Questions to Ask When Reading the Bible: A Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Perspective

In Jewish tradition, reading scripture isn't passive — it's interrogative by nature. The discovery of the Torah scroll during King Josiah's reign prompted an immediate, urgent question: what does this text demand of us, and have we obeyed it? 2 Chronicles 34:21 That instinct — to ask what a text requires — sits at the heart of Jewish biblical reading.

When reading the Hebrew Bible, Jewish readers have historically asked questions like: What does God command here? What are the consequences of disobedience? And how does this passage apply to my life today? Deuteronomy 17:19 frames the king's daily reading of the Torah as a discipline aimed at learning to fear God and keep the statutes — so the question "What does this teach me about reverence and obedience?" is baked into the text itself Deuteronomy 17:19.

The Talmudic tradition, developed by rabbis like Akiva (c. 50–135 CE) and later codified by Maimonides (1138–1204 CE), extends this into a formal method: every verse invites multiple layers of inquiry — the plain meaning (peshat), the allegorical (derash), and the mystical (sod). Asking "What did GOD answer you?" or "What did GOD speak?" — as Jeremiah frames it — is itself modeled as the right posture before the text Jeremiah 23:37.

Practically, Jewish readers are encouraged to ask: Who is speaking? To whom? What obligation does this create? What is the historical context? And crucially — what does the community of interpretation say about this passage?

Christian biblical reading has always been shaped by the conviction that scripture contains layers of meaning that reward careful, questioning engagement. Paul's letter to the Ephesians explicitly links the act of reading to the possibility of understanding — but it's an understanding of mystery, not just surface content Ephesians 3:4. That framing alone suggests the right question to bring to any passage: "What deeper truth is being revealed here?"

Scholars like Augustine of Hippo (354–430 CE) and later the Reformers — Luther, Calvin — developed distinct but overlapping frameworks for questioning the text. Augustine emphasized asking about the love of God and neighbor in every passage; Calvin stressed asking what the text reveals about God's sovereign character.

Some core questions Christian readers are encouraged to ask include: What does this passage say about who God is? What does it say about humanity's condition? How does this point toward or illuminate Christ? What does this require of me? And — especially important for narrative passages — What is the literary and historical context?

The scribes in Mark 9 are depicted as questioning and disputing Mark 9:16, which serves as a cautionary contrast: questioning scripture for the sake of debate or status is different from questioning it for transformation. The tradition broadly distinguishes between questions that open the reader to the text and questions that resist it.

Modern evangelical scholars like Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart (in their 1981 work How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth) formalized this into a method: ask first what it meant to the original audience, then ask what it means today.

Islam's relationship to "reading the Bible" is nuanced. Muslims don't regard the Bible as a preserved, authoritative scripture in the way Jews and Christians do — the Quran is the final and uncorrupted revelation. That said, the Quran itself acknowledges the earlier scriptures and even instructs the Prophet to consult those who have been reading them when doubt arises Quran 10:94. This suggests that asking questions of scripture — and of its knowledgeable readers — is a legitimate and even divinely sanctioned practice.

Quran 68:37 raises the pointed question of whether one has a scripture from which to learn Quran 68:37, implying that scripture's purpose is instruction, and that the right posture toward it is one of inquiry and learning. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir (1301–1373 CE) and Al-Tabari (839–923 CE) devoted enormous effort to asking questions of Quranic text — about context, occasion of revelation (asbab al-nuzul), and linguistic meaning.

For Muslims engaging with the Bible academically or in interfaith dialogue, the questions they'd bring are shaped by their theological framework: Does this passage align with what the Quran confirms? Has this text been altered or preserved? What does this reveal about the prophets Islam also honors? The tradition of isra'iliyyat — stories from Jewish and Christian sources — shows that Muslim scholars have long asked what earlier scriptures say, even while maintaining the Quran's supremacy.

Jewish readers approach Tanakh as a lifelong discipline that leads to awe of God and faithful action, not mere curiosity Deuteronomy 17:19. In moments of crisis or rediscovery, leaders are portrayed as inquiring of God concerning the words of the scroll to align life with what is written 2 Kings 22:13.

• What does this passage teach me to do—now—not just to know?
• How does this text cultivate yir’ah (awe) of God?
• Where does this commandment or teaching fit within the broader covenantal obligations?
• Who is speaking, to whom, and in what historical moment?
• When a passage convicts, what repentance or repair is required?
• What unclear terms or references should I inquire about with learned readers?

Christians read so that, when they read, they may understand the apostolic knowledge of the mystery of Christ revealed in the gospel Ephesians 3:4. Jesus himself engaged questioners and asked questions, modeling open, probing dialogue in the pursuit of truth Mark 9:16.

• What does this text reveal about the person and work of Christ?
• How does the immediate context clarify the passage?
• What promise, command, warning, or hope is here—and how should I respond?
• How does Scripture interpret Scripture on this theme?
• What question should I bring back to the text and to the community of readers?
• Where does this passage call me to love God and neighbor more concretely?

The Qur’an counsels that if one is in doubt, one should ask those who have been reading the Scripture before—an authorization of careful inquiry with people of the Book Quran 10:94. It also presses readers to consider what is actually learned from scripture, not mere speculation Quran 68:37.

• If I’m uncertain about a biblical claim, who among the knowledgeable people of Scripture can clarify it?
• What core guidance is learned from this passage (tawhid, prophecy, ethics)?
• How does my question aim at truth rather than argument for its own sake?
• What’s the plain meaning, and what remains ambiguous in need of asking?
• How does this reading promote sincerity, justice, and remembrance of God?