The Art of Questioning the Text

When we read any text—the Bible, sickness a novel, pharm the newspaper—we readers raise questions. What was the issue that caused this text to be written? How is this issue resolved in the text? Do we find this resolution satisfactory? Whose point of view is recognized in the text? Whose point of view is ignored? Do we face similar issues?  What would it take for our similar issues to be resolved?

When the text is from the Bible, our questions take on some urgency. We want to know how the passage we are reading addresses faith concerns. We want to know how a document written thousands of years ago speaks to our time. We want to ask: What did this text mean way back when it was written? And of course we also want to ask: What might this text mean today?

The Bible As Document

Implicit in all our questions is the presupposition that however much authority we invest in a text from the Bible, it comes to us in human words and was written by ancient human beings and, therefore, needs to be interpreted, at least in some respects, like any other human document.

Many texts—the Bible, a novel, the newspaper—raise questions about us readers. How are we different after reading a text? How are our values questioned or reinforced? I’d like to illustrate all this by reading with you Genesis 15.

Stop and Read

Before you read any more of this blog post—stop. Read Genesis 15:1-21 for yourself. Use more than one translation if possible. What are the big issues in this text? How are they resolved? Read the text now and jot down your observations and questions. Make your own observations without help—or hindrance—of a commentary. Your questions and answers may be better than mine.

The Post Continues

I suspect that most of you will agree that the two issues discussed in Genesis 15 were whether Abram and Sarai would have a child and whether God’s promise of the gift of the land would come true. We recognize at once the universal character of these issues. Many couples have struggled over the years over issues of infertility and have tried to resolve these issues in various ways. We all also want a place we can call home, whether we own that place or rent that place. That place we call home is not always a sure thing. Most of us have several homes over a lifetime.

The question of descendants is especially important for Sarai and Abram since they were promised to become ancestors of the people called Israel (Gen 12:1-3). And Israel was also promised to become possessors of the Promised Land (Gen 13:15). For future reflection: How does this promise of the land relate to the state of Israel today?

Where is Sarai?

Genesis 15:1-6 focuses on the problem of infertility. Sarai and Abram are up in years—their biological clock is ticking—and they have tried to resolve this problem by adopting one of their servants, Eliezer of Damascus. For whatever reason, God says no to this strategy, takes Abram outside, shows him the stars, and doubles down on the promise by saying Abram will have as many descendants as the stars. Promises are meant to be believed, and Abram believes.

Where is Sarai in all this? From a woman’s point of view, might this renewed promise seem excessive? Her absence may disclose to us that the Bible is often written from a male, patriarchal point of view, without adequate attention to the concerns of women. What sort of dialogue does that set up as we read the Bible? The Lord calls Abram’s belief righteousness. Righteousness in the Bible means living up to the obligations of a relationship (you’ll have to trust me on this for now). Clearly the author is proposing that the proper response to a promise is to believe it.

Genesis 15:7-21 deals with the question of the land. Abram’s doubting question in v. 8 is a bit disconcerting after God had just reassured him about the promise of a descendant. But isn’t this psychologically insightful? Once we have weathered one crisis, the next one may be equally difficult.  And again, where is Sarai?

You Want Me to do What?

God’s answer to the question about the land takes place in a ritual. Rituals are often clear to insiders, but opaque to outsiders. Imagine what a non-Christian might think if she observed for the first time a baptism or Holy Communion.

We often commit ourselves to a given agreement by signing it and/or having our signature notarized. We know from Jer 34:18-20 that in Israel one could ratify an agreement by cutting up animals into pieces and walking between these pieces. Just as these animals are cut up, people said, “May we be cut in pieces if we violate this agreement.”

In the ritual described in Gen 15:9-12, 17-19 God, who is represented by the smoking fire pot and flaming torch, passes between the cut up animals. God implicitly says: May I be cut in little pieces if I don’t give you the land. God reinforces the promise by invoking a curse on Godself if the promise is broken. (Is this self-imprecation similar to the curse of the crucifixion, which reinforces God’s commitment to all humanity?)

The Point is—Question the Details

By questioning the details of this text we learn much more about it. Which questions of yours are left unanswered? How would you resolve them (a commentary might help)? How would your transfer these two solutions to your twenty-first century context?  When Sarai and Abram attempt to resolve the infertility question in Genesis 16 by having Abram impregnate their servant Hagar, (1) have they forgotten Gen 15:1-6, (2) are they doing what we all do in acknowledging that God’s work is done through our human hands, or (3) are they just mistreating their servant?

Answer these questions by yourself or with some friends.

 

Add to favorites