Introduction

What are words?

What do words do?

Most people assume words mean something. That is true; words do mean things. But a word’s meaning is not rigid and inflexible. Words are not static formulas. They are vibrant and capable of being loaded with weight and texture.

It is important for us to understand words because our Bible study depends on them. The Bible is written communication, which means it is a giant presentation of words. Understanding words is how we understand the message and meaning of the Bible.

The Sum-Total of Words

We need to think of words as “carriers of information.” The information included in words provides us with what we need in order to discover the message and meaning behind the words.

Definition

Words have definitions, which is super helpful. Definitions, however, do not reveal that much information on their own. A word’s definition refers to the concept, thing, or action the speaker/writer is thinking about. Most words have more than one possible definition, which means words are not used mindlessly. If a word has five possible definitions, then the listener/reader will need to interpret the correct one based on the situation the word is used in. This is called “context.”

Context Determines Meaning

Words are social and fluid creatures. They adjust and adapt to the other words around them. For example, try to discern if “read” is present or past tense in the following contexts:

Context	Correct Meaning
Read	either present or past tense
I read.	either present or past tense
I read at night.	either present or past tense
When I was in college, I read at night.	past tense because of “was”
After a long day at work, I read at night.	likely present tense (is this talking about now, or is it in a story discussing the past?)
I read her mind.	different definition of “read;” either present or past tense

The word “read” never changed. It is spelled exactly the same whether it is present or past tense, or if it has a secondary definition altogether. Its tense was definitively known in only one of the above contexts, and that was because another past tense verb was used. Definitions are helpful, but context narrows and clarifies which definition is the correct one.

Words Have Functions

In addition to definitions, every word has a function. It is helpful to think of a word’s function as the weight that word is being asked to carry. There are two overarching categories of how words function: content and structure.

Content Words

Content words primarily carry meaning. These are words that tell you what. Nouns are content words. They are a person, place, or thing. Verbs are also content words. They tell you what is happening and by whom. Adjectives are content words. They further describe nouns. Adverbs are content words because they further describe verbs. Look at the following sentence:

“The red (adj.) ball (noun) slowly (adv.) rolled (verb) down the slope (noun).

The content words add texture to the concept being presented: “red” adds further detail to “ball;” “slowly” describes how the ball “rolled;” “slope” helps us picture the scene in our mind’s eye.

Content words help us understand the details of what is being communicated.

Structure Words

Structure words are awesome! They are the main reason I wrote this post. Understanding how structure words function will allow you to study your Bible at a much deeper level– without needing any expensive resources.

Structure words provide the framework for the ideas / concepts that are being presented. They tell the reader how one set of content words relates to another set. Conjunctions are structure words because they create a hinge between one concept and another. Prepositions are also structure words. They articulate directional movement (in, on, over, beside, towards, behind, etc.). Pronouns are structure words because they stand in place of something or someone else. Demonstrative pronouns (this, that), and relative pronouns (who, which) are very common, and we need to be sure we know to what they refer.

How Structure words function

The most important function of structure words is the communication of the author’s flow of thought. Content that flows through a logical progression is carried along by structure words. In fact, structure words are so informative, that you don’t even need to know what the content words mean in order to notice the flow of thought.

Here are a couple of examples where the content words are made up but the structure words are in English:

1. vuch poklut nin beside (preposition) vuch munhoosk flobble and (conjunction) vuch poklut and (conjunction) vuch flobble reinininkleinschlad into (preposition) vuch noffenhaggen.
2. vuch poklut nin beside (preposition) vuch munhoosk flobble but (conjunction) vuch poklut klupgarrd from (preposition) vuch flobble and (conjunction) vuch flobble reinininkleinschlad into (preposition) vuch noffenhaggen.

Now, here is a sentence with English content words but made up structure words:

1. vuch red ball slowly rolled, ninuht nompf kicked porf so hard kven nompf injured noften.

We can understand some of the action in that sentence, but we can’t fully understand what is going on. Here is the complete sentence in English: the red ball slowly rolled, and he kicked it so hard that he injured himself.

On their own, content words are like a flower that is on the verge of blossoming, and structure words are the final piece that opens the petals.

Words and the Bible

“Thanks for the grammar lesson… but how does this help me study my Bible?”

Maybe that’s you right now, so let me show you how this deepens our Bible study.

I recently taught a seminar on studying the Bible, and I had the students collectively study the book of Titus. I split the students into 3 groups, and each group studied one chapter.

Within their chapter, they were to identify the following:

• conjunctions (structure word)
• prepositions (structure word)
• verbs (content word)
• the subject(s) / topic(s) being discussed (determined from content words)
• how the flow of thought flowed throughout the chapter

What did the students discover?

They learned that, while Paul covers a few different topics throughout his letter to Titus, he actually talks about the same overarching topic from beginning to end. All the secondary topics such as qualifications for leaders, false teachers, older men, older women, and the basis for Christian living explain the basis for Paul’s overarching instruction he gave Titus in v.1:5, “This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you.”

Every topic Paul addresses after v.1:5 explains how Titus should fulfill the command of v.5. Knowing this makes Titus feel smaller, more approachable, easier to digest, etc.

The same could be done for every other book in the Bible. Every biblical writer had a flow of thought. We discover the flow of thought be examining how the structure words interact and direct the content words. This study technique allows us to see units of thought instead of individual verses.

Conclusion

Words are always saying more than their definitions. We must learn to recognize all the information words give us if we are to study the Bible deeper. Studying the relationship between content words and structure words is an easy (and free!) way to take your Bible study to the next level.