When Scripture Says Something Unexpected
Learning to Read by Paying Attention to the Author’s Actual Words
One of the easiest mistakes to make when reading Scripture is also one of the hardest to recognise.
When we encounter an unusual expression, our natural instinct is to replace it with words that seem more familiar or easier to understand.
Yet that may be the very place where the biblical author is trying to teach us something.
Good readers do not ignore the unexpected.
They stop and ask why it is there.
If a novelist suddenly changes vocabulary, repeats an unusual expression, or avoids the obvious way of saying something, careful readers assume the author has a reason. They do not immediately rewrite the sentence into words they find easier to understand.
Surely the inspired Scriptures deserve at least the same respect.
When Moses or Paul chooses an unexpected expression, our first question should not be,
“How can I make this easier to understand?”
It should be,
“Why did the inspired author choose these particular words?”
That simple question can transform the way we read the Bible.
The Temptation to Smooth the Text
When Scripture surprises us, we often follow a familiar pattern.
We notice the unexpected wording.
We replace it with the wording we expected.
Then we explain the replacement instead of the words the biblical author actually wrote.
Sometimes that process happens almost without us noticing.
The unusual expression disappears.
The surprise disappears.
And with it, perhaps, the very point the author intended to make.
Instead of smoothing away the unexpected, we should pause and ask why the author chose it.
A Better Way to Read
When an inspired author uses unexpected language, a helpful approach is simply this.
- Read the passage carefully.
- Notice where the wording surprises you.
- Resist the temptation to smooth it away.
- Ask why the author did not use the more obvious expression.
- Allow the unexpected wording to illuminate the expected wording.
The last step is particularly important.
Usually there is a more obvious way the author could have expressed the idea.
When he deliberately chooses different words, the difference itself may become part of the meaning.
An Example from Paul
A good example appears in 1 Corinthians 11.
Throughout the chapter Paul repeatedly discusses covering and uncovering the head.
By the time readers reach verse 10, they naturally expect him to conclude,
“For this reason a woman ought to cover her head.”
Instead Paul writes,
“For this reason a woman ought to have authority on her head.”
Many translations immediately replace Paul’s wording with something like,
“a symbol of authority.”
But before asking whether that translation is correct, perhaps we should ask a simpler question.
Why didn’t Paul simply write, “cover her head”?
After all, he had already used the language of covering several times.
Why does he suddenly introduce the language of authority?
Whether one ultimately agrees with any particular interpretation or not, beginning with Paul’s own wording asks a different question.
Rather than replacing the unexpected expression, it asks why Paul chose it.
That question opens up possibilities that are often overlooked.
This Principle Applies Throughout Scripture
This way of reading is not limited to one difficult verse.
As we continue our studies in Genesis, we shall repeatedly encounter places where Moses says something unexpected.
Why does he sometimes write אָדָם (adam) and at other times הָאָדָם (ha-adam, “the man”)?
Many readers instinctively flatten the distinction.
Perhaps we should first ask why Moses made it.
Why does Genesis 2 repeatedly describe the woman as coming “out of the man” instead of simply speaking about “man and woman”?
Again, perhaps the wording itself deserves our attention before we replace it with something more familiar.
Or consider Genesis 1:27–28.
In verse 28, Moses unexpectedly says “him” where many readers naturally expect “them.” Some translations even smooth over the difference.
Rather than immediately harmonising the wording, it is worth asking why Moses chose the singular at that point and what contribution it makes to his argument.
These may appear to be small details.
But they all invite the same question.
Why did the inspired author choose these words instead of the more obvious alternatives?
That question will shape many of the studies that follow.
Learning to Read More Carefully
The purpose of this approach is not to discover novel interpretations.
Nor is it to make Scripture unnecessarily complicated.
Its purpose is simply to let the biblical authors speak in their own words before replacing those words with ours.
Sometimes the unexpected expression turns out to mean exactly what we first assumed.
At other times, however, it becomes the key that unlocks the passage.
Either way, we have listened carefully to the inspired author before listening to ourselves.
Conclusion
Every reader of Scripture faces the same choice.
We can smooth away the places where the text surprises us.
Or we can slow down and ask why the inspired author chose those particular words.
That question does not guarantee easy answers.
But it does ensure that we begin in the right place.
The goal of these studies is not to discover new meanings hidden behind Scripture.
It is to hear more carefully what Moses and Paul actually wrote.
Sometimes the most important question is not,
“What does this unusual expression mean?”
It is,
“Why did the inspired author choose these words instead of the ones I expected?”
If we learn to ask that question first, we may find ourselves listening more carefully to Scripture than we ever have before.