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The Greatest Enemy of Interpretation is Observation

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Interpretation happens when we figure out why a passage says what it says. We fail to interpret well when we fail to figure out why the passage says what it says.

The chief obstacle to excellent interpretation is observation.

Of course I don’t think observation is a bad thing. I’ve already written about how we should value careful observation. (See here for a few common examples of less-than-careful observation.) Careless observation leads directly to incorrect interpretation.

However, when you study the Bible, you can’t stay in observation. It’s easy to feel like you’ve really studied the Bible, when it’s possible that all you’ve done is observe.

For example, people often go to Romans 1:18-32 to show that humanity is sinful. Excellent observation! But why does Paul go to such great lengths to show how sinful humanity is? Perhaps it’s because he wants to tighten the noose slowly and imperceptibly around the reader. “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges” (Rom 2:1, ESV).

We find another example in Philippians 4:4-9. This passage is full of beautiful sayings commonly quoted by Christians. We love to “rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil 4:4). We find great comfort in letting our requests be made known to God, with supplication and thanksgiving (Phil 4:6).

These are good observations. But why are these verses here? The Philippian church was experiencing a serious rift between two prominent women (Phil 4:2-3). So Paul sent instructions for resolving the conflict to one of his companions in the church. Read Phil 4:4-9 in that light, and the passage comes alive.

Old Testament narratives make up one last set of examples. As we observe these stories, we might notice all kinds of characters to either imitate or avoid, but we might fail to move into interpretation. Now viewing these characters as examples is not wrong (see 1 Cor 10:11), but it’s all too easy to stop with such observation. Why are the stories there? To show us Jesus, of course (John 1:45, Luke 24:44-47). The trick each time is to figure out how.

Remember not to let familiarity get in the way of your observation. And don’t let observation get in the way of your 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’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!

What to Observe: Genre

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Professor and Poet Marilyn Hacker once said, “Poetry seems to have been eliminated as a literary genre, and installed instead, as a kind of spiritual aerobic exercise – nobody need read it, but anybody can do it.”  She lamented the loss of poetry’s unique place and rigorous standards in popular writing.  The implications of her perspective impact our Bible study, because sometimes it can be easy to miss the significance of a text’s genre.

In answer to the question “how do I observe a Bible passage?” or “where do I begin when I sit down to study the Bible?” we’ve discussed numerous items to consider: words, grammar, and structure.  Today we come to a fourth item: genre.

Genre is easy to miss because it’s not something that is likely to change substantially from verse to verse.  Once you observe a book’s genre, you’re likely to come across only minor deviations from time to time.  The important thing is that we remain on the lookout.

Let’s use our study of Luke 2:1-24 as an example.

The main observation to make is straigtforward: the genre of this text, as with most of Luke, is historical narrative.  The author reports on events that actually happened (see Luke 1:1-4 for his intentions), but he does so by telling a story.  He doesn’t issue a medical report or a media sound byte.  He’s done his research, interviewing witnesses and collecting relevant documents, but he presents the facts in the shape of a narrative of the key events that verify the truthfulness of what has been taught about Jesus.

What are the implications of this observation?

  1. It really happened.  Luke 2:1-24 speaks of governors, shepherds, and angels.  A baby is born to a virgin.  These things are neither fable nor fairy tale.  They were researched, verified, and presented as historical fact.
  2. The story has an agenda.  Although factually trustworthy, it would be naive to conclude that the text was written in a coldly objective way.  The author still has an agenda.  He includes certain details, and excludes others, for a reason.  The purpose of the story is to tell a story, not to report on every little thing that might forestall potential questions.  How many shepherds were there?  Did the angels have wings?  Were they floating in the sky?  Was Jesus born in a stable or a cave?  We don’t know.  Such specifics were not part of Luke’s agenda.

One more thing: observe that the genre changes briefly in Luke 2:14, where we get a brief switch to poetry.

We know Luke 2:14 is poetry because:

  • the angels were praising God (likely singing)
  • the quote consists of two parallel lines (the chief component of Jewish poetry)

Why is this observation significant?  Because we ought to change our expectations.  “Glory to God in the highest” does not mean that God exists physically at a higher altitude than everyone else.  Something more poetic, more figurative, is intended.

What to Observe: Structure

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Rock singer Geddy Lee of Rush once said, “That is what intrigues me; songwriting and song structure and expression.”  As the holder of a Bachelor’s Degree in Music, I agree. 

Much music is based on an ABA structure.  You start with a musical idea, develop that idea (or go to a second idea), and then return to the main idea.  “Three Blind Mice” is a good example, where the line “three blind mice” represents the A section, and the stuff in the middle is the B section.

