Probing the text

A man sat down on a park bench to eat his lunch. Shortly after, a lady joined him with her dog in tow. The dog began to show some interest in the man’s lunch, wagging its tail at his every move of hand to mouth. Feeling slightly uncomfortable with the dog’s reaction, the man turned to the lady and asked ‘do you mind if I throw your dog a bit?’ to which she replied ‘oh, not at all’. He picked the dog and threw it some good distance along the path…

Needless to say, words and phrases sometimes have different meanings. Yet, as Jen Wilkin, a seasoned Bible teacher asserts, “Meaning is determined by the author, only discovered by the reader”, or in this case, by the dog owner.

Interestingly, every attempt to read just about any piece of material requires a measure of interpretation, with the reader having to work out what the writer or speaker intends.

When it comes to the Bible, it is good practice to have access to more than one translation – for the sake of comparison. If a verse or passage in one translation seems somewhat confusing, it can be helpful comparing it side-by-side with another translation.

A word of caution though; comparing two translations of the Bible requires tact, as it could easily mirror a comparison between apples and oranges. Whilst there is nothing wrong in preferring apples to oranges for whatever reason, to conclude that one is better than the other might be unhelpful. Similarly, bible readers should make choices based on requirements, and come short of hastily concluding that one translation is better than another. That isn’t to say that one cannot question the interpretative options of some translations. By all means, do, but do so with coats of humility.

Good study Bibles and commentaries can also be carefully used to gain deeper understanding of biblical texts. While study bibles quickly get to their interpretations, good commentaries spend more time working their way to their interpretations, as they review and present alternate interpretative options. In any case, Bible readers must be careful with these extra resources as they are still human opinions, for all their worth, and must always be viewed as such. In other words, the final authority cannot lie with them, but with the Bible.

Readers who are vaguely familiar with the bible should be particularly careful when engaging external resources, as they might be easily persuaded and swung from one position to another. A good grasp of the essential story of Christianity will serve as a good safety net.

Let’s not settle for anecdotes, or worse still, scurry off before even getting started. Let’s probe the text by asking the author ‘what do you mean?’, and in hopeful anticipation, labour to arrive at an interpretation that squares with the author’s intent.

Thanks for reading!

Sike Osinuga