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TO BETTER KNOW OUR GOD
A Document on the Practice, and Methodology of Bible
Study
Contents
Types of Writing in the Bible -
Genre
The OICA Methodology of Bible Study
There is no practice
available to mankind that is more rewarding, more beneficial, and more
enlightening that the diligent study of the Bible. Yet there seem to be fewer
that are more consistently ignored, all too often we who are Christians seem
little prepared to properly perform even the most elementary of studies and so
miss out on the great good that may be enjoyed as we become immersed in the
Word of our God. The Bible has been called the Christian’s sword, it is our
primary tool in the proclamation and defence of the Gospel of Christ, if we cannot use it
with skill and dexterity we are like a carpenter who is unable to properly use
a hammer or saw. Ineffectiveness in our handling of the Word will have the
result of making us less effective Christians.
It is the purpose of this
material is to encourage each of us to devote ourselves more thoroughly to
Bible study and to set out some basic principles by which we may put to better
use the time that we will begin to spend in Bible study. Various methods of
Bible study will be introduced so that a structured study may take place which
will make use of study practices that have been developed, tested, and found
valuable by other Christians. When properly done Bible study is an enjoyable
and rewarding task that will not fail to bring us nearer our God, it is my hope
that this course will permit that joy to enter into your study of God’s Word
and help you to think the thoughts of God.
Much of the material in this
outline is taken from an introductory course in Bible interpretation taken at
Reformed Bible College in
Fee, Gordon D., Douglas Stuart, How to Read the
Bible for all Its
Worth*, Academie Books,
Smith, Bob, Basics of Bible Interpretation,
Word Books,
Sterrett, T. Norton, How to
Understand Your Bible*, InterVarsity Press,
Torrey, R. A., Methods of Bible Study. Available on the Internet here.
Warren, Richard, with William A.
Shell, 12 Dynamic Bible Study Methods**, Victor Books,
* Further and more detailed
information may be found about these publications at most Christian book
stores.
** This volume is now out of
print.
If the Bible is truly the
revelation of God to His people then it is not a book to be taken lightly.
Since the internal testimony of the Bible supports that it is the revelation of
God to mankind:
Jeremiah 36:2 - Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have
spoken unto thee against
Acts 28:25-27 - And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that
Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto
our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and
shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive. (quoting
from Isaiah 6:9-10)
2 Timothy
and since the teaching of the
Church throughout the centuries has upheld this belief we can rest assured that
the Bible is like no other book that has, or will ever be printed for it has a
source that is beyond humanity. If we were to approach the text of the Bible as
though it were the equivalent of Homer, Shakespeare, or Milton, we do an
injustice to the book which, apart from all others, contains God’s words. All
too often, because many of us have grown up with its teaching, we tend not to
be impressed by the words that we are reading and/or hearing. No matter how
familiar we become to some of its contents we must continually understand that
it is through the Bible that we best come to know our God.
Some will say that we need
only to rely on the Holy Spirit to teach us and that the Bible is
supplementary. This seems as though it should be true but we must realize that
God has given us minds and that they are intended to be used and that they are
also capable of being deceived. We need to learn and remember that the Bible is
trustworthy and that through its proper use we can evaluate what we believe we
are being taught - either by the Holy Spirit or by human teachers - and so to
accept the teaching of God's good ministers and also to refute the lies of our
enemy as we lay hold of the truth of our God.
This leads us to what is
perhaps the best reason for studying the Bible: Through the diligent study of
the Bible we gain God’s approval, learning how to properly handle the truth it
contains:
2 Timothy
Paul is comparing Timothy’s
use of the Bible to a workman’s use of his tools and encourages him to consider
the embarrassment that would occur if the workman were to use his tools
improperly. Paul argues further that Bible study is crucial for the proper
spiritual development of all Christians in all places and at all times:
2 Timothy
We are encouraged to remember
that the Bible is more than just good literature, it is more than simply a
detailed historical document, it is even more than a general handbook on how to
live a good life and become a good member of society; it is the actual
revelation by God of Himself to His
people. As His revelation to us the Bible takes on an importance far beyond any
other written material in the history of mankind. If we isolate all the
teachings of the Bible from the reality of the Bible as God’s revelation of
Himself to mankind we are left with a book that may still be worthy of study
but which gives us no coherent reason for our living as it teaches us to live.
