Don’t Imagine, Interpret: Why Hebrew Matters for Reading the Old Testament

The first thing that we do when we come to a Old Testament text should be read it and then begin to make observations based on the Hebrew. The danger is to jump to inference. For example, what happens if we begin to imagine the emotions of Abraham in Genesis 22. Was he afraid, confident, bold, etc.? The narrative gives us very little concerning his emotions But it does give us lexemes, syntax, and discourse structure, and all of that requires interpretation. Remember: Interpretation, not imagination.

Notice the rapid sequential action and how the chain of wayyiqtol verbs (built… arranged… bound… placed… stretched out… took…) pushes the story forward with almost no commentary. Notice the delayed explanation, how the narrative withholds explicit interpretation until later (e.g., the “why” of events is not front-loaded; meaning is clarified after tension is created). The author creates suspense in narratives like Genesis. And notice the call from heaven in vv. 11–12, how it breaks the action at the critical moment. 

I want students to really leverage Hebrew and Greek grammars and and language-focused commentaries. Hebrew grammars help students name what they are seeing (wayyiqtol sequencing, clause type, constituent fronting, subordination markers, discourse prominence). They answer: What is this form/function doing? What options does Hebrew permit here? Exegetical, language-based commentaries help students weigh interpretive significance and broader patterns (how this syntax functions across Genesis, how other scholars read the clause relationships, what theological emphases are textually warranted). They answer: So what? How does this feature matter in this passage, and how have careful readers understood it?

Here's the thing, folks, and I say this all the time. You will learn the biblical languages best not by waiting until you “know enough” to do exegesis, but by doing language-based exegesis now. Will you get some things wrong? Yes. But that's expected. Truth is, we all get some things wrong, whether we use the languages or not. 

So, what do we need to do:

  1. Make small, defensible observations from the Hebrew.

  2. Use the grammar to see range of meaning/function.

  3. Use language-based commentaries to see what scholars are saying about an issue and to draw our attention to issues that we do not notice.

If we postpone language-based exegesis, we never develop the instinct to let Hebrew and Greek (not just English) shape our reading. So, keep bringing the Hebrew and Greek into the interpretive process now, even in modest, careful ways. That’s how you’ll actually become fluent in exegesis and not just familiar with forms.