Lesson 10: Interpretive Tools

Unpacking the Principle

• Inquire Carefully
• Slow down.
• Be relentlessly curious.
• Search the Scriptures
• Labor to read the whole Bible regularly.
• Use cross-references.
• Key words
• Themes
• Background
• Quotations
• Do Word Studies
• Search the word
• Focus on key biblical words
• Look for words that the author repeats
• Search related words
• Search the original word
• Consider the context
• Sum it up
• Get the Grammar (Phrasing)
• Phrasing helps us discern and display the grammatical structure.
• DIALS
• Divide the phrases.
• Indent the lines.
• Add arrows.
• Label the relationships.
• Savor the passage.
• Follow the Logic (Arcing)
• Arcing and bracketing help us discover and display the author’s message and logic.
• Pay attention to the "little words"—the logical connectors—that build the author's argument
• Use Your Words (Paraphrasing)
• A good paraphrase faithfully captures and explains the text.
• Five tips for paraphrasing:
• Clarify the links between ideas.
• Express the meaning in your own words.
• Expand the text.
• Capture the tone.
• Get back to work.