Bible “book overview,” you’ll find all kinds of historical and cultural details. You’ll likely also get an observational outline of the book (an outline that observes what is said in each of the book’s sections). Such overviews are good and necessary resources for essential background. But when you read one of the book overviews on our site, you’ll primarily find a walkthrough and explanation of the book’s argument. What is the author’s chief message, and how does he go about presenting that message?

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

Continuing in the spirit of the top 10 lists presented over the last few weeks, here are the top 10 most-viewed posts from the “interpretive book overviews” series. If you browse the full list, you’ll see that we’ve currently got 21 installments. So if you have time to read only 10 of them, you may want to consider these 10.

  1. Mark: Can’t You See God’s King?
  2. Psalms: The Blessing of God’s Word and King
  3. 1 Thessalonians: A Community of Faith, Love, and Hope
  4. Habakkuk: The One Thing that Must Change
  5. Isaiah: Judgment and Deliverance
  6. Ecclesiastes: The Fear of God Gives Joy Amid Frustration
  7. Job: How to Fear the Lord When Everything Falls Apart
  8. Daniel: The Most High Rules the Kingdoms of Men
  9. Acts: The World’s Salvation Cannot be Stopped
  10. Song of Songs: The Intoxication of True Love in its Time

Build Good Habits for the New Year

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Matthew Boffey has 5 important suggestions for those who wish to set new habits in their Bible reading and devotional times.

  1. Know your why.
  2. Know your what.
  3. Know your when and where.
  4. Know your how.
  5. Prepare to change things up.

Along the way, he offers specific tips for busy church leaders. Perhaps you’ve decided to join our annual 90-day Bible reading challenge. Perhaps you’d simply like to improve your overall time in the Word. These simple suggestions will make a big difference to help you reinforce good habits.

Check it out!

Top 10 Posts of 2022

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San Churchill (2007), Creative Commons

It’s hip and cool for bloggers to post their top 10 posts of the year. And we want to be hip and cool. Our hearts tell us to do it, and the Bible says to “walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes” (Eccl 11:9). So here goes.

Last week, we gave you the top 10 posts from those written in 2022. Now, we list the top 10 posts from the full KW archive. If lots of other people are reading these posts, you probably should be, too.

And this is the tenth anniversary of our annual Top Ten lists. Could that mean we’re getting closed to the millennium?

10. Top 10 OT Books Quoted in NT

This post is down from #9 last year. Though it comes from a series that analyzes not only books but also chapters and verses, this list of most-quoted books always seems to be one of the most popular.

9. 11 Old Testament Books Never Quoted in the New Testament

This post is down from #8 last year. It comes from the same six-part series—mentioned in the previous entry—analyzing every NT citation of an OT text. It’s interesting that, in that series about the NT quoting the OT, the most popular post is about the OT books that never get a direct quotation.

8. Summary of the OIA Method

Just as the title says, this post summarizes the OIA method we aim to teach. It’s basically the reason this blog exists, so we’re glad it gets a lot of page views. This is down from #7 last year.

7. 4 Bible Studies for Lent

This companion piece to Ryan’s 4 Bible studies for Advent is down from #5 last year. Lent is a great time to study the Bible, and here are four 6.5-week studies you could consider for that season. Be forewarned, however: These are not your typical you-can-only-trust-the-experts, fill-in-the-blank sort of Bible studies you may be used to.

6. How to Recognize Sowers of Discord

This post has been up and down the list for many years, rising from #10 last year. This post outlines from Proverbs 6:12-15 a few signs to help recognize divisive people. This post comes from Peter’s 2013 series of studies through the first 9 chapters of Proverbs.

5. Identifying Behemoth and Leviathan in the Book of Job

This post first appeared in 2015 as part of a brief series on Job (which included the #2 post coming later in this list) and was republished in 2021. But 2022 marks the first time this post appears on the top 10 list. As can be seen from the title, it identifies what the behemoth and leviathan are in the book of Job. Teaser: They are not the hippopotamus and crocodile. And they are not dinosaurs, either, but something even worse. You’ll have to read the post to find out what.

4. Context Matters: Apart From Me, You Can Do Nothing

This investigation of John 15 debuted on the top 10 list year at #6, rising two positions higher this year. This “context matters” post does not suggest any drastic rethinking of the popular use of the verse in question; it largely shows how rich and deep our grasp can go when the verse is read without isolating it from its context.

