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What to Observe: Words

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Douglas Wilson wrote, “Words are the bricks with which you build.  Buy the bricks before starting on the wall” (Wordsmithy, Moscow, ID: Canon, 2011, p.104).  He was advising aspiring writers to study etymology and ancient languages.  I’ll commandeer his point to encourage those who study the Bible to begin with the beginning.

Books of the Bible were constructed from stories.  These stories were built from episodes.  Episodes arose by gatherings of paragraphs.  Paragraphs disemboweled produce sentences.  Sentences dissect into words.  Words are our bricks.  Let’s observe them to start.

I’ll use Luke 2:1-21, NET for a sample text.  It’s a pretty familiar text for many Christians, so we’ll work hard to observe it well.

First, notice a theme to key words in the first few verses

  • decree
  • Caesar
  • Augustus
  • empire
  • registration
  • Quirinius
  • governor
  • Syria
  • city of David – 2 times
  • house and family line of David
  • firstborn son
  • Lord – 2 times
  • glory
  • Savior
  • Christ
  • vast, heavenly army – a phrase that explains what angels are

What stands out?  Major attention is drawn to power, glory, and governing authority.  There’s some tension between Imperial authority (represented in Caesar and his underlings) and God’s authority (represented in his son).

Let’s keep looking at another class of words

  • Joseph
  • Nazareth
  • Bethlehem
  • Mary, who was promised to be married to him
  • expecting a child
  • the time came to deliver
  • child wrapped in strips of cloth – 2 times
  • laid in manger – 3 times
  • no place for them in the inn

This group lends itself to another theme: that of unpredictable lowliness.

I’ll mention one final set of observations regarding word choice in Lk 2:11:

  • Today your Savior is born in the city of David
  • He is Christ
  • He is the Lord

The narrator, through the angel, communicates loads of information simply by his word choice.

  • What is a “Savior”?  One who saves.  A hero.  A rescuer.  He’s not the guy who runs out of the burning building to save his own life; he’s the guy who runs into the burning building to save others’ lives.
  • What is a “Christ”?  We need some background help on this one, but “Christ” is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word “Messiah,” which means “Anointed One.”  What on earth is an “anointed one”?  We don’t have those anymore!  Think of it as someone inaugurated and sworn into office.  The narrator wants us to know that Jesus has a job, and he’s authorized by God to execute that job.
  • What is “the Lord”?  It’s what the Jews of old would call God himself.  Flip through your Old Testament, and see how often the word LORD shows up in all caps.  That represents instances where God’s personal name (something like Yahweh, but we can’t know for sure how it was pronounced) was used in the Hebrew text, but translation traditions hand it down to us as simply “LORD.”  The narrator wants us to know, through the angel’s proclamation, that Jesus is, in fact, God.

I’m beginning to move into interpretation, so I’ll hold off until we get to that step in the OIA process.  Your take-home point for now is: the first part in how to study the Bible is to observe (not just see, mind you, but truly to observe) the words on the page.

Five Things to Observe

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You sit down with your Bible, and you’re ready to study it. You pray and open the page to the right spot. Then…what? You see lots of ink and paper. You’ve heard these verses before.

You’d like to go deeper, and you don’t want to let familiarity get in the way. But what exactly can you do? What should you begin to observe?

Derek Bridges (2006), Creative Commons

Derek Bridges (2006), Creative Commons

Here are some ideas to get you started:

  1. WORDS: Pay attention to the words. Count up how many times different words are repeated. Notice how different things are described or labeled.
  2. GRAMMAR: Identify the subject, verb, and object of a sentence. What are the main verbs? Who is doing what, and where and how are they doing it?
  3. STRUCTURE: How does the passage fit together? Break it into paragraphs. Pay attention to transitions.
  4. GENRE: Is this poetry or prose? A letter or a narrative? Who is the author? Who is the original audience?
  5. MOOD: What tone of “voice” is the author writing with? Does the passage inspire action, invoke emotion, or challenge assumptions?

