Open up your Bible to any text. Immediately, you as a reader are confronted with a textual forest. Complex arguments. Poetic language. Parables and Proverbs. Narrative. What is your first step to understanding this text? How do you get to the core of a bible passage?

In many ways, analyzing a Bible passage is like doing detective work. And the Biblical authors have left you a bunch of different clues to help you understand the truth God is communicating. This post will go through a list of those different clues. By knowing what to look for, you won’t miss important clues the author gives to help you out.

1. What style of literature is the passage?

This first clue the author gives you is essential to interpretation. Books have been written on the different literary types of the Bible and how to approach each type. If you have taken a literature class growing up you are familiar with different literary types: poetry, narrative stories, plays, etc. One of the things which makes Scripture difficult to interpret sometimes is there are several different literary types contained in it.

Your first step to understanding the Bible passage is simply to identify the type of literature you are dealing with. Does the passage record a historic event? Then it is likely narrative. Does the passage discuss the future using metaphorical language? Then it is likely prophecy. Does the passage fit within a stand-alone book with a sender and a receiver? Then it is likely a letter.

Discerning the type of literature of a Bible passage sets your expectations as a reader. A narrative passage which says “He ate locusts and wild honey” you might take literally, while a passage of poetry which declares God’s word is “sweeter than honey” must be understood as a metaphor.

2. What is the structure of the passage?

After figuring out the type of literature, it helps to examine the structure of the passage. What I mean by this, is simply to look at what happens in the passage. Are there distinct sections in the passage? Or does it all flow together? Are there different “scenes”? Is there a break in flow or a something unexpected which appears in the passage? Look in particular for any shifts in tone or focus.

Answering this question can be difficult at the start. You might need to look at other clues in the passage before answering the question. But understanding the structure of the passage helps you see the “big picture”. Oftentimes, if you just straight into defining words or breaking down metaphors, you end up losing sight of the passage as a whole.

Each part of the passage contributes to the whole. Don’t get overly focused on any one part without understanding how it fits into what the author is saying

3. Is a word or phrase repeated?

This is one of the easiest things to look for and might be one of the most helpful. Looking for repeated words and/or phrases helps you discern what is the emphasis of this passage? One of the common pitfalls you can make in your Bible study is emphasizing whatever you think is important without asking what does the author think is important?

Repetition is a simple clue Biblical authors leave to say “Here is my point! Don’t miss this!”

Now, not every repetition emphasizes the “main point.” But oftentimes a repeated phrase should clue you in to how you should interpret a passage. For example, the other day I was reading through Genesis 39. It is the passage which describes Joseph as a slave in Potiphar’s house and then getting sent to jail after getting falsely accused. As I read, I noticed the passage kept repeating the phrases “The Lord was with Joseph,” “The Lord blessed Joseph” and kept mentioning “Joseph’s authority”.

Just from seeing those repetitions, I could start interpreting the significance of the passage. The author is trying to emphasize Joseph’s success was a product of God’s blessing. What specifically did God bless Joseph with? Authority. More study needs to follow to understand the text fully, but let textual repetition shape your thinking early on in your study.

The text often repeats what is most important.

4. Are any emotional words used in the passage?

I have elsewhere argued that figuring out the emotion an author is trying to convey is vital. Passages of Scripture aim to have a definite effect on the reader. The Bible wants to change the way you think and act, but it also wants to shape your emotions. One of the ways to discern what the author wants you to feel is to look for “emotional words”.

What I mean by “emotional words” are adjectives, verbs, exclamations, or other words which strongly point towards a particular emotion. If I yelled out “ow”, you would immediately assume a negative emotion. If I say “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!” there is a strong positive sound to the phrase. “There is no fear of God before their eyes”, on the other hand, sounds like a negative appraisal.

The emotional words in a passage help you hear the author’s tone. You have had this experience before if you have ever written someone an email. Because you cannot show the recipient your facial expressions, you have to choose certain words to convey positive, negative, or neutral emotion. It is the same thing with Biblical texts. The emotional words in a passage give you a clue to how you should feel after reading it.

5. Are there any important words to define?

You often don’t have time to go through and define every single word in a bible passage. Nor is it always helpful to do so. A lot of times, the essential reality a text is pointing to is dependent on a few key words. Sometimes those words are the repeated words in the passage or the emotionally charged words. But as you read through the passage, ask yourself after each sentence “do I understand what this means? If not, is there a word that, if I understood it, I would understand the passage?”