3. Context Matters: You Have Heard That it was Said…But I Say to You

This 2018 post was #9 on this list in 2020, but rose to #3 last year and solidly remains in that position. This post examines the series of contrasts in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount to determine, from the context, what Jesus was arguing against. Hint: It wasn’t the Old Testament Law.

2. Why Elihu is So Mysterious

The popularity of this 2015 post (republished in 2021) continues to surprise us. We really cannot explain why it has been so popular, but if you haven’t read it, you must really be missing out! Elihu is that mysterious fourth friend in the book of Job. If you even knew he existed, chances are you’ve skipped his speeches entirely. This post is Peter’s attempt to explain Elihu’s role in the drama of the play of Job. This post was #3 in 2017, but then held the #1 slot until dropping to #2 in 2021, where it remains to this day.

1. 10 Reasons to Avoid Sexual Immorality

This was the most-viewed post in 2014, but then it dropped off the list until resurfacing as #8 in 2017 and #2 in 2018 and 2019. It dropped slightly to #3 in 2020, but has simply gone off the charts since 2021. No other post comes even close in pageviews. We’re delighted to see a continued interest in such an important topic. Find whatever motivates you to avoid sexual immorality, and glum onto God’s grace in providing that motivation!

Previous years’ lists: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013

Do You Know What You are Reading?

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The Bible is not a monolithic book by a single author. Yes, God is behind the entire thing, but he chose to inspire dozens of authors in dozens of different contexts to communicate his message to the world. So depending on where you are in the Bible, you could be reading any of a number of different genres.

Tommy Keene tackles this issue with much clarity, encouraging us to be sure to identify the genre of any given book or part of the Bible we are reading. Genre has perhaps more influence over what we can expect from a text than anything else.

Genre defines how a certain literary event fits within culturally adjacent literary events. To ask about a work’s “genre” is to ask “how is this work similar to other works, and how does that allow me to better interpret what it is trying to accomplish?” Furthermore, determining discourse type, or literary context, is key to interpreting what you are reading. Imagine you get it wrong. Imagine, for example, that you confuse fiction with non-fiction, or satire with genuine news, or the political stump speech with actual policy, or South Park with a child’s cartoon show. You’re likely in for some interpretive troubles. If you want to interpret any of these things correctly, you need to know how the genre works.

Keene gives a few very simple yet effective strategies for determining the genre of your text. We would do well to heed his counsel.

Check it out!

Top 10 Posts of 2022—Written in 2022

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Many bloggers take advantage of this time of the year to reflect on their most popular posts. Now we know there is a time to follow the crowd (Zech 8:23), and a time not to follow the crowd (Ex 23:2). And I believe the present time to be akin to the former and not the latter. So here we go.

This post lists the top 10 viewed posts this year, from among the posts we wrote this year. Next week, we’ll list the top 10 viewed posts from the full KW archive. May these lists enable you to be warm and well fed while you celebrate the season with joy and delight.

10. Topical Index for Proverbs

In this post, I shared the fruit of more than four years’ study of the book of Proverbs. It’s not perfect, and if I had more time, I would spiff it up and reorganize it quite a bit. But being what it is, it may have proved useful to some folks, as this page had the tenth highest view-count of all we wrote this year. I’m still not planning to add this to the resources page, so this might be your last chance to find it before it gets buried in this site’s archives.

9. Context Matters: Righteous Deeds Are Like Filthy Rags

One of only six “Context Matters” posts to be written this year (sorry for slacking!), and the first of two to appear on this list, this post examines Isaiah’s famous statement to show that it is both more shocking and more close-to-home than is typically communicated. There are several passages that could be used to instruct unbelievers about salvation by faith alone. That is a glorious truth, and the church should teach it! But we need not resort to pulling this colorful simile out of context to make the point.

8. When a Name Goes Missing in the Bible

In Genesis 21, Moses uses names, repeatedly, for all of the characters except one. That should make us sit up and take notice. In observation we gather the fuel we need for the fire of interpretation, and observing odd insertions or omissions is no exception.

7. Context Matters: The Whole Armor of God

The second “Context Matters” post to appear on this list examines the famous passage from Ephesians 6 about the helmet of salvation and shield of faith. Far from being a cute picture for coloring pages and children’s Bibles, this passage masterfully drives home Paul’s argument for unity in the church of Jesus Christ. Your real enemy is never your fellow church member who disagrees with you. So next time you get in a fight with a brother or sister—perhaps even within your own household—please let the whole armor of God strengthen you to the ends of peace and victory over the devil’s divisive schemes.