Similarly, when we learn how to study the Bible, a good skill to develop is how to observe structure.  It is another thing to observe, after words and grammar.

Let’s observe Luke 2:1-24 as an example.  Look at the flow of the story:

A The pomp of the Roman government and census

B Joseph and Mary give birth to a son

C Shepherds were living out in the field

D An angel appeared with a message about the Lord

E An army of angels appeared, praising God, saying:

F “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace”

E The angels left and went back to heaven

D The shepherds believe the message from the Lord, and they go, sharing it

C The shepherds return to their field, glorifying and praising God

B The son is named Jesus

A The humility of Jesus’ family (who couldn’t afford sheep for sacrifice)

Such an outline, where the second half is sort of a mirror image of the first half, was really common in ancient literature.  One reason why they did it was to make it easier to hear the passage read aloud.  You could hear the story move in towards a climax and then unravel back out.

It helps to observe such things, because the climax of such a structure usually comes at the center.  In this case, we see that God is concerned with his own glory (in contrast to the glory of Rome), and he will use Jesus to bring about peace between himself and those with whom he is pleased.

Other parts of the Bible use more logical structures.  For example, look at Hebrews 2:17-7:28.

I.  Jesus is a merciful and faithful high priest – 2:17-18

A.  Jesus is a faithful high priest – 3:1-6

B.  Application – 3:7-4:14

C.  Jesus is a merciful high priest – 4:15-5:10

D.  Application – 5:11-6:20

II.  Jesus is a high priest like Melchizedek – 6:20

A.  Explanation: how Jesus is like Melchizedek – 7:1-28

This outline covers just a portion of the book of Hebrews.  The entire book is structured similarly: a point is stated, then explained and applied.  The application leads into the next point, which is stated, explained, and applied.

Observing the structure is one step in our study.  Once we see it, we’re better equipped to identify the sections so we can interpret and apply them.

We’ve now had three posts on specific observation skills: observing words, grammar, and structure.  Have you noticed how each post had a common structure?  Check ’em out again, and use your new-found skills when you study the Bible.

What to Observe: Grammar

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The philosopher Wittgenstein wrote, “Like everything metaphysical the harmony between thought and reality is to be found in the grammar of the language.”  My high school English teacher would say he was on to something.

Without grammar, it would be difficult to communicate.  For example, we wouldn’t have verbs.  Just subjects.  All the time.  No action.  Maybe objects.  Short sentences, though.  Loads of confusion.  Mass hysteria.  Need for clarity.  Little talking.  Aw, shoot; I couldn’t do it.

So once you’ve observed the words of a Bible text, you can move on to observing how the author put those words together into sentences.  This means observing the grammar.

“Grammar” can be a scary word, invoking memories of pimples, bullies, and parental pressure as we look back (sometimes unfondly) on what used to be known as “The Wonder Years.”  I’m here to tell you, however, that grammar can be fun.  Grammar can be exciting.  Grammar can, in fact, be the gateway into fruitful observation of the Bible.

Let’s take Luke 2:1-21, NET as our text again.  Let’s observe just the subject and main verb of each sentence (in other words, let’s do some simple grammar).  Look at what you get:

  • A decree went out
  • This was the first
  • Everyone went
  • Joseph also went
  • He went
  • The time came
  • She gave birth…and wrapped…and laid
  • There were shepherds
  • An angel appeared…and the glory shone…and they were
  • The angel said
    • Don’t be afraid
    • Listen
    • Your Savior is born
    • He is Christ
    • This will be a sign: you will find
  • An army appeared
  • The shepherds said
    • Let us go and see
  • They hurried off and located…and found
  • They related
  • All were astonished
  • Mary treasured up
  • The shepherds returned
  • Everything was just
  • He was named

What is the point of this exercise?  Simply that, by stripping away the detail and observing the basic sentence structure (subject and verb), we end up with a pretty good outline of the story in Luke 2.  Before we can move to interpretation (figuring out what the text means), we must observe what it says.  One way to identify what the author says is to observe the grammar.  This skill is important as we learn how to study the Bible.

Observing the grammar isn’t just for narrative, like that in Luke.  It helps in other genres as well.

For example, look at Philippians 2:5-11.  Boiling it down to the basic grammar gives us:

  • You should have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had
    • Who did not regard equality with God as somethingto be grasped
      • but emptied himself…
      • [and] humbled himself…
    • As a result, God exalted him

What does Paul want us to do here?  Be like Jesus.  When we give up what we deserve (empty ourselves) and take on what we don’t deserve (humble ourselves), there’s no telling what God might do in our community.

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.