That

what I learned about the Bible from Agatha Christie

Since I started reading the Bible 40-plus years ago, I’d like to think I’ve learned a few things.

Also, my note about there only being two tables in the Ark of the Covenant (see also Exodus 16:32-34 and Hebrews 9:4).

Most importantly, I’ve learned a lot about who God is. He tells us in plain words, even if you read the good old King James like I do. I’ve written about this before, how you can learn who God is just by reading through the Psalms and paying attention to the actual words. You don’t have to be a Bible scholar or anything. God wrote the book so you could know him.

If you read the Old Testament, you’ll see how God chose his people, made them a great nation, gave them their own piece of land with specific borders, and how he stuck with them through a lot of ups and downs (unfortunately, more downs than ups). You’ll see how he is faithful and full of compassion while at the same time maintaining his holiness and being 100% just.

In the New Testament, you’ll read about when God took on human form and came to earth as a little baby, born to a virgin woman, and lived a perfectly sinless life. You’ll learn how he went around healing people and telling them to pay attention because he was going to fulfill every prophecy that was ever given in the Old Testament. You’ll see how he loves you (YOU!) so much that he willingly gave his sinless life in exchange for your sinful one so you could spent eternity with him and God and the Holy Spirit in heaven. It’s an amazing read and I highly recommend it.

I’ve heard a lot of people say over the years that they can’t read the King James version because of all the thees and thous and it’s hard to understand. I have not experienced that, probably because it’s all I’ve ever read so I don’t know any different. After 40-some years, it just makes sense to me and ye olde English doesn’t trip me up. It’s like if you were born wearing high heels and that’s how you learned to walk and it’s all you’ve ever worn on your feet, you’d be good at walking in heels and it wouldn’t occur to you that it was hard. It would just be normal. Same principle.

But there was always this little word that threw me off. It just didn’t make sense to my grammatical brain—but not every time it was used, only sometimes.

That.

That? What on earth, Karen? What’s the big deal with this word?

According to Merriam-Webster.com, that is either a pronoun, a conjunction, or an adjective. It could also be an adverb, but it’s less likely. Listen, I know I’m weird like this, but if you click the Merriam-Webster link above and go read all the definitions, not just the first one, it’s really fascinating. Am I the only one who enjoys reading the dictionary? (Don’t answer that.) Etymology nerds-R-us.

Anyway, before I actually consulted the dictionary about this little word, I would be reading along and bam, there was that word used in a way that made no grammatical sense. Here’s a perfect example: in Exodus 3:14, God is speaking to Moses out of the burning bush and he (God) says,

I am that I am.

What? What does that even mean?

There are others:

Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment. (Proverbs 13:23)

For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:11)

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. (John 3:11)

I spent a lot of years thinking I didn’t understand these verses and others because I had some kind of mental block and just couldn’t get them.

Then one day (and I didn’t even have to go to the Greek) I was reading a novel by Agatha Christie, the grande dame of mystery writing, who happened to be British. If you can read one of her books without a British accent, my hat’s off to you. I cannot. I become a full-on Englishwoman in my mind, complete with tweed skirt and sensible shoes.

So I was reading along in this book and suddenly, the word that stopped me in my eye-tracks. It was obvious from the context it meant “that which.” I can’t remember the exact sentence (nor even which novel it was in), but the gist was, “I will take that I have purchased and be on my way.”

In other words, read it with the word which inserted after that. “I will take that which I have purchased and be on my way.” What a head-slapping moment! Of course! That’s how the British talk, or at least how they used to in Christie’s day, and apparently in King James’ day as well.

What God said back there from the burning bush was “I am that [which] I am.” I exist in and of myself. I wasn’t created by anyone or anything. I am permanent, unchanging. It’s a synopsis of God’s eternal existence and character.

What about the other verses? As you’re reading, insert which after that, and see if it doesn’t make more sense.

Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that [which] is destroyed for want of judgment. (Proverbs 13:23)

For other foundation can no man lay than that [which] is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:11)

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that [which] we do know, and testify that [which] we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. (John 3:11)

This opened a whole new world for me. I began to see this usage of that everywhere in the Bible and began keeping a list as I read through because what is life without lists? That is not used this way every time, nor even most of the times. But a few times it is, and this little trick is so helpful when you run across one of them.

Here are all the instances of that [which] I’ve found. I’m sorry they are not in biblical order, but I wrote the references in the front of my Bible as I found them in my regular reading, which is often not in order.

Genesis 33:9
Galatians 1:9
1 Kings 8:24-25
1 Kings 10:15
Proverbs 13:23
2 Corinthians 5:18
Matthew 13:12
Matthew 18:28
Matthew 19:21
Matthew 20:14
Acts 23:19
Romans 8:25
Luke 12:33
Acts 8:7
Ecclesiastes 8:16
1 Corinthians 3:11
1 Corinthians 8:5
Judges 14:15
Habakkuk 1:3
Genesis 32:23
1 Thessalonians 2:2
Numbers 6:21
Zecharia 11:9
Romans 7:20
Psalms 104:28
Exodus 3:14
Ruth 2:17-18
1 Samuel 24:19
1 Kings 11:38
Ezekiel 2:8
Ezekiel 3:1
Luke 19:21-22, 26
John 13:27
John 16:19
John 3:11
2 Corinthians 13:12
2 Samuel 24:10
1 Kings 8:24-25
Matthew 25:25
Isaiah 7:20
1 Kings 10:15

If you read a different version than the King James, this will all be useless to you and I apologize for your waste of three minutes reading this, but I know at least a few of my readers will find it helpful. If you do, I would love to hear from you!