Way back, when I first started to study theology, we used to complain every time the tutors used long theological terms, because we didn't know what they meant.  One wise tutor (who used one heck of a lot of long words) told us that soon they would be tripping off our tongues, and we would realise it was the little words that were problematic... words like 'sin' or 'god' each of which is shorthand for enormous theological concepts.  He was, of course, correct, I do now use big words without thinking about and devote a lot of time and energy to the little ones.

The same, it seems, is true of reading the Bible, it's the little words, and even the punctuation marks, that demand time and attention.  I have over the years blogged various of these, asking for insights from people who really understand (sometimes succesfully, sometimes not).

Once it was the comma in "the voice of one crying, in the desert prepare a way" or "the voice of one crying in the desert, prepare a way"

Last week it was the use of 'gar' (because/for) as the last word of Mark's gospel

This week it is the " 'oi de" (lit. 'the but') in the closing verses of Matthew.

I hope I'm not so busy with the little things that I miss the big stuff, but I suspect that we gloss over the little details to our detriment.