The Bible is important not because it is a good book but because it is a book
which was given to us by God. The reason that the Bible is worth studying is
that when we study the Bible we are actually studying God’s thoughts and
therefore Bible study is not merely an interesting intellectual exercise, it is
one of the chief methods by which we come to know God better.
Bible study is the process by
which we dive deeply into the text of the Bible in order to better understand
what has been written in its pages and why it is there. Bible study is an in
depth analysis of the Bible with the aim of allowing the Bible to teach us that
we may be better able to know God and to do His will and is not so much our
hearing a someone expound upon Biblical teachings as it our discovering those
teachings on our own. The best and most productive Bible study is inductive,
meaning that we come to the Bible as people who are willing to allow the Bible
to speak to us rather than looking in the Bible for support for our own ideas
regardless of if they are right or wrong. Bible study is for those who wish to
think, not for wishful thinkers. Our attitude should be one that would say:
"I want to hear what the Bible says" rather than: "I want the
Bible to say this."
We must also remember that we
do not just study the Bible and learn it to become experts at it, we are to
study the Bible in such a way that its teaching will make an impact upon our
lives, changing us to become ever more what God desires us to become. If in our
Bible study we do not allow God to speak to us by whatever means He chooses we
have missed the best part of it. Bible study is not simply an intellectual
exercise to increase our knowledge, it is a heart changing encounter with God
through which we learn more of He who is the goal of our lives and His perfect
will for those lives. Bible study should always be wrapped in the prayer that
we will be able to hear what God would say to us.
The best time for Bible study
is when you have the time available to do it and the attitude to do it
properly. We may each have different times of day when it is better for us
personally to study the Bible but in every case the Bible study cannot be
profitable if we do not permit ourselves to spend the time required to make it
profitable. It is recommended to set aside a predetermined amount of time for
Bible study at regular intervals so that Bible study can become a part of your
way of life. A definite place in which to study, where you can lay out your
various resources and can study without interruption is also a very good idea.
These are not absolutely essential and we understand that God will reward any
who will diligently approach Him in order to learn more of Him and His desires
for our lives. But every effort that is taken to ensure that the time spent in
Bible study will lead us to a personal encounter with God will be rewarded by
God. The following episode taken from the life of Daniel will illustrate the
point:
Daniel 9:1-4; 20-23 - In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of
the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; In
the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the
years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would
accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I set my face
unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and
sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my
confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant
and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments……And
whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my
people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the
holy mountain of my God; Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man
Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly
swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me,
and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill
and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came
forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore
understand the matter, and consider the vision.
All the information we have
about Daniel indicates that he was a man who sought after God and desired
greatly to please Him in all ways. In the above passage he discovers, through
reading the prophecies of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:11) that the captivity of
The Importance of the
Bible
Cultural historians of the
West place the Bible at the foundation of Western thought and morality. The
Bible has been variously described by others as: literature, history, poetry,
drama, logic, and myth (in the sense of a traditional story accepted as truth).
We who are Christian believe that while it may be each of these in part it is
also more than these in the whole (certainly that it is never myth in the sense
of an untrue tale of an unknowable past).
We believe that it is in fact Truth as revealed by God to mankind over a
period of several thousand years. The Bible does contain history and it is used
extensively to date other historic events; it does contain poetry, some of the
most beautiful ever written; it is even literature, giving great insight into
literary methodology of cultures long vanished. But more than any of these the
Bible is the one document that relates the story of God’s interaction with and
His vast and glorious plan to fulfill His purpose within the created order and
redeem mankind from his sinful condition.
The Bible does not present itself as an exhaustive
text on any one subject; but since it has been written under the guidance of
God, creator of all that is, where it touches on any subject it teaches the
absolute and unalterable truth.
In a following section we
will discuss the four components of inductive Bible study (observation,
interpretation, correlation, and application) with the intent of emphasizing
the need that we treat the Bible carefully. Why is it so important to treat the
Bible with care? Because it is the word of God. If we know anything about God
it is that He is a life changing God, it is His desire that we be turned from
our ways of sin and restored to the ways of life:
Ephesians 4:17-24 - This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that
ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through
the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who
being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all
uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that
ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That
ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt
according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and
true holiness.
His will is that men and
women no longer are slaves to death but become His children and heirs of life
eternal.
