The KJV rendering of Psalm 5:3 can give one the impression that this is a prayer of general devotion to be recited in the morning. However, a careful reading of the psalm shows that quite a bit more is going on here.
Category: Close Reading
Principles For Reading Hebrew Parallelism in English
The Challenge and Importance of the OT’s Prophetic Poetry
Reading the poetic portions of the Old Testament in English, especially in the Prophets, can be challenging. But the fact is that the more familiar one becomes with the poetic sections of the Prophets, the more one sees that they are absolutely, vitally central to the NT. In the end, the way to make OT poetry interesting and understandable is not by retreating from it but by studying it even more intensely using all the imaginative and scholarly resources at your disposal.
Studying the Bible: To Love It is To Know It
Close Reading: Reading From Different Perspectives
The Lord GOD Has Spoken – Who Will Not Prophesy: Amos 3:3-8
In Amos 3:3-8, the prophet uses a series of rhetorical questions to deliver a warning to Israel about the inescapability of God’s coming judgment. But he also tells us about prophecy itself – that it carries with it an implied invitation to repent and be saved from the otherwise inescapable judgment.
Reading Amos 2:4-5 in Context
The oracle against Judah in Amos 2:4-5 is typically regarded by scholars as a later insertion due to its use of Deuteronomic language and the apparent vagueness of its accusation. This article argues that dating a text late solely because of the presence of so-called “Deuteronomic” language is logically circular, and it proposes a reading of the first two chapters of Amos that makes the oracle against Judah an integral part of the passage’s rhetoric rather than an obligatory insertion.
When Word-For-Word is Not so Word-For-Word
Principles of Bible Reading: From Text to Application
Principles of Bible Reading: How Else Could It Be Said?
An important assumption of close reading, whether or not the text at hand is Scripture, is that every detail matters. Every detail can and should be subjected to scrutiny. One way we can subject details to scrutiny is by asking, “How else could it be said?” By asking this question we attempt to replicate the thinking that constructed the text.