6. We Love to Give Gold Stars

Ryan struck a chord with this post, where he challenges our proclivity to label every Bible character as a good guy or bad guy. We want to identify each particular action as either praiseworthy or condemnable. The problem with this is that the Bible will not bow to our desires for quick labeling. Applying narrative texts requires the hard, slow work of wisdom.

5. The First Commentator to Plead His Case

Farther down this list are my Ten Commandments for Commentary Usage. This post offers, ahem, commentary on the fourth commandment: You shall not read only one commentary, but shall invite a plurality of voices into the conversation. A plurality of commentaries is helpful because, otherwise, the first one we read will be presumed to be right. And we really need to demystify the presumed priesthood of experts in our day.

4. Reading Across the Chapter Breaks in 2 Timothy

Did you know that the chapter (and verse) divisions in your Bible are not original to the text? And they have perhaps the most dramatic effect on our reading of the Bible. Those large, bolded numbers (usually accompanied by section headings) scream at us: “Start reading here!” and “Stop reading now!” But when we learn to read across those chapter breaks, our grasp of the author’s argument sees much improvement. Here is an example in 2 Timothy.

3. What We Miss When We Skip the Book of Ezra

The book of Ezra is an odd duck. It bears the name of a man who doesn’t appear in its first half. Though titled like a minor prophet, this is a book of history, one far shorter than most historical books in Scripture. And it is one of the few portions of God’s word set after the Babylonian exile. It’s got long lists of names in chapters 2, 8, and 10. But Ryan shows how this little book has much to offer.

2. Ten Commandments for Commentary Usage

The OIA Bible study method ought not be incompatible with rigorous usage of commentaries. But there is an everpresent danger of relying on commentaries more than the text, or of allowing commentaries to prevent you from wrestling with the text as you ought. Therefore the main question for commentary usage is not whether but when. These commandments for commentary usage include: You shall not avoid or ignore commentaries from belief in self-sufficiency to study the Scriptures. You shall not pick up a commentary as soon as Bible study is “hard.” You shall make every effort to form interpretive conclusions or questions about interpretations before consulting a commentary.

1. Song of Songs: The Intoxication of True Love in its Time

When the Lord God made the heavens and the earth, there was only one thing that he declared was not good: the man’s being alone. So God promptly invented romantic love, and his word is very clear about how such love works. This post provides an interpretive walkthrough of Solomon’s Greatest Song, showing that we shouldn’t have to choose between interpreting it literally or allegorically.

Previous years’ top tens: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017

Know Your Literary Devices

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Though your top priority when studying the Bible is to grasp the author’s main point, you will do well to develop a few skills to help you get there. One such skill is the ability to spot various literary devices. You don’t need to memorize a lengthy list of such devices, as long as you can recognize them when you see them. It’s sort of like being the father of a large number of children. Sometimes you mix up the names, but you can always point them out in a crowd when necessary.

Word Devices

Some literary devices have to do with the use of words. Identifying key words can help you grasp the author’s main point.

  • Repetition is perhaps the easiest device to observe. You would do well to begin any study by simply looking for, counting, and highlighting repeated words. For example, Genesis 14 repeats the word “king” more than 28 times, giving that word tremendous prominence in the author’s argument.
  • Continuity is similar to repetition, except it refers to repeated synonyms, thoughts, or ideas. So if a particular concept is repeated in a passage, even without repeating the identical word, it is worth taking note of. For example, Psalm 145 contains continuity of the ideas of “praise” for God’s “works,” even though the poem uses a variety of words (such as “bless,” “thanks,” etc.) to communicate those ideas.
  • Inclusio is a particular kind of continuity, where the same word, phrase, or idea is repeated at the beginning and end of a passage. In addition to marking structural boundaries, an inclusio often highlights the author’s thesis. For example, Psalm 8 begins and ends with “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth,” showing that the poem’s main idea has something to do with how God’s majesty is made visible on earth.

Logic Devices

Some literary devices reveal a text’s logic, which will help you to grasp the argument (main point) an author is making.