Here’s an exercise for you to consider. Let’s just take one verse: John 3:16.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (ESV).

Use the five categories above to help you get started, and try to write 50 observations on that one verse.

Mention one of your observations in the comments below, and let’s see how many we can come up with!

The Greatest Enemy of Observation is Familiarity

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The first step of our Bible study method is Observation.  Before we’ve even crossed the line of scrimmage, however, familiarity is right there to knock us down.  When we think we know something, we stop paying attention to it.

For example, how many stairs are there in your house?  What color are your father’s eyes?  What is your license plate number?  Name three left-handed people in your acquaintance.

As Sherlock Holmes says to Dr. Watson in “A Scandal in Bohemia,” “You see, but you do not observe.”

Let me give an example.  I recently taught on Genesis 31, the story where Jacob runs away from Laban without telling him.  My initial thought was, “I know what happens.  Why does the story have to take up 55 verses, and how am I going to teach on it?”

So I dug deeper.  I stared at the text and kept reading it over and over.  Things started popping out.

For example, I observed that every other verse in Gen 31:4-16 makes reference to God.  Up until now, Jacob hasn’t really mentioned God a whole lot.

Then I observed that the narrator calls Laban “the Aramean” (Gen 31:20, 24).  That’s funny, because he used to call him Jacob’s “mother’s brother” (for example, see Gen 29:10 where he’s called that 3 times).  So the narrator doesn’t consider Laban family anymore….

Then I observed that Laban calls God to witness their agreement (Gen 31:53), but do you see which god it is?  “The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us.”  The true God called Abraham to leave the household (and gods) of his fathers (Gen 12:1).  Jacob knows this, but Laban doesn’t get it.  Jacob swears by the true God, the Fear of his father Isaac (Gen 31:53).

I could go on.  My point is not that any single observation is the silver bullet that unlocks a Bible passage.  Instead, I’m suggesting that the way forward is always to keep observing.  We must be willing to stare at a text until we don’t just see, but we observe.

I’ll give one more big example.  One of the most famous passages in the whole Bible is 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.  It’s the great Love Chapter.  We’re so familiar with it, though, that we generally miss the point.

Read it again, one verse at a time, and ask yourself, “what is he saying here?”  Observe carefully, and I think you’ll see that it’s neither romantic nor encouraging.  It’s actually a stinging rebuke directed toward those who don’t know how to love their neighbor.

Let’s not just see.  Let’s observe.

Six Reasons Why We Don’t Study the Bible

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In his excellent (and free!) ebook on Bible study, Denis Haack lists six reasons why many people never learn how to study the Bible:

  1. I don’t know how.
  2. Bible study is boring.
  3. I prefer to use Bible study guides.
  4. I’m not smart enough; never was much of a student.
  5. I can become discerning by reading books.
  6. I don’t have time.

Please don’t let these reasons become excuses for you to miss out on receiving God’s Knowable Word!

Observation tip: Look for contrasts

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“The real problem is not why some pious, humble, believing people suffer, but why some do not.” – C.S. Lewis

“Facts are stubborn, but statistics are more pliable.” – Mark Twain

“I don’t think marriage is a civil right, but I think that being able to transfer property is a civil right.” – Barack Obama

The quotes above, regardless of whether you agree with them or not, have this in common: they are all statements of contrast. (We’ve written about other examples of contrasts in an earlier post.) Contrasts are very helpful at emphasizing the difference between two things. That is, each side of a contrast can contain some observation that is useful, but when compared against one another, their differences are highlighted. This is very useful in determining the main point of the speaker/author.

We use contrasts all the time in our daily speech and the Scriptures are chock full of them. One sure-fire way to spot a contrast is to look for the word, “but”. That’s not the only way to find contrasts, but it’s a good starting point. (Did you notice that contrast right there?)