Key words are exactly that: words that unlock your understanding of the sentence or phrase. If a sentence is using simple words that you understand at first glance, maybe there are no key terms to define. But if you run into a sentence that you have to read through multiple times to understand, there may be a word that you could define. A good practice is to simply list out those key words and then go through one-by-one and define them in their biblical context.

Oftentimes, if you don’t understand a bible passage, you really just don’t understand a few key words. Study those, and you’ll understand the whole passage.

It is important to use an online tool like Blue Letter Bible or software like Logos to define the words. What you really want to do is understand what the word could mean in the original language, and then see how it is used throughout scripture. Whatever you do, don’t simply use an English dictionary to define the key words. If you do this, you are translating a translation. Original languages are vital for this step. Better to go to a commentary which discusses the original languages than an English dictionary.

6. Are there any metaphors in the text and what do they mean?

Metaphors are essential to communication. Bible passages make frequent use of metaphors regardless of the genre. I consider understanding metaphors to be so crucial to understanding scripture, I created a whole tool to help you understand them. I invite you to go read that post if you want a deeper understanding of how to get your mind around a Biblical metaphor.

For the purposes of this post, you must know how to identify a metaphor. This is where knowing the type of literature comes into play. If you are studying a Psalm or prophetic literature, expect more metaphorical language. Metaphors simply explain a complicated, abstract concept by comparing it with a concrete, easily understood concept. A righteous man is compared to a tree. God’s word is compared with gold and honey. Locusts become a picture of God’s judgement.

You will not fully grasp a Biblical text until you identify the meaning of its metaphors.

7. Is anything contrasted in this passage?

Contrast often goes hand-in-hand with metaphors. A contrast is simply taking two things and emphasizing their differences. A good example is Psalm 1. In this Psalm, the righteous man is contrasted with the wicked man. You as the reader are meant to see the differences between the two. Another classic example of a contrast is at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus contrasts a wise man who builds his house on a rock with a foolish man who builds his house on the sand.

When analyzing contrasts, ask “what differences should I be seeing between these two things?”

8. Are there any if-then statements?

The fancy title for these is “conditional clauses.” If this thing happens, then this other thing happens. If-then statements are found throughout the Bible. It is helpful to divide them up between the “if” and the “then”. The “if” answers what needs to happen and the “then” answers what will happen as a result. Sometimes the words “if” and “then” appear in the passage, other times they do not. You have to be discerning and thoughtful to notice if a condition is present.

For example, the verse “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” might not seem to be an if-then statement. But you could rewrite the verse as “if the Lord does not build the house, then those who build it labor in vain.” You see that the originally verse is actually a conditional clause in disguise. Be on the lookout for if-then statements in whatever bible passage you are studying. Oftentimes, an if-then statement will hold the key to interpreting the passage.

9. Are there any logical arguments in the passage?

In the future, I will write an extensive post on logical arguments and how to analyze them. Suffice to say, logic is a tool you must have to read and grasp any text. Biblical authors use logical arguments explicitly and implicitly in their writings. A logical argument draws a conclusion from premises. In other words, a logical argument wants you to accept something as true because of other things which are true. I highly recommend every Christian take a course or read a book on logic. The payoffs to your Bible study will be exponential.

There are a number of words which indicate premises and conclusions. I will give you them in a different post. For now, look for the word “therefore.” “Therefore” is a word which almost always indicates a conclusion. And where there is a conclusion, an argument is almost certainly nearby. So look for logical progressions, arguments, & conclusions. They often reveal the point of a passage.

I will go as far as to say you cannot study the Bible without understanding logic. It is fundamental to understanding language & communication.

Conclusion

There are dozens of ways Biblical authors communicate truth. Some are easy to understand but most require thought and work to grasp. This post has given you a few important parts of bible passages to look for. There are certainly more. But if you start your Bible study looking for the clues given in this post, you will most likely have a much easier time understand the author’s intent. Understanding a bible passage takes time, but if you are equipped with the right tools and know what things to look for, you will always find a truth about the Lord to excite you.

Interested in applying a Bible passage? Check out these tools for sermon meditation and important application questions.