Observe
I have written several times in this blog about the value of observing repetition in Bible study. Here is another example of how it can help you determine the arc of an author’s arguement.
The Tuesday study is shifting to Romans 4 - 8. In preparation for that study I was skimming through those chapters. I noticed that one key word was repeated in each chapter
Understand
When you look at that data, it sorta kinda tells you Paul's point...
I have written several times in this blog about the value of observing repetition in Bible study. Here is another example of how it can help you determine the arc of an author’s arguement.
The Tuesday study is shifting to Romans 4 - 8. In preparation for that study I was skimming through those chapters. I noticed that one key word was repeated in each chapter
| Chapter | Word | Frequency |
4
|
Faith |
10
|
5
|
Sin |
11
|
6
|
Death/Died |
17
|
7
|
Law/Commandment |
27
|
8
|
Spirit |
21
|
Understand
When you look at that data, it sorta kinda tells you Paul's point...
Very valuable point and suggestions. I'm amazed at myself, and others I study, the propensity to leap to opinions or maybe even worse, applications, without clearly observing what the text says. I got to thinking about my recent studies in Matthew in another context, and the emphasis Jesus put on hearing and understanding. In a preliterate society the text would have come in verbal form, therefore they would need to first get what was said, then develop their understanding. I did a quick on "hear AND understand" in Matthew, and found seven times these two words were mentioned and related as well as a few other places. The context and applications are different, but the point seems to be the same - we need to observe and then understand.
ReplyDeleteTry it yourself. And be sure and look at Acts 8:30, also.