Consider these texts and how the contrasts emphasize the statements:

Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” (Proverbs 31:28-29 ESV, emphasis mine)

For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. (Romans 4:13-16 ESV, emphasis mine)

“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:16-18 ESV, emphasis mine)

The three examples above are from Proverbs, Romans and the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). All three of those sections of Scripture make frequent use of contrasts. Why not go through a chapter or two of those sections to see how many contrasts you can pick out, and what it tells us about God, men, sin and salvation? It will be well worth your time!

Why OIA is the Best Bible Study Method

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A few days ago, I outlined the OIA method of Bible study that we follow.  In short, it stands for Observation, Interpreation, and Application.

I’ve already made one audacious claim: that everyone has a Bible study method.  Today I’d like to make another: that OIA is the best method one can use to study the Bible.  Let me support this claim with three reasons.

1.  It works for any person anywhere of any age

It can be taught to PhDs and other “professionals” and get quite complex and profound.  It can be taught to 3 year olds just learning to talk.  Anyone in between can use this method to great profit, understanding the main ideas of what God has communicated and becoming more like Christ as a result.

2.  It’s the way God designed all communication to work

OIA is nothing new or innovative.  It is simply an attempt to outline the steps by which any human being communicates with another human being (observing what was communicated, interpreting the meaning, and responding appropriately).  God made communication to work this way, so of course the Bible works the same way.

Let me illustrate.  If I met you on the street, you might observe me walk up to you, smile, and stick out my hand.  You would interpret that I mean you no harm and simply want to greet you.  You would apply the gesture by reaching out your own hand, taking my hand with yours, and saying “hello” or some similar sentiment.  Communication has now taken place.

Let’s say I ask you a question.  You might observe the raised inflection at the end of my sentence (the question mark), a resultant silence, and raised eyebrows on my face.  You would interpret these signs to mean that I want you to answer the question.  You would apply the interaction by answering the question, frowning in thought, holding up a finger to request more time, or running away in terror.

We simply cannot escape OIA.  We do it all the time.  We should employ it when we study God’s Knowable Word.

3.  It’s how Jesus interpreted the Bible

Jesus is the Lord (Phil 2:11) and the author of Scripture (1 Peter 1:11).  We should learn from him how to read Scripture.

Look at Matthew 21:42-44 as an example.  Notice how Jesus observes the Old Testament text in verse 42, interprets it in verse 44, and applies it in verse 43 (implying that his listeners should believe the truth and make some changes in their lives).

Jesus often references Scripture, giving us a window into his understanding of it, but he rarely is as clear as in Matt 21:42-44.  Usually, he assumes or implies the Interpretation, and states the Observation and Application explicitly (for example, see Matt 13:10-17 or Mark 12:35-37).  One place where he Observes and Interprets but doesn’t explicitly Apply is Luke 4:17-21.

In suggesting that OIA is the best method to use, I’m not saying that there’s an easy one-size-fits-all way of plugging every text through an equation.  I’m merely saying that we have a valuable and clear way by which we can understand what God is communicating in his Word.  Our study of the Bible is not arbitrary.

Summary of the OIA Method

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"Open Bible" by Ryk Neethling (2011), shared under a Creative Commons Attribution License

Ryk Neethling (2011), Creative Commons

I’ve argued that everyone has a Bible study method, whether conscious or unconscious.  So here’s mine.

The acronym OIA summarizes the method:

  1. Observation – what does it say?
  2. Interpretation – what does it mean?
  3. Application – how do I need to change?

You can restate these three steps as what? why? and so what?  Or again, as what did the original author say?  What did that mean to the original audience?  And what does it mean in our context?

Knowable Word did not invent this method.  It’s an old, old method.  Seminaries call it the “historical-grammatical method of Bible interpretation,” but that title can be big and scary to most people.  Some more popular treatments call it the “inductive Bible study method,” but I think that’s an unfortunate misuse of the wonderful term “inductive” from the realm of logic.  So I prefer to call it simply “OIA.”

The wonder of the OIA method is that it allows the text to speak to us, rather than reading our own meaning into the text.  The beauty of the OIA method is that it can be taught at seminary and get very, very deep, or it can be taught to the youngest children, enabling them as well to know the Lord in his Word.

