Studying the Bible: Observation & Interpretation

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Purpose: equip us to study the Bible for ourselves and with others.

The Inductive Bible Study Method

The word inductive can sound confusing. It’s a way to describe how we reason, but it’s not a word we use often.

Inductive reasoning refers to reasoning that takes specific information and makes a broader generalization that is considered probable, allowing for the fact that the conclusion may not always be 100% accurate.

A good example of inductive reasoning would be:

I always eat three meals a day;

I have eaten two meals;

Therefore, I should eat one more meal.

When we apply this approach in the bible, we’re looking at what we see in the text in order to learn what its saying. Inductive Bible Study is about the faithful exercise of coming to the Bible without an agenda, and reading the passage in order to establish God’s agenda.

Any questions so far?

How to do Inductive Bible Study

First, always begin your bible studies with prayer. We need the Holy Spirit to help us understand God’s word. In I Cor. 2.14 it says,

1 Corinthians 2:14 KJV

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

After that, inductive study can be divided into three distinct phases:

(1) observation

(2) interpretation

(3) application

Or, to phrase it another way:

What does it say?

What does it mean?

What does it mean for me?

The phases are progressive in that you always begin with observation, move to interpretation, and only then can you move on to application. We’re going to look at observation and interpretation today and then talk about application next Sunday.

Observation: The goal of observation is to interrogate the text. You want to be able to answer the “5 W’s ” - who? what? when? where? why?

Who is speaking to whom?

What are they saying?

When are they saying it?

Why do they say they are saying it?

What is the context, etc.?

Things you can do to answer these questions include marking key persons, words and phrases, making lists, watching for contrasts and comparisons, as well as noting expressions of time, and geographic locations. All of these help us to interrogate the text so that we have a rich understanding of what the text contains. From there, we move on to interpretation.

I think you’ll find over time that good observation is what makes for good Bible study. To illustrate this, let me read to you the first-hand account on an early-20th century biology student. What he says has nothing to do with studying the Bible per se. I don’t even know if he was a Christian. But the lesson he learned has everything to do with good Bible study.

[Read abridged Agassiz and the Fish handout, starting with the second paragraph: “It was more than fifteen years ago…” (840words)]

Agassiz and the Fish by a Student

It was more than fifteen years ago that I entered the laboratory of Professor Agassiz, and told him I had enrolled my name in the scientific school as a student of natural history. He asked me a few questions about my object in coming, my antecedents generally, the mode in which I afterwards proposed to use the knowledge I might acquire, and finally, whether I wished to study any special branch. To the latter I replied that while I wished to be well grounded in all departments of zoology, I purposed to devote myself specially to insects.

“When do you wish to begin?” he asked.

“Now,” I replied.

This seemed to please him, and with an energetic “Very well,” he reached from a shelf a huge jar of specimens in yellow alcohol.

“Take this fish,” he said, “and look at it; we call it a Haemulon; by and by I will ask what you have seen.”

With that he left me. . . . I was conscious of a passing feeling of disappointment, for gazing at a fish did not commend itself to an ardent entomologist. . . . .

In ten minutes I had seen all that could be seen in that fish, and started in search of the professor, who had, however, left the museum; and when I returned, after lingering over some of the odd animals stored in the upper apartment, my specimen was dry all over. I dashed the fluid over the fish as if to resuscitate it from a fainting-fit, and looked with anxiety for a return of a normal, sloppy appearance. This little excitement over, nothing was to be done but return to a steadfast gaze at my mute companion. Half an hour passed, an hour, another hour; the fish began to look loathsome. I turned it over and around; looked it in the face—ghastly; from behind, beneath, above, sideways, at a three-quarters view—just as ghastly. I was in despair; at an early hour, I concluded that lunch was necessary; so with infinite relief, the fish was carefully replaced in the jar, and for an hour I was free.

