How to Engage in Effective Observation of Biblical Texts | How to Study the Bible Series
Updated: Aug 20
After determining the historical-cultural, literary, and theological context of a book of the Bible and the passage you are going to study, you can begin the observation phase of Scripture, Context, Observation, Interpretation, and Application (SCOIA).
Observation is the process of noticing how biblical texts are constructed. That said, rather than asking the basic and familiar observation question “what does it say?”, which could simply refer to the words used in the text, it is important to ask instead “what specific literary features does the author use to construct the passage?”
Why?
Because the wide range of literary features that biblical authors employed work together to communicate a particular message that is meant to be understood in a particular way. Therefore, “[comprehension of the authors’ messages] requires more than just seeing the words on a page and tracing them across a series of sentences and paragraphs. [We] must focus [our] minds along with [our] vision in order to see with accuracy and precision all that lies before [us] in the biblical text.”
Comprehension of the authors’ messages] requires more than just seeing the words on a page and tracing them across a series of sentences and paragraphs. [We] must focus [our] minds along with [our] vision in order to see with accuracy and precision all that lies before [us] in the biblical text.
Overview of The Five Keys Framework™
There are countless literary features biblical authors used to write their texts, and trying to identify them while observing biblical texts can be overwhelming. That is why I have simplified the observation process by creating The Five Keys Framework(TM).
The Five Keys include Key Words, Key People, Key Places, Key Events, and Other Key Features. In this article, I have provided a high-level guide for engaging in effective observation of biblical texts using the five keys.
Key Words
In my article on Scripture, I explained how to draft outlines that detail the literary structure and overall flow of any book of the Bible. Observing those macro-level literary features is the initial phase of observation that provides the literary context of the smaller units that make up the book. With that context in mind, you can focus on identifying the micro-level literary features, including the words, phrases, and sentences that make up the text. This is where key words observation begins.
The most efficient way to observe the text is to survey the particular passage you are studying, noting repeated words and phrases and where these repetitions occur.
Look for theological terms such as grace, covenant, righteousness, holiness, sin, and salvation.
Try not to overlook familiar words such as love, walk, return, or servant, because “familiar” terms may have a weightier meaning that can only be captured in the original biblical languages, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.
Also document the author’s use of proper nouns, common nouns, pronouns, and time references.
As standalone features, the author’s grammatical choices and use of particular words or phrases may not appear to be important. However, once you transition to the interpretation phase and begin to focus on how all these things relate, you will be able to understand the meaning and significance of the passage and ultimately, the author’s main point.
Key People
After identifying key words and phrases, focus on the human and divine “characters” and how they contribute to the progression of the text. Always treat God as a central character in the text, even when He is unnamed, or His presence or activity is not so obvious.
Look for specific ways each character either directly or indirectly contributes to the text. For example, note whether they are a protagonist who drives the action, an antagonist who opposes it, or a foil whose contrast highlights another person’s character or choices.
Also, pay attention to whether or how the character changes over the course of the story.
In addition, be aware of the author’s use of typology: occasions when an earlier person, event, or institution establishes a pattern that finds fuller expression later in Scripture.
Key Places
Key places include all physical locations and settings that contribute to the meaning of a text.
Pay attention to physical topography: the natural shape and features of the land, which frequently carry narrative and theological weight (going up to Jerusalem, down to Egypt).
Note whether the setting is urban or rural, and if events unfold in private or communal spaces, or in the wild or nature. To determine which places are key, notice where events occur, how movement to or from a place is described, how often a location is mentioned, and how shifts in setting align with shifts in the story or argument.
The significance of such places is often revealed by the events that have occurred there.
Key Events
Key events are significant occurrences the author assumes, alludes to, announces, or anticipates.
Assumed realities are past and present events that the author and audience take for granted and therefore do not explain. Our role as students of the Bible is to discover those assumptions, a process that begins with exploring the historical-cultural context.
Allusions to events are references to significant occurrences that occurred in the immediate or distant past. The easiest way to recognize allusions is to be familiar with the whole biblical storyline, so you can see how Old Testament authors reference other Old Testament events and how New Testament authors reference Old Testament events.
Announced events are past or present occurrences that are directly named, and thus, easier for the Bible reader to identify. They may be connected to the occasion that prompted the writing of the text or simply refer to a situation the author needs their audience to be aware of to make their point.
Finally, anticipations are those events that are promised or predicted but not yet realized. They may be tied to covenant blessings and curses, warnings, messianic prophecies, or eschatological realities.
Other Key Features
Other key features include grammatical elements the authors used to construct their passage. Most of these are readily identifiable in contemporary English texts; however, some may require a basic understanding of the original biblical languages.
Look for comparisons and contrasts, lists, quantities, and anything else that stands out to you as you observe the text. Other key features that are especially useful when working with the original biblical languages include the authors' use of dependent and independent clauses, conjunctions, active and passive voice, person, tense, gender, case, and mood.
Three Questions to Ask About Each Observation
Finally, throughout your Bible study, you should ask thoughtful questions about your observations.
Your questions serve as the bridge between observation and interpretation, and are based on the observations you have made, so it is essential not only to ask thoughtful questions of the text as you study, but to ensure you actually devote time to researching the answers, first within the text itself and finally, using reliable external sources.
In addition to formulating your own questions that occur to you as you study, there are three primary types of questions you are encouraged to ask about every key observation you make: clarifying questions, purpose questions, and questions of implication. Each of those question types includes additional questions that will help you dig deeper; I have only included the guiding questions below:
Clarifying: What details, descriptions, and definitions in this passage illuminate this key observation?
Purpose: Why is this word, detail, or structure used here, in this way, and at this point?
Implication: What does the text force me to accept or reject about reality?
These questions will aid you in researching the macro and micro-level observations you made when you transition to the Interpretation phase of the SCOIA process. Exercise discernment when selecting which observations to devote intensive research time to, because while all the observations you made are worth considering, not every one of them is essential for uncovering the author’s main point.
Observation is Just the Beginning of Effective Bible Study
Using the Five Keys is essential for effective observation of biblical texts, yet observation is only the beginning. To discern the author’s intended meaning, you must carry your observations through the rest of the SCOIA process: Interpretation and Application.
You can learn more by reading the related blogs in my How to Study the Bible series. To access the full observation guide and comprehensive instruction on how to use the SCOIA method, you can sign up for my course: How to Study the Bible.
Editor’s Note: This is Part 2 of a 4-part series from Jessica Durrett called How to Study the Bible. Access the full series here.
Quote from: Fuhr, Richard Alan, Jr., and Andreas J. Köstenberger. Inductive Bible Study: Observation, Interpretation, and Application through the Lenses of History, Literature, and Theology. (Nashville, TN: B&H), 2016.