I’ve explained the method in more detail in other posts, but for this summary, note what happens if we miss any part of it.

If we neglect good observation of what the text says, we have no true foundation upon which to know Christ.  We have great intentions, but in all the wrong directions.  We’re the people who failed to observe which weekend was the daylight savings time switch, and we show up to church an hour off from everyone else.  An example of poor observation of Scripture is found in Luke 24:25-27.

If we neglect good interpretation of what the text means, we might not know whether what we believe or do is biblical or not.  We might be honoring the Lord, or we might not be.  We won’t be certain until we meet him face to face.  A good example of poor interpretation of Scripture is found in Mark 12:24.

If we neglect good application of how we ought to change, we are like foolish builders founding a home upon sand.  We are to be pitied.  We give lip service to Christ, but our hearts are far from him (Matthew 15:8-9).  God wants to make us more like Jesus (Rom 8:29), and he won’t rest until his Word accomplishes that purpose (Isaiah 55:10-11).

For much more detail on the OIA method see my How to Study the Bible series of posts.

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Everyone Has a Bible Study Method

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I’ve been blogging for a few months now, talking a lot about different principles of Bible study.  Look out for this, pay attention to that, consider these things, etc.  Today I’d like to show my cards a bit by revealing a shocking truth: I follow a Bible study method.

A method?  Yes, a method.  How do you respond to that word?

Does it make you nervous or is it a relief?  Does it make you feel like a piece of cookie dough jammed onto the tray or does it give you hope?

Whatever your reaction toward the idea of a method, I’m writing to propose that, like it or not, everyone has a method for Bible study.

Some methods are unintentional and informal.  For example:

The Divination Method

  1. Open the Bible
  2. Drop your finger into a random place
  3. Read what you find
  4. Trust this is God’s will for you today

The Support Group Method

  1. Read a passage of the Bible
  2. Close the Bible
  3. Consider (or discuss, if in a group situation) how you feel about what you just read

The Prayerful Method

  1. Ask God to bring to mind a passage of the Bible that will address your current problem or need
  2. Listen to what thoughts are put in your mind
  3. Look at those passages for encouragement or help

Other methods, however, are quite intentional and formal.  For example:

The Cross-Reference Method

  1. Read a passage of the Bible
  2. Highlight the key words or phrases in that passage
  3. Look up another passage that this one reminds you of (the cross-references in the middle column of your Bible really help with this)
  4. Look up another passage that the second one reminds you of
  5. Look up another passage that the third one reminds you of
  6. Repeat until you run out of time

The Word Study Method

  1. Decide which topic you’d like to study in the Bible
  2. Identify one or more key words that represent your topic
  3. Search the whole Bible for passages that use those keywords (something like Bible Gateway)
  4. Read each verse that comes up
  5. Compile all the components of your topic
  6. Live in light of what you learned

The Expert Method

  1. Read a passage of the Bible
  2. Read a commentary on that passage of the Bible
  3. Believe and act upon what the commentator wrote

My point is this: everyone who reads the Bible has a method for studying the Bible.  What is your usual method?  Are you even conscious of how you study the Bible?

My secondary point is this: not every method is a good method.  In other words, many methods do not result in correct interpretation.  If, as we believe, the Bible is God’s Word to us, shouldn’t we make sure we understand it?

In future posts, I’ll lay out my method more explicitly.

Your Translation Matters

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Recently, I came across this funny skit from a church out in Oregon. While definitely a caricature, it does well to make a good point: Translation is both difficult and important.

When it comes to the Bible, most of us rely on one of the many English translations available.  While many Christians describe themselves as “bible believing,” in my experience few Christians have considered whether what they are reading is a true representation of what was originally said.

The following are two less comical examples of the theological implications that can result from translation errors:

  • Matthew 4:17 is a description of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. It can be thought of as a summary statement of what Jesus was about.  The Latin of the Vulgate is as follows:

Exinde coepit Iesus praedicare et dicere paenitentiam agite adpropinquavit enim regnum caelorum.  

