Lesson 3 | Searching Details
Concentric Circles
There is one important difference, however, in how we ought to search exegetical questions as opposed to theological questions.
All of the Bible is relevant for forming our theology. Certain parts give greater clarity on particular questions, but there is no general way to know where to start or where you will discover the greatest insights (unless you already know the answer).
Exegetical questions, on the other hand, are different. Because we are trying to better understand a particular verse, passages that are “closest” to this verse carry greater weight.
What Determines How “Close” a Passage Is?
Consider the concentric circles below. Your passage is in the center, located in a paragraph or series of paragraphs, which is located in a book, which is located within a set of other books written by the same author, which is located within a genre, which is located in one of the Testaments, which is located in the Bible.
So we are not talking about how many pages in your Bible you must turn to arrive at each passage. Rather, we are talking about how close each is literarily.
Clarify
Remember, this is one of the two main functions of cross-references and exegetical searches—clarifying what a certain word or phrase is meant to convey.
For example, take the word justice. What you mean when you use this word, what I mean, and what a “progressive” activist means are likely three different things. You and I probably mean something much closer to one another (assuming you are a Christian like me!), but there is likely still a difference given our different contexts.
In addition, what I mean by justice when talking about redemption in Christ one day, and what I mean by it when talking about a person who rear-ended my car another day will also be somewhat different. That is not to say they are contradictory. It is to say that words have a range of meaning and the context of who said it and in what circumstances matters.
So when you want to clarify what a word or phrase means in a particular verse, how that same word or phrase is used in the same book will hold more weight than how it is used in a different book by the same author, which will hold more weight than how it is used by other authors, etc.
Context
Likewise, filling out the historical or theological context of a passage with other texts includes noting the literary proximity of those other texts. That is, I need to take note of where each lies in redemptive history.
How It Is Done
While the concept of concentric circles can be a little challenging, it is easy to do on Biblearc. Simply select a word or a partial word (to add an * to the end) and make use of the context-based search options that appear.
For instance, I am going to be most helped in learning what James means by “works” that justify by his use of this word elsewhere in this same book. There are 17 occurrences and these results make clear that by “works” James means something that shows genuine faith. He includes examples like Abraham offering up Isaac as a sacrifice and Rahab conspiring with Israelite spies.
In the next example, noting the 16 uses of “simple” in Proverbs as a whole, I quickly discover that the idea is a sort of immoral foolishness (Proverbs 7:7, 8:5, etc)—not the sense of being uncomplex that I am used to in common speech.
Finally, searching Revelation for overcom* leads me to Revelation 2:26 where I learn that “overcoming” means keeping Jesus’ deeds until the end. Then, expanding out a bit more to John’s Writings, I further see that “overcoming” is done by believing in Jesus as the Son of God (1 John 5:4-5). While this insight is not from the same book, it is still likely included in John’s meaning since he is the author of both.