2 Peter 3:8-13 - But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with
the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not
slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering
to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the
which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall
melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be
burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of
persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and
hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire
shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless
we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein
dwelleth righteousness.
Since this is the case, and since the primary means
of man’s apprehension of the reality of God’s love for him is through the Bible
it is essential that the Bible be properly understood so that its message may
be taught undiluted. Therefore the means by which the Bible is studied is
critical.
The Structure of the Bible
The Bible is comprised of 66
books which were written over a period of roughly 1,500 years by various
individuals as the Holy Spirit moved them. The books themselves fall into
different categories somewhat reflective of their literary structure, these
categories are as follows:
Old Testament (39 books)
|
Historical
|
Poetical
|
Prophetic
|
|
Genesis1
Exodus1 Leviticus1 Numbers1 Deuteronomy1 Joshua Ruth 1 & 2 Samuel2 1 & 2 Kings2 1 & 2 Chronicles2 Ezra Nehemiah Esther |
Job3
Psalms Proverbs3 Ecclesiastes3 Song of Songs4 |
Isaiah5
Jeremiah5 Lamentations5 Ezekiel5 Daniel5 Hosea6 Joel6 Amos6 Obadiah6 Jonah6 Micah6 Nahum6 Habakkuk6 Zephaniah6 Haggai6 Zechariah6 Malachi6 |
1.
These are also referred
to as "The Law of Moses," or "The Pentateuch."
2.
The books of Samuel and
Kings give the history of both
3.
Though poetical these
are also known as "Wisdom Literature"
4.
Also called "The
Song of Solomon"
5.
Major prophets
6.
Minor prophets
Note that the major and minor prophets are not named
to signify their importance but to indicate the size of their prophetic
writings, both together are referred to as "The Prophets" by the
Jews.
New Testament (27 books)
|
Biographical |
Historical |
Teaching/Letters |
Prophetic |
|
Matthew1
Mark1 Luke1 John1 |
Acts2 |
Romans3
1 & 2 Corinthians3 Galatians3 Ephesians3 Philippians3 Colossians3 1 & 2 Thessalonians3 1 & 2 Timothy4 Titus4 Philemon4 Hebrews3 James3 1 & 2 Peter3 1 & 2 &3 John3 Jude3 |
Revelation5 |
1.
Also called "The
Gospels," biographical accounts of the life of Jesus
2.
The history of the
early Church beginning at Jesus' ascension, overlaps most of the letters
3.
Letters to churches
4.
Letters to individuals
5.
An apocalyptic account
of the end times and the beginning of eternity
Translation is essentially
bringing information from one language into an other as accurately as possible,
and must pay attention not only the translation of the words themselves but
also of their setting, or context. A poem that has its words translated
accurately but is no longer in poetic form is not accurately translated.
Effective Bible translation would therefore bring the work of the original
writers into a modern form that is both readable and intelligible.
In a sense, the process of
translation is an ongoing one. The KJV was the most modern version available in
1611 and has undergone several revisions over the centuries. Now it is the NIV
which is among the most up to date version. In several years there may be an
even more modern translation made so that the text of the Bible can become
current to the readers of that day.
All translations of the Bible
fall into on of three categories, each of which determines the value of the
translation for a given use and each of which has its own advantages and
drawbacks. It is a good idea, especially if you have reason to be concerned
about the translation of a given passage, to compare the translation of your
preferred study Bible to that of an other translation in order to determine how
other scholars have dealt with the text. Although there is today a great deal
of dialogue concerning the value and integrity of the translations replacing
the King James Version it is a fact that no modern translation disagrees with
any other on any significant doctrinal issues. Feel free during your study to
compare the New International Version to versions such as the American Standard
Version, the King James Version or others, in so doing you will at the very
least satisfy yourself that the passage being studied has been handled
accurately. Below is a description of the three major methods of Biblical
Translation:
1.
Complete Equivalence
- The translation is done in such a
way as to make the translated text most closely follow the literary structure
of the original languages (therefore it is also given the term Literal
Translation). In this category are the (New) King James Version, the American
Standard Version and the Revised Standard Version, among others. Though highly
accurate and praised for their literary beauty, translations of this style are
frequently difficult to read since the thought processes of the minds that used
Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek are conveyed as accurately as possible and are often
quite alien our own.
1.