  • Comparison is when two or more things are shown to be similar to one another. For example, in 2 Timothy 2:3-6, Timothy on mission is compared to a soldier, an athlete, and a farmer. By figuring out what the points of comparison are, you’ll better understand why Paul gives the instructions of verses 1-2.
  • Contrast is when two or more things are shown to be different from one another. For example, Ephesians 2:1-3 describes what “you were,” and Eph 2:4-6 contrasts it with a big “but God.” Now, you still need to get to the “so that” in Eph 2:7 in order to grasp the main point, but the contrasting sections of 1-3 and 4-6 make the main idea of v.7 really shine.
  • Climax is when a text builds up to a high point. In narrative, “climax” specifically refers to part of the plot, near the end of the story, where the tension reaches its high point before being resolved (for example, Mark 2:10 is the climax of Mark 2:1-12). In other text types, a climax occurs when an author builds his argument up to a high point or fever pitch. For example, the argument of Romans 8 builds to the climax of Rom 8:38-39.
  • Causation is when a passage moves from cause to effect. For example, God’s condemning sin in the flesh by sending his own Son (Rom 8:3) is the cause of the righteous requirement of the law being fulfilled in us (Rom 8:4).
  • Substantiation is when a passage moves from effect to cause. For example, lack of condemnation (Rom 8:1) is an effect substantiated by the fact that the Spirit has set you free from the law of sin and death (Rom 8:2).

Structure Devices

Some literary devices reveal a text’s structure, which enables you to grasp the organization of the material and identify the sentence or section that contains the author’s overall argument or main point.

  • Preparation or Introduction provides setting or background for the events or ideas that will be presented. For example, 1 Samuel 3:1-3 contains not the passage’s main point but the necessary background information (in this case, the story’s setting) for the main point to make sense. Drawing a major principle of theology or application from that setting would not be wise.
  • Refrain is the regular repetition of a line or phrase in poetry to mark of sections. For example, the refrain of “Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved” divides Psalm 80 into three sections (Ps 80:1-3, 4-7, 8-19).
  • Explanation or Analysis presents an idea or event followed by its interpretation. For example, Jesus tells a parable in Mark 4:3-8 and then explains it in Mark 4:14-20. This interpretation is pretty important for understanding any parable (Mark 4:13), which subverts the conventional wisdom that parables must have only one point (since Jesus makes many points in his explanation of this parable!).
  • Summarization is a clear statement in the text that identifies the main point or intended takeaway. In these cases, we do not have to do much “digging” into the mysteries of the text to grasp the main point; the author comes right out and says it! We do well to pay attention. For example, Hebrews 8:1 summarizes the main idea of chapters 7 and 8. For another example, “Thus Esau despised his birthright” in Gen 25:34 summarizes the scene in Gen 25:29-34. (The author clearly and explicitly blames Esau for this incident; why do so many interpreters ignore this summarization and keep the focus of blame on Jacob? See also Heb 12:16.)

Conclusion

This list doesn’t cover every possible literary device employed by biblical authors, but it contains what I have found to be the most common and directly useful ones when observing a passage. Again, you don’t need to memorize the list, but you should be able to spot these “children” in a sea of words when you buckle down to observe the text. It’s not sufficient to propose a main point for your passage based on what simply feels right. You should be able to defend that proposed main point from the text itself—primarily by enumerating the literary devices that directed you toward your main point.

The Problem with Jesus’ Genealogies

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The Advent season is a great time to revisit the opening chapters of the gospels, which often brings people to consider afresh the genealogies of Jesus presented in Matthew 1 and Luke 3. And you don’t have to go very far into those genealogies to recognize a few major issues.

The first and clearest issue is that the two genealogies are completely different in the generations from David to Jesus! And a second issue that arises from deeper digging is that Matthew presents Jesus as the descendant of a man (Jeconiah) whom God has promised would never have descendants sit on the throne of Israel (Jer 22:30).

What do we make of these issues? Robby Lashua is here to help. In this brief piece he considers these issues and explains a solution.

If Jesus is truly the prophesied Messiah, as much of the world will celebrate this Christmas, he must be a descendant of David. Thankfully, the genealogies of Jesus show that David was, in fact, his ancestor. But there’s a problem in the genealogies—actually, there are two problems.

Check it out!

Your Top Priority When Studying the Bible

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Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar used to say, “If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.” The divinely inspired sage of Israel likewise cautioned against such aimlessness: “He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap” (Eccl 11:4). So what should our goals be when we come to study the Bible? How do we avoid hitting nothing?

Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

Ultimate Goals and Instrumental Goals

Before I identify a particular goal that should be our top priority, let me first distinguish between ultimate goals and instrumental goals. An ultimate goal addresses why you do what you do, and an instrumental goal addresses how you do what you do.

For example, ultimate goals when pursuing marriage could be:

  • To picture Christ’s relationship with the church.
  • To form a lifelong partnership for the glory of God and good of society.
  • To unite in covenant with the companion of my youth.