On my return, I learned that Professor Agassiz had been at the museum, but had gone and would not return for several hours. My fellow students were too busy to be disturbed by continued conversation. Slowly I drew forth that hideous fish, and with a feeling of desperation again looked at it. I might not use a magnifying glass; instruments of all kinds were interdicted. My two hands, my two eyes, and the fish; it seemed a most limited field. I pushed my fingers down its throat to see how sharp its teeth were. I began to count the scales in the different rows until I was convinced that that was nonsense. At last a happy thought struck me—I would draw the fish; and now with surprise I began to discover new features in the creature. Just then the professor returned.

“That is right,” said he, “a pencil is one of the best eyes. I am glad to notice, too, that you keep your specimen wet and your bottle corked.”

With these encouraging words he added—

“Well, what is it like?”

He listened attentively to my brief rehearsal of the structure of parts whose names were still unknown to me; the fringed gill-arches and movable operculum; the pores of the head, fleshly lips, and lidless eyes; the lateral line, the spinous fin, and forked tail; the compressed and arched body. When I had finished, he waited as if expecting more, and then, with an air of disappointment:

“You have not looked very carefully; why,” he continued, more earnestly, “you haven’t seen one of the most conspicuous features of the animal, which is as plainly before your eyes as the fish itself. Look again; look again!” And he left me to my misery.

I was piqued; I was mortified. Still more of that wretched fish? But now I set myself to the task with a will, and discovered one new thing after another, until I saw how just the professor’s criticism had been. The afternoon passed quickly, and when, towards its close, the professor inquired,

“Do you see it yet?”

“No,” I replied. “I am certain I do not, but I see how little I saw before.”

“That is next best,” said he earnestly, “but I won’t hear you now; put away your fish and go home; perhaps you will be ready with a better answer in the morning. I will examine you before you look at the fish.”

This was disconcerting; not only must I think of my fish all night, studying, without the object before me, what this unknown but most visible feature might be, but also, without reviewing my new discoveries, I must give an exact account of them the next day. I had a bad memory; so I walked home by Charles River in a distracted state, with my two perplexities.

The cordial greeting from the professor the next morning was reassuring; here was a man who seemed to be quite as anxious as I that I should see for myself what he saw.

“Do you perhaps mean,” I asked, “that the fish has symmetrical sides with paired organs?”

His thoroughly pleased, “Of course, of course!” repaid the wakeful hours of the previous night. After he had discoursed most happily and enthusiastically—as he always did—upon the importance of this point, I ventured to ask what I should do next.

“Oh, look at your fish!” he said, and left me again to my own devices. In a little more than an hour he returned and heard my new catalogue.

“That is good, that is good!” he repeated, “but that is not all; go on.” And so for three long days, he placed that fish before my eyes, forbidding me to look at anything else, or to use any artificial aid. “Look, look, look,” was his repeated injunction.

This was the best entomological lesson I ever had—a lesson whose influence was extended to the details of every subsequent study; a legacy the professor has left to me, as he left it to many others, of inestimable value, which we could not buy, with which we cannot part. . . .

The fourth day a second fish of the same group was placed beside the first, and I was bidden to point out the resemblances and differences between the two; another and another followed, until the entire family lay before me, and a whole legion of jars covered the table and surrounding shelves; the odor had become a pleasant perfume; and even now, the sight of an old six-inch worm-eaten cork brings fragrant memories!

The whole group of Haemulons was thus brought into review; and whether engaged upon the dissection of the internal organs, preparation and examination of the bony framework, or the description of the various parts, Agassiz’s training in the method of observing facts in their orderly arrangement, was ever accompanied by the urgent exhortation not to be content with them.

“Facts are stupid things,” he would say, “until brought into connection with some general law.”

At the end of eight months, it was almost with reluctance that I left these friends and turned to insects; but what I gained by this outside experience has been of greater value than years of later investigation in my favorite groups.

So what relevance does this student’s experience have for Bible study?

The main point I want to impress upon you with the story I just read, is that bible study takes effort. We can’t expect everything to simply pop out of the text. We need focused effort.

OK. What does good observation look like? Let me give you a few guidelines.

1. Observe with a pencil (or pen or laptop or iPad). Just like Agassiz’s student, you want to write everything you see as you observe the text.