Dynamic Equivalence
- In this category are the New
English Bible, the New International Version, and several other modern
translations. The thrust of this type of translation is to translate the text
so that it has the same impact upon the reader today as the original did to its
readers of many years ago. Thus many idioms, figures of speech, locations, and
weights and measures will be updated to their modern counterparts. The danger
of this style of translation is that, although it is usually very readable and
coherent, the translated text has already undergone a level of interpretation
which may further remove the reader from the truest meaning of a given text.
1.
Paraphrase – The most readable of all translations the paraphrase
is also the least accurate and generally unable, and are often unwilling, to
hide the bias of the translator. Some popular paraphrases of today are The
Living Bible, The Phillips Bible, and The Message. Where literal and dynamic
equivalence translations are usually done by a group of scholars commissioned
for the task, paraphrases are typically the work of a single translator and
therefore do are less likely to be a balanced treatment of the word of God.
While for general reading they may be of some value as they make the Bible text
seem more alive to the modern reader, they should be avoided for Bible study
since quite often the translation does not accurately reflect the thoughts of
the writers of the Bible. This writer does not recommend paraphrases at all and
believes that they do not convey the thoughts of God as much as they do the
thoughts of the translator.
Even within the various
categories of translation there are differing viewpoints as to how the
translating should be done. Some will translate all measures into their modern
counterparts and refer to all geographic locations by their modern names, while
others will make no attempt to modernize these expressions. There are problems
to be found in both schools. If we are to modernize the ancient monetary terms
to their modern counterparts then we may find that we have devalued what was a
not unreasonable sum of money in ancient times. Likewise when we modernize
locations we will find that on occasion we are operating on assumption and
local custom that may be incorrect. Yet if the archaic terms are retained we
will have difficulty putting what we read into its proper context. Until it is
interpreted for us into its roughly equivalent modern terms we will have no
idea what a shekel is. Yet, once we assign a modern value to the shekel we link
the ancient currency to our current problems of inflation and monetary
devaluation. By the same token if we tie ancient locations to their modern
counterparts we may actually relocate some of them by great distances due to
the difficulty in certainly identifying geographic locations that are at least
several thousand years in the past.
It is also difficult to place
a definite meaning on some terms such as the cubit. There are at least three
different lengths assigned to the cubit (eighteen, twenty-one, and thirty-six
inches) which makes it almost impossible to understand how big Noah built the
Ark or how large was Solomon's Temple until we determine which cubit was in use
at the time or referred to in the narrative. Once we are aware which methods
the translators of our favourite study Bible have used in their work we can
begin to better understand what that translation is telling us.
At this point the question
"Which translation of the Bible should I use?" should be answered.
Although there is a great deal of discussion between the supporters of each of
the various translations the best answer is most likely this: As long as your
main study Bible is a trustworthy translation created with the aim of
portraying as accurately as possible, and as readably as possible, the thoughts
originally presented in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic you cannot go far wrong.
The King James Version
remains quite popular and has the significant advantage of having a great many
study helps referenced to its text. Three of the tools mentioned below (Young’s
Analytical Concordance, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, and The Treasury of
Scripture Knowledge) are themselves most helpful when used with the KJV
translation. The majestic structure of its language lends a grandeur to the
text to which many modern translations cannot compare. It is quite literal and
very specific in its use of English phrasing and so is highly accurate. A
drawback of this translation is that it contains many words which, due to the
changes in the English language since 1611 which were not updated in the subsequent
revisions, are obsolete or used in a different manner than they were 400 years
ago and thus require translating themselves. It is also a difficult translation
to read in public for the same reason, although in general its sentence
structure is easier to read than that of the NIV. A worthy successor to the
rich tradition of the King James Version is the New King James Version, which
updates much of the language but retains the beauty of the text and accuracy of
translation while making available the results of modern textual research.
An other fine translation is the American Standard Version
(an Americanized descendant of the Revised Standard Version which was published
in the
The New International Version is one of the more
popular translations of our day, much as the King James Version was in its day,
and it comes in a wide variety of formats and is accompanied by an ever growing
list of supplementary references. It is a good translation though not as
literal as some others and, as it was translated by a group of scholars from a
variety of Christian denominations. Coupled with the fact that most people read
regularly from the NIV and are familiar with its text makes it a natural choice
if you wish to share the results of your study with others and have them feel
comfortable with the manner in which the Bible is quoted. A significant
criticism of the NIV is that there is less of a sense of reverence when reading
the Bible and more of the sense of reading a newspaper.