A literal English translation of this would be “Then Jesus began to preach and say: ‘do penance (paenitentiam agite) for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near.’”

It would be reasonable for a skilled bible study leader to assume that Jesus preaches penance. Perhaps Christianity is about responding to God’s kingdom by making use of the penitential system of the church?  (Your church has one, right?)   The most accurate translation of the Greek text of Matthew’s gospel however would likely be “repent”, not “do penance.”

  • Luke 1:28 is the famous ‘annunciation’ passage, where Gabriel declares to Mary that she will have a child.  The Latin of the Vulgate is as follows:

et ingressus angelus ad eam dixit ave gratia plena Dominus tecum benedicta tu in mulieribus

In English, a fair translation would be: “And the angel went in and said to her, “Hail, one that is full of grace (ave gratia plena) the Lord is with you, blessed are you.”

Even the very best OIA leads one to understand that Mary was a vessel who was full of God’s grace. Perhaps grace is a substance, and one can get access to God’s grace through Mary? These ideas actually became popular in the Medieval church, until scholars established that a faithful translation of the Greek refers to Mary as “One who has found favor.”

Your bible translation matters very practically.

  1. I have found translations such as the ESV, NASB, NIV and even the NET Bible to be very useful for bible-study, because they are quite true to the original.
  2. Bibles such as The Living Bible and The Message are very useful for general reading and comprehension, but could lead to theological errors in deeper study.
  3. Logos has fantastic software available, but why not consider learning Greek and Hebrew? God in his wisdom chose those languages to write down his Word.

Why We Study the Bible

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Why should we study the Bible?  Couldn’t we just listen to God’s voice inside us?  Even if we ought to use the Bible, shouldn’t we just read it, expecting the meaning to become apparent?  Doesn’t all this “Bible study” stuff get in the way, slow us down, quench the Spirit?

Let me give some reasons why it’s important that we learn how to study the Bible:

1.  Knowing Jesus is eternal life

Jesus said it himself in John 17:3.  He wants what’s best for us, and what’s best for us is for us to know him.  He prayed accordingly the night before he was killed.

2.  The whole Bible is about Jesus

Jesus said it in Luke 24:44-47.  Phillip realized it early on (John 1:45).  Peter declared it much later (1 Peter 1:10-11).

3.  The Bible was written that we might know Jesus and have eternal life

Romans 15:4, John 20:30-31, 1 Peter 1:11-12, Rev 1:1.  It’s an old book, but it was written with you and me in mind!  It wasn’t written to us, but it was written for us.

4.  God thinks it’s noble when we examine the Bible to know Jesus better

Paul explained the main point of the Bible in Acts 17:3.  Some Thessalonians rejected this message (Acts 17:6-7), but the Bereans eagerly searched it out in the text of the Bible (Acts 17:10-11).

5.  It takes hard work to understand the Bible

Some parts are hard to understand, and those who are untaught or unstable will distort them (2 Peter 3:16).  We must be taught well and given a stable foundation if we are to understand the Bible and know Jesus.  Granted, many parts of the Bible are abundantly clear (John 14:6, Acts 4:11-12), yet they, too, are commonly twisted.

6.  We need God’s Spirit to understand the Bible

Our sin and rebellion against God infects everything about us, even our thinking.  No amount of hard work and no foolproof method will guarantee that we interpret the Bible rightly.  Countless universities have courses taught by learned professionals who miss the whole point (see #1-3 above).

But when we trust in the Jesus revealed in the Bible, we receive God’s Spirit, who helps us to know Jesus better (1 Cor 2:6-16).  Those who believe have access to the very mind of Christ because they have his Spirit.

On this blog, we want to help you know Jesus.  We do that by helping you learn to study the Bible.  Let’s keep working to master the methods, but above all, let’s keep our focus on Jesus as we do so.