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"OF WHOM SPEAKETH THE PROPHET THIS?" (Acts 8:34):THE VALUE OF ASKING QUESTIONS AND LOOKING FOR SIMILAR WORDING

Stephen Green

THE OBJECT of this article is to highlight the benefit of asking questions and of finding similarities of wording in other parts of Scripture during Bible study. In both cases the most obvious purpose is to come to a better understanding of God’s Word and to interpret it correctly. But this is only part of a fuller purpose, as we shall see.

Example of the Ethiopian Eunuch

The case of the Ethiopian Eunuch is a good illustration of what is in mind. God prepared the opportunity for Philip to teach the Ethiopian Eunuch, and his question to Philip provided the ideal situation for him to do this, and indicated that he had a ready mind to receive the answer. Here are some important points which arise from this incident:

Philip provides both a better understanding and a basis for subsequent action by his student. Taking this example as a pattern, we conclude that Bible study is not for its own sake. Three important uses are:

All of these no doubt were important to the eunuch when he got to Ethiopia, though only the first comes out of the record at this place.

Finding answers

One further point we can learn from the eunuch. He was not so proud as to respond to Philip with, No, I need no help. He had already done what he could do on his own by way of study in the given circumstances. God provided the answer to his question through Philip. This example teaches us the value of going to God for an answer, which the eunuch may have done in prayer, although this is not recorded. It also illustrates the value of us listening to what another has to say about our question, because this may be God’s way of providing the answer.

There are a number of examples within Scripture of questions being asked about the application and interpretation of Scripture. There was the question Jesus asked the Jews about the Son of David: "If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?" (Mt. 22:45). Jesus’s purpose in asking was to make them think about the status and authority of the Christ. Some other examples are Matthew 19:7 about Deuteronomy 24:1-4; Romans 4:9 about Psalm 32:1,2; Romans 4:10 about Genesis 15:6; Hebrews 7:4 about Genesis 14.

In the last of this list the question is, How great was Melchizedek? Though expressed as an exclamation, there is still an underlying question. In 1 Peter 1:10,11 Peter tells us that the prophets have "enquired and searched diligently" about when the important things of salvation would be fulfilled. In many of these examples the benefit of the question is intended for the hearer or reader rather than the poser of the question.

Asking questions during Bible study

It would be a shallow and unthinking approach simply to read without asking questions. Asking questions broadens and deepens our approach, and this is beneficial even when we can find no immediate answer. We may not realise many important points until we start asking questions. We then realise the difficulties, or special and surprising features, of the passage concerned.

Secular education teaches standard questions for collecting thoughts and organising them: Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How? All of them apply to Bible study. But ours is a special purpose; we are striving to get to the mind of the Spirit, the mind of God. And we need to present the results of that study for our own and often others’ benefit. Questions concentrate attention on what is being read or studied. They help us avoid taking an interpretation for granted which may have been held unthinkingly for years.

Appropriate questions to be asked will depend much on the passage of Scripture, and each student must think about his or her own questions; but here are some questions which will have fairly general application:

The first eight of these are analytical in approach and help us to clarify the understanding. The last two are constructive, and can help us to apply the Mind of God in our lives. For a more expanded list of questions, but still quite general, see "Some Suggested Prompts for Question Asking" at the end of the article.

Finding appropriate questions and asking them of ourselves about a chapter we are reading is a natural thing to do. Many have been doing it for years without really thinking about it in a formal way. Perhaps we have forgotten when we first began to ask questions about what we read, and it has become second nature. For those who are beginners in Bible study it is important to acquire this approach, and to them a list of different kinds of question can be stimulating when put side by side with a passage of Scripture.

A large number of questions we might ask during study are not about specific passages, though they may be stimulated by Bible reading. We will often ask questions to which we need or want an answer; that is, they are important to us. "What must I do to be saved?", or, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 16:30; 2:37), are questions which were more than merely interesting investigations to those who asked them.

Resolving questions which have arisen in a realistic Bible study context will often be more profitable than considering old chestnuts which we hear others raise. 

Making a note of questions

During the Daily Readings and at study times it is very useful to make a note of questions, and also answers, if we find them. This is especially true when answers are not immediately obvious, or are important, or unexpected. Later, unanswered questions can be brought up at the Bible Class or in conversation with friends in the Truth. Making notes, even if only a few informal ones, is a useful way of making the results of reading register in our minds. They will be more readily available later if we put them in a standard place (probably a small notebook). This can be part of a general system of note taking during our Daily Readings.

Asking a question publicly

Introducing questions publicly and perhaps finding an answer through the discussion may help others as well as oneself. At a Bible Class a question concentrates the class’s attention, and a good question benefits the discussion. It is one of the important functions of the president or discussion leader to create such questions, if questions and comments are slow in coming from ‘the floor’.

However, questions can be misused to destroy. We should try to answer the questions we ask, and not simply raise difficulties. Paul has a comment to make on some who were negative in their approach: "... ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Tim. 3:7). 

Looking for similar phrases

Our objective in looking for similarities will be to make comparisons, not simply for their own sake, but as a technique to allow our understanding of one passage to help increase understanding in another, using the contrasts and similarities. The kinds of similarity we may notice include similarities in phraseology or idea. These can encompass specific pointers to other places in the Bible, quotations, and, more frequently, allusions. Allusions can be the use of a short phrase in common between two passages, odd words sprinkled in the text, or, in the more obvious cases, perhaps a number of identical or near identical phrases. The benefit of making the comparison will often work to a better understanding of both passages.

There can be confusion over what is allusion and what is quotation. Allusion can include exact quotation from other scripture, but more frequently it consists of other types of reference, such as a summary, precis or paraphrase of the original passage. It can also include a re-application of the original to suit a new context.

Lists of references such as supplied by Bible margins can be very helpful in finding allusions. But they can also be very restrictive if we rely too much upon them. It is relatively easy to pick up the use of the same words or phrases in English or in the original languages by using a concordance or computer search program. [The article "Tools to Help" (p. 241) provides details about tools available for doing this. Some of them are very powerful in their search capabilities.] However, for substantial study of allusions we need to acquire a wide knowledge of the Bible, such as is provided by thoughtful and regular reading. This will provide us with a basis for finding parallel ideas, not merely similar phrases. If we do the searching personally and manually we retain more knowledge of the Scripture in our mind for future use, and will have less need to repeat the mechanised search another time.

Need for prayer

Earlier we briefly mentioned the value of prayer with respect to questions resulting from our Bible study. Prayer took a prominent place in the life of Daniel, as is clear from the frequency with which it is mentioned in the book of his prophecy. In order to find the secret of God’s revelation to Nebuchadnezzar by dream, Daniel and his three friends prayed to God, so that they should not be executed with the other wise men of Babylon (Dan. 2:18).

Again, in chapter 9, Daniel prays regarding the Seventy Year Prophecy of Jeremiah which limits the desolation of Jerusalem. We note that it is not a prayer for an explanation of this prophecy, which Daniel seems to have "understood by books" themselves (v. 2). Rather it is a prayer for God to forgive the sins of his people and to bless his holy mountain and the temple upon it, so that the prophecy should be fulfilled. God answers the prayer with a new prophecy about God’s city and the people, and the coming of the Messiah, with the aim of extending Daniel’s understanding (vv. 22,23). Our prayers about Bible study should look beyond the immediate wording and textual difficulties, and think in terms of the fulfilment of God’s wonderful purposes.