When choosing a translation you will need to be sure
that it is relatively free from such dangerous bias and poor translation
methodology as would cause a distraction from the Bible study itself; we are,
after all, embarking on our Bible study to learn more about our God, not to be
annoyed by the foibles of our fellow man. No one translation is entirely free
from bias but some are far more serious than others. If you know where errors
of this nature occur in your Bible you can overlook them but over time they may
become annoying and also begin to act as a detriment to Godly study.
Each the preceding
translations are available in most of the current selection of study Bibles so
your primary question will eventually become: "Which set of study helps do
I wish to have accompany the Bible I use?" It is recommended that the
study Bible you use for yourself not be one of the special interest Bibles
currently on the market such as the Spirit Filled Life Bible, or others of its
kind. While these Bibles will contain worthwhile study helps they are generally
concentrated along a narrow topic of interest or doctrinal stance and may
overlook other areas of study. Be sure to look for a study Bible that has a
proven history of limited bias, and a conservative interpretation of doctrine.
One drawback of many study
Bibles with in text notes (such as the NIV Study Bible, or the Life Application
BIble) is that the notes are often an abbreviated or condensed form of
commentary and that there is consequently a great temptation to allow the
textual notes, which are printed on the same page as the verses to which they
refer, to determine how the text itself is to be interpreted. It is important
to realize that any study notes, all chapter and verse divisions, as well as
all section headings were not originally part of the Bible and have been added
subsequently by human editors as study helps to the reader. They are very often
trustworthy and can enhance our understanding of the text but they can never be
placed on the same level as the text itself. Remember that the purpose of
inductive Bible study is to allow the Bible to speak to us as we study, keeping
in mind that the Holy Spirit will teach the willing heart just as Jesus
promised:
John 14:26 - But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in
my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your
remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
In order to get the most out
of your Bible study you should employ the correct tools. Just as a carpenter,
or a doctor will make use of tools to perform their tasks, the Bible scholar
uses tools to assist and enhance the study process. As you become skilled in
the use of these tools you will find that your Bible studies will yield ever
increasing rewards. Listed below are some of the more important tools:
1.
The Bible - This may seem to need no mention but a trustworthy
translation of the Bible is essential if we are to be confident that we are as
close as possible to the original reading of the passage except that we are
reading it in English. A study Bible will not be essential but it will be a
tremendous asset as study Bibles usually include in one volume many useful
study helps such as: cross references, historical background information, book
introductions and outlines, etc. An other important type of Bible worth
purchasing is a parallel Bible, one that shows on one page several translations
side by side, making it easier to compare various translations of a passage.
Several of the more popular study Bibles are:
1.
The Thompson Chain
Reference Bible which is still one of the standards by which other study
Bibles are measured and is one of the few study Bibles actually included in
readily available Bible study software. Over forty years of research and study
were spent in compiling the system of topical chains and references that allow
the Bible student to quickly come to an understanding of almost any area of study.
Extensive archaeological information is also printed for many places referred
to within the text of the Bible. As well it boasts a considerable topical
Bible, and a large concordance each of which enhances the ability of the Bible
student to easily locate specific teaching or verses in the Bible. All in all
there is very good reason why the Thompson Chain Reference Bible is still one
of the most popular study Bibles available.
1.
The Open Bible
which contains a cyclopedic topical index, a concordance, book introductions
and analyses, and many other valuable helps and study guides. Although its
cross referencing system is not up to the standard set by other study Bibles
this lack is ably compensated for through its comprehensive topical dictionary.
The Open Bible also includes tools of value for Christian workers such as
answers to common objections to Christianity and basic Gospel presentation.
Although more difficult to obtain than previously it is an extremely useful
tool and is highly recommended.
1.
The NIV Study Bible
which with its in text maps and historical notes is an excellent choice. Its
cross referencing system is almost without peer as to quantity (about 85,000)
and usefulness. It also contains excellent book introductions, maps, and quite
a large concordance, as well as many other useful tools. The interpretive notes
frequently tend to ignore the power of God and attempt to give natural
explanations for supernatural events. Other notes, however, offer very useful
biographical, historical and cultural information in a very timely manner.
