Practical Aspects of Imaginative Reading
Let the biblical text master you
My daughter and I have been sick with the flu all week so I’ve not been doing any writing. Or much of anything, really. I had forgotten how terrible the flu can be.
Spring term begins on Monday so I’ve been watching introductory lectures for my “Kingdom of Israel and Prophets” course. Dr. Knut Heim gave a fascinating lecture on reading the Bible with imagination. Building on the work of Robert Alter and Luis Alonso Schökel, he shared several tips for reading the Bible imaginatively because “what has been written with imagination must be read with imagination.” (Schökel) I thought I would share his advice here in lieu of a regular post, and then go back to bed.
I’ve been teaching Scripture for a long time—even before I knew what on earth I was doing. But I’m always learning new and exciting ways to read, understand, and apply the biblical text. Just this morning I opened a new commentary on 1 Samuel and rediscovered Hannah’s story through a whole new lens. I think we’re in the most danger when we believe we have learned everything we need to know about the Bible. God is inexhaustible. Scripture requires dynamic learning, not static. And, imagination.
If you’re a Bible teacher, professor, student, or preacher, what would you add to Dr. Heim’s list?
Practical Aspects of Imaginative Reading
Put yourself into the shoes of others and how they would respond to the text.
Example: how would a woman respond emotionally to Ezekiel 16?
Pay attention to emotions—of the persons in the text, your own, and those of other readers.
Appreciate the continuity between the world of the ancient text and human existence today.
Resist the temptation to interpret the ancient text from the perspective of your own time and culture; rather, re-interpret your own time and culture from the perspective of the ancient text.
Resist individualistic habits. Read the text from a communal perspective.
Do not attempt to “master the text.” Let the text master you.
Be keen to learn and open to change.
Pay attention to experiences of surprise, wonder, and awe.
Let the texts inspire you to dialogue with God.
Dialogue with God can take all the forms we experience in human interaction.
Sometimes this can include challenge, anger, disappointment, and lament. Sometimes this can include faith, hope, love, and praise.
Let the texts inspire you to change your values, attitudes, habits, and actions.
What a lovely post. I starred the Substack email for easy reference in the future. I love the list you shared! (Schökel is a big name around these parts where I live!)
Ezekiel 16 was a terrifying text to me when I (re)read it last year.
Thinking of a great book you recommended (and which I'm almost done reading—"Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus"), I would add something along these lines:
• Don't think you have understood the meaning, metaphors, or emotions of a passage, just because you understand the words.
This is especially relevant for several reasons. Consider how there are several textual notes in study Bibles about animal names in Hebrew not being clear about what they mean. Just imagine what the phrase "Don't act like a mouse" would mean to readers five thousand years from now if they didn't know what "mouse" referred to. Plus, just last week I was guilty as charged of thinking of "God remembered Rachel" (30:22) as if God had forgotten Rachel, when the book you recommended shows what that verb really means in Hebrew.
Most importantly, I hope you feel better. Feeling sick and weak is one way of feeling alive, but not necessarily the best. Get well soon!
YES. YES. YES. and YES! Love this list. So good and thanks for sharing! (And I hope you get over the flu!!! Yuck.)