But instrumental goals along the way toward marriage could be:

  • To secure the first date.
  • To secure the second date (often a greater challenge than the first-date goal!).
  • To figure out together, and before God, whether marriage is a good idea for us.
  • To execute a delightful and memorable proposal.
  • To learn how to transition from singleness into marriage.
  • To plan a wedding without going bankrupt.
  • To honor our families over the course of our union.

Now with respect to Bible study, our ultimate goal is to know God through his Son Jesus Christ. I’ve written about that ultimate goal here, as well as in chapter 1 of Knowable Word and chapter 1 of Sowable Word. I’m not going back on anything I’ve said in those places.

But when I talk about “your top priority,” I’m referring to your instrumental goals. That is, when you actually sit down to study the Bible—because you’d like to know God better through his Son, Jesus Christ—what should you aim for? What should you prioritize in your method to help you get where you want to go?

Subordinate Priorities

Sometimes we can mistake a good thing for the best thing, so here are some examples of priorities or practices that are good but inferior to the highest priority.

  1. To learn something.
  2. To find something I’ve never observed or thought before.
  3. To answer a question I have about a word, a theological point, or a cultural hot topic.
  4. To clarify a confusing verse or thorny text.
  5. To obtain something practical for my life today.

Sometimes we come to our Bible study with such priorities. And such priorities are generally not bad priorities. They are well-intentioned and can produce beneficial results. But each of these priorities should remain subordinate to the highest priority.

Your Top Priority

Your top priority when studying the Bible ought to be to grasp the author’s main point in the passage. This is the measuring rod for your study, such that a failure to grasp the author’s main point is seen as a failure to effectively study the text.

Now to be clear, the “author’s main point” is not some secret code-phrase that must be unlocked or revealed through mystical arts. It is very rare to have a single correct way to phrase the main point. The author’s main point is more like a diamond with many facets. It can be viewed from a variety of angles and worded in different ways by different readers. But just as a diamond is an altogether different substance than quartz, so also it is possible to be altogether wrong about the main point.

Sadly, it is also possible—and quite common—to simply miss or ignore the main point in favor of something more “interesting,” more “clever,” or more immediately “practical.”

This top priority, this chief instrumental goal for Bible study, has some surprising implications. It means that everything I do in the observation and interpretation phase of study is driving toward that purpose of determining the author’s main point. It means that my application ought to flow from the main point. It means that some verses or sentences are more significant, i.e. carry more argumentative weight, than others.

An Example

To give one clear example: In epistles or speeches, independent clauses carry more weight than dependent clauses. And even among independent clauses, an argument’s conclusion carries more weight than an argument’s premises.

For example, in Hebrews 1:1-4, the main (independent) clause is “God has spoken by his Son.” Everything else in the paragraph matters. It is all there for a reason. But the reason for every other clause is to support that main clause so we might know and trust God’s communication to us by his Son. Not incidentally, that happens to be the main point of the entire book (which is a transcribed sermon), since the author/preacher is stating his thesis right at the beginning. This is why the ideas of who speaks and who you give your attention to constantly recur through the book’s application sections (Heb 2:1-5, 3:5, 4:8, 5:11, 6:9, 11:4). It climaxes in the claim that Jesus’ blood speaks a better word than that of Abel (Heb 12:24) and the command to “see that you do not refuse him who is speaking” (Heb 12:25). It is further applied in remembrance of those leaders who “spoke to you the word of God” (Heb 13:7).

Hebrews has incredible, rich theology in it. Much is clear (that Jesus is better than the Old Testament liturgical system) and some is unclear (such as the nature of sabbath rest or of falling away from one’s taste of the heavenly gift). But our top priority should be to grasp the main point, which is not obscure but saturates the book from the first paragraph to the last. Everything else in the book is supporting the idea that God has spoke by his Son, so we might be sure to listen to him!

As you study your Bible, don’t lose sight of your top priority.

Hope for Weary Saints from Psalm 126

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Jacob Tanner offers an encouraging exposition of Psalm 126:

That Psalm 126 bears the heading “A Song of Ascents,” and is within the grouping of the Psalms of Ascent is a providential grace of God. Likely penned later than most other Psalms, it offers a great degree of hope and comfort to those weary saints who, like the Israelites of the Babylonian exile, long to be set free from their burdens and trials. It is a Psalm that promises the pious tears of troubled saints will turn to laughter and joy by the grace of God.

Check it out!