Many other excellent study Bibles are available but
those listed above enjoy almost universal approval. Regardless of which study
Bible you make use of you must be aware of any apparent bias on the part of the
study helps incorporated into the Bible. Some study Bibles emphasize through
their notes and helps doctrinal opinions that are accepted by only a small
minority of believers and which can sometimes be at odds with the truth of the
Bible itself. Even several of today's standard translations will occasionally
exhibit a theological trend somewhat off the beaten path and of which the
student must be aware. When in doubt as to the value of a specific study
help remind yourself that any contradiction between human understanding of the
Bible and the true meaning of God’s word is always due to finite capabilities
of the human mind and its ability, regardless of level of education, to make
mistakes.
1 Corinthians 13:9-12 - For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But
when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done
away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I
thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For
now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part;
but then I shall know even as also I am known.
No set of notes will ever be perfect as each will be
the product of the human mind and will never be without a certain amount of
bias; all comments and reference notes must be compared against the Bible
itself. It is always a worthwhile task to review the editorial and copyright
information within any Bible you wish to purchase/use in order to determine the
nature of the bias present in that treatment of God’s word and be prepared for
when it appears during your studies. It is also a very good idea to ask if you
can preview any Bible before you purchase it and examine its notes on specific
issues. Pay specific interest to the notes relating to issues that would be of
concern, such as: creation, eschatology (study of end times), theology (study
of God), or soteriology (study of atonement). For those who interpret Genesis
literally the notes in most modern study Bibles will fall far short of their
ideal, having chosen to compromise the teaching of God with that of man by
interpreting the Bible in the light of evolutionist teaching. Also
controversial are modern translations that remove gender specifics in reference
to God, weaken the Bible’s authority on homosexuality and/or other morality
issues, or deny the interruption of the normal by acts of Gods’ power
(miracles). If no available study Bible meets your immediate needs perhaps a
combination of any or all of the tools below should be considered.
Acts
1.
Bible Dictionary or
Bible Encyclopaedia - Since the
Bible was written in a culture that no longer exists it is difficult for us to
place ourselves in a position to understand Biblical writing in a manner
similar to those to whom it was originally written. Many individuals, events,
and nations referred to in the Bible are completely unknown to the average
reader. These two tools are designed to reduce this difficulty and contain much
information to help us to feel as much as possible the impact that the text
would have had to its original recipients. At the very least they enable us to
participate to a small degree in the culture in which the Bible was produced
and come to some understanding of the times in which it was written. Some very
good Bible encyclopaedias and dictionaries are: Eerdmans Bible Dictionary (a
good, well rounded dictionary, predominately in text), The International Standard
Bible Encyclopaedia (a great deal of information on most items of interest but
with an occasional liberal tendency), and The Revell Bible Dictionary (many
illustrations and a comprehensive index). Other very good dictionaries abound
at a variety of levels of detail.
1.
Concordance - such as "Young’s Analytical Concordance",
"Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance", or "Cruden’s Compact
Concordance." Each of these contains the location of every use of every
word of the Bible (or most major words in the case of "Cruden's Compact
Concordance") and are usually keyed to the King James Version. Most Bible
software include similar capabilities which are often extended to include
logical and phrase searches; greatly adding to the value already found in the concordance.
A sample entry from the book version of "Young's Analytical
Concordance" appears below:
LOVE –
1. Love, hbha, ahabah.
Gen. 29:20 (but) a few days, for the love he had to
her
2 Sa.
.
.
.
5. Love, agaph, agapé
Matt 24:12 because iniquity shall abound, the love of
As can be seen each word entry in this particular
concordance is catalogued by language. The first item above is one of the
Hebrew words for love, the second item is one of the Greek words for love.
Following each is the actual word in the original language prior to its
translation which is in turn followed by a transliteration showing how it
should be pronounced. Below each entry is listed a single line from each verse
that contains the word. Other concordances vary how the words are listed but
the basic concept is the same in that verses are listed which contain the word
being studied.
1.
Lexicon - or word study such as "Vine’s Expository
Dictionary of New Testament Words" or the "Theological Dictionary of
the New Testament." Since the Bible we read today is a translation of
thoughts and ideas that were originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek,
such a tool is useful in determining the original intent of the author by making
available to the modern reader a detailed definition of the English word(s) in
the context of the original language word(s) used. Most lexicons will also give
detailed information as to how the original word(s) would have been used by men
and women alive at the time that the passage was written.
