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
- Who did not regard equality with God as somethingto be grasped
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.
Thanks for the post Peter. Grammar is not something I immediately look for when doing Bible study, but this is a great post on why I should do it.
Hey Peter! Sorry I know this is like a super old post but I’ve brushing up on OIA for a women’s Bible study I’m leading. Do you know of any books that specifically deal with observing grammar in the Bible? I feel like it’s a step I overlook and I’m not sure how to dissect it further. Thanks! 🙂
Some commentaries are better at this than others. I’ve also been helped by Methodical Bible Study by Robert Traina. The book is about more than just grammar, but the section about observing grammar is pretty detailed.
So success story! After re reading this post about grammar, I went and prepped for Romans 2. I took your advice and marked just the subject and verb in each sentence, and it was so helpful! I noticed a pattern of Paul speaking to “you” in the whole chair, which I would missed otherwise because typically I don’t include pronouns in my repeated words! I will never underestimate grammar again 🙂 thank you!
P.s. I’ll read the book when I get the chance, Jake lent it out to someone 😛
I am putting together a 10-week study for our adult Sunday School on the topic of “How to Study the Bible.” I stumbled upon this site in my search for opposing views to Inductive method. I was pleased to see you don’t actually disagree with the method, but you do with the term “Inductive” applied to that method. This is an old article, so I hope you still respond to comments.
Now, regarding my question. In this particular page, you talk about Grammar. This is a topic that as I get more and more into biblical studies, I wish I had paid more attention to in high school. In the topic of grammar, I have become fascinated with figures of speech and God’s employment of them in His word. Generally, as you know, figures of speech are a deviation from the normal rules of grammar. Take polysyndeton (many ands – or conjunctions) or example. The KJV seems to preserve figures such as this, but more modern translations “correct” the “bad grammar” and the figures–and therefore their emphasis–is lost.
In your opinion, should figurative language be a consideration in a person’s study of the Bible?
Absolutely! We get in a lot of trouble when a biblical author speaks figuratively, and we read literally, and vice versa.