2. It can help to print out your text so that you can write on it directly.

3. Observe patterns in the text. These could be comparisons and contrasts, or parallelism, for example.

4. Mark linking words (like for, so that, therefore, and, but…) and summarize what they’re there for. For example, a “therefore” should lead you to summarize what comes before that word—and then figure out the connection between your text and the section before.

5. Write down connections you see to other passages in Scripture. These could be direct quotations that are noted in the text. Or they could be allusions—so long as they seem to be deliberate allusions by the author.

6. Write down allusions to time or place—and what significance they might have.

7. Mark terms of conclusion (e.g. “thus,” “for this reason”) and what significance they might have.

8. Write down questions. These can be questions of fact. “Where was Susa?” Or they can be questions of speculation. “Why is the remnant of Israel in great trouble and shame?” Try to get the best answers you can for your questions.

9. One of the best tools for observation is memorization. Put your passage in your head and you’ll probably notice things as you call it to mind through the day.

Let’s practice!Philippians 1:1-12.

[Use whiteboard: write down all the observations the class has about this text. Spend 5 minutes observing individually before compiling a class list.]

Interpretation: If observation tells us what the text says, interpretation tells us what the text means.

And mainly, what it meant to its original audience. Let me give you 7 guidelines for interpretation:

1. Context Rules

Your interpretation should be consistent with the theme, purpose, and structure of the book in which is it found. If it isn’t, you’ve made a wrong turn somewhere. Ask yourself if you’re considering the historic and cultural context or are you ignoring these things to get a more pleasing interpretation?

2. Let scripture interpret scripture.

Always seek the full counsel of the Word of God: If your interpretation runs contrary to the clear, established doctrines of the faith then you need to reconsider your interpretation. No part of the bible will ever undermine another part of the bible. Sometimes sorting out what initially seems like a contradiction takes work, but this is the point of studying the bible. I think as you read the bible, you’ll be amazed at how consistent its teaching is on things like, sin, the nature of man, and the character of God.

3. Never base your convictions on an obscure passage of scripture.

An obscure passage is one in which the meaning isn’t clear, even when the proper principles of interpretation are used. Again, employ the full counsel of the bible.

4. Interpret scripture as the author intends you to do.

Take the words you read in the bible at face value. Often, that means interpreting “literally.” By which I mean, it is what it says. If it says God created the heavens and the earth, it means exactly that. But of course not all the Bible intends to be taken literally. Later in this class, we’ll talk through how we need to take into account differences in genre, imagery, and symbolism to understand the author’s intent. God gave us the bible so we could read it easily and understand Him better, so we should not feel the need to reinterpret everything in a more “spiritual” manner.

5. Look for the main message of the passage.

Always keep in mind what the author is trying to communicate. What’s the main idea? What’s the clear purpose? Any conclusions you come to must come from and support this main idea.

6. Study the OT in view of Jesus and the NT.

Ask how an Old Testament passage fits within the teaching of the New Testament. Ask yourself these questions[1]:

a. Where does this passage fit in the timeline of redemptive history?

b. How does this passage point to Jesus?

c. How does this truth about OT Israel relate to the New Testament idea of the church?

d. How is this passage foundational for an understanding of New Testament Christianity?

e. Which New Testament passages help me to answer these questions?

7. Adopt the New Testament’s attitude toward the Old Testament.

Train your brain to make connections between NT passages and what has come before in the Old Testament. Ask these three questions[2]:

a. How is this passage a fulfillment of something promised in the Old Testament?

b. How is this New Testament idea different from or similar to an Old Testament teaching?

c. In what way does this New Testament passage clarify, unveil, fulfill or amplify something from the Old Testament?

These 7 guidelines are essential to interpretation and it’s only after we properly interpret a passage that we can move on to applying it.

Well, let’s go back to our passage in Philippians and see what it would have meant to its initial audience.

[This should be a fairly straightforward exercise.]

Today we covered the first two parts of inductive bible study – observation and interpretation.

Next week, we’ll cover application.

Let’s close in prayer.

[1] Taken from What is a Healthy Church Member? By Thabiti Anyabwile, page 34.

[2] Ibid.