1.
Interlinear Bible – simply put, an interlinear Bible is a Bible in which
each line of English text is interspersed by that same text as it would appear
in the original language. This allows you to actually see the structure of
thought in the original and gives you an extremely literal translation,
although very difficult to understand. A second advantage of using an
interlinear Bible is that you can determine at a glance the actual words used
by the original authors and how these words have subsequently been treated by
the translators of the English Bible. Most bookstores will have copies
available of some form of interlinear New Testament, and most computer Bible
programs will also have an interlinear New Testament. Interlinear copies of the
Old Testament are less practical as Hebrew was written from right to left and
therefore an exact English translation would be extremely difficult to read
unless the Hebrew original were to be reversed, which would somewhat defeat the
purpose of the process.
1.
Parallel Bible - A parallel Bible contains two or more translations of
the Bible in the same language. This tool is useful when the student wishes to
compare how a passage has been translated by differing schools of thought.
Again, although the student may be tempted to accept on translation's treatment
over an other's, we must all remain open to the guidance of God's Holy Spirit
and allow Him to teach us what we need to be taught rather than choosing a
translation that appeals to our opinions or bends the Bible to our own will. As
the difference between even the two most divergent translation traditions (as
represented by the King James Version and the New International Version)
amounts at most to only 95% of the Bible, and as this difference in no way
affects any critical Christian doctrine, the parallel Bible is often less
important than the other Bible study tools. It does, however, allow the student
to easily determine where differences have occurred and perhaps note those
areas for further study. One problem with studying with a parallel Bible lies
in the uncertainty of which text to follow in the event of textual differences.
In the case where such differences occur it is recommended that you fall back
upon an alternate resource, such as “The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge”
(below) in order to determine what alternate passages of the Bible may have to
say regarding the passage being studied.
1.
Cross Reference - A system of cross references )like those found in
most modern reference Bibles or in dedicated works such as "The New
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge," (which contains over 600,000 cross
references, several different indexes, and a comprehensive note system) can
refer you to other passages that relate to the one being studied. Cross
references are quite possibly the single most important and useful Bible study
tool available as they operate on the foundational principle of allowing the
Bible to be its own interpreter. When purchasing a study Bible it is a good
idea to review the type of cross referencing system it employs as well as the
quantity of references printed. Many of today’s study Bibles have an average of
50,000 cross references. A concordance, such as those mentioned above, is useful
in cross referencing specific words and phrases so that methods of usage of a
specific word sequence may be discovered but a good cross reference system
allows you to follow concepts and ideas throughout the Bible.
Below is a portion of the entry for Genesis 1:1 taken
from "The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge," edited by Jerome H.
Smith:
1. beginning. Pr *
As you can see, there are entries keyed to each major
word (in bold text), allowing you to follow specific themes, ideas, and usage
through the entire Bible. In certain instances the Hebrew or Greek original
meaning is given (in italic text) and numerous topical entries are also
catalogued and extensive notes are included as well. A complex but
understandable system of symbols allows you to determine which cross references
you wish to follow.
1.
Commentary - Although somewhat limited in value to inductive Bible
study (since it confines us to an other’s understanding of a given passage) a
good commentary can be beneficial in opening our minds to thoughts of a passage
that we may otherwise have neglected or not noticed. Most generally available
modern commentaries are reprints of such classics as that of Matthew Henry, as
well as compendiums of thought by (usually) trustworthy modern scholars. Such a
commentary can shed additional historical or theological light on the passage
being studied and we can gain great benefit from the knowledge of those who
have made it their life's work to make available further information pertaining
to the Bible. Used with care and prayer a commentary can significantly increase
the rewards of our Bible study. It is important to remember that in inductive
Bible study you are seeking your own interpretation of the Bible as guided by
the Holy Spirit, not necessarily that of a commentator, and so a commentary
should not be referred to until you are fairly certain that you understand the
passage in question and require the corroboration and/or further information
that a commentary can provide. Many modern study Bibles also include short, in
context commentary as a part of their system of helps, the NIV Study Bible and
the Life Application Study Bible are notable examples of this technique.
1.
Background Resources
- Since we live in a time removed,
at best, by twenty centuries from that of the writers of the Bible it is almost
impossible for us to react to the Bible's teaching as did the early believers.
Our culture, our lifestyles, even our way of thought, all are radically
different from what was normal in the days when the Bible was being written.
Some tools that can help us to better understand what life was like back then
and how the Bible would have been received are books that tell us about the
culture of the day. Bible handbooks are a basic tool of this category and Bible
dictionaries and encyclopaedias are more advanced devices serving the same
purpose. What are really useful, however, are books that illustrate the way in
which life was lived back in Bible times as they can help bridge the gap of
years and allow you to, as much as possible, pick up on the finer points of
ancient culture.
1.
Computer Software - With the advent of inexpensive personal computers
many of the above tools have been migrated into software applications that can
take advantage of the incredible speed of information processing and retrieval
of these devices. Most Bible study programs come equipped with the tools
mentioned above but it is always a good idea to confirm this before you buy a
given product. A well designed Bible study program makes it possible to
perform an amazing amount of study in a much more efficient manner than would
be possible with books and paper. An added advantage of such software
lies in the ability to perform complex word and phrase searches such as finding
all verses that contain the word "Jesus" but do not contain the word
"Christ;" a capability that is very difficult to implement using any
other tools. Bible software can range from packages costing several hundreds of
dollars to those that may be distributed freely.
1.
My preferred Bible
study software is the "Online Bible" which consists of hundreds of
megabytes of material, most of which is free and of very high quality. This
program is constantly being improved for ease of use and additional modules are
freely available at a multitude of internet sites.
2.
An other free
electronic Bible of very high quality is "e-Sword" which contains a
slightly different set of features and user interface than the "Online
Bible" but which is equally functional. Many of its features are unique
and truly valuable.
3.
If you wish to have
your electronic resources available outside of the host program a good choice
would be "Bible Database." All textual material included with this
software can also be opened by any text editors and can generally be copied to
a single 1.44 Mb floppy for distribution.
4.
Logos is the name of a
commercial software package with an extremely good reputation and which is
available in several price ranges with a corresponding range of features.
1.
The Most Essential
Tool - An open and willing heart.
Without this most important tool we will never profit from our study, no matter
how much we may learn. We must be willing to be taught when ever we approach
the Bible, allowing it to be an instrument of change in our lives rather than
bending it to support our treasured ideas. The word of God possesses
great power but only if it is studied honestly and with a willingness to allow
God to speak through it to us.
Types of writing in the Bible – Genre
At even a casual reading it
becomes evident that the Bible is comprised of many different literary formats
each of which is utilized to a different end. Correctly identifying the various
types of writing in the Bible is a skill that will enhance your personal Bible
study in allowing you to properly interpret the words you are reading. Where
the poetic passages allow for incredible imagery, powerful expressions of
thought, and great lyrical beauty the narrative passages are better suited to
the representation of historic details and technical descriptions. The
genealogical and prophetic passages are also used to better present the
material being presented by each. Understanding how each genre is used will
assist you as you seek to discover the meaning of any passage being studied.
Poetry - The chief characteristic of Hebrew poetry is that it
is written not to rhyme as is our western poetry but rather as a progression of
thought. This form of poetry is called parallelism and refers to a style of
writing that makes use of couplets, two lines usually but sometimes three or
four, that vary in their relationship to each other. A tremendous asset of this
style of poetry is that it is translatable into a form that retains the
splendour of the original since it is not a system of rhyme and rhythm so much
as a sequence of thought that is being translated. Some of the various types of
parallelism are:
1.
Antithetic
parallelism - each line expresses
opposing, or contradictory thoughts.
Proverbs 15:8
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination
to the LORD:
but the prayer of the upright is his delight.
1.
Synonymous
parallelism - each line expresses a
similar thought, the second repeating the first for purposes of emphasis or
clarity. The second line thus often sheds additional light on the first.
Psalm 1:5
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the
judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
There are several variations of synonymous parallelism,
two of which are listed below:
1.
Climactic
parallelism – the second line echoes
a portion of the first and adds to it.
Psalm 5:3
My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD;
in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and
will look up.
1.
Emblematic
parallelism - one line is literal
and the other is figurative or symbolic.
Psalm 6:6
I am weary with my groaning;
all the night make I my bed to swim;
I water my couch with my tears.
1.
Synthetic
parallelism - the first line is
added to by the second which expresses a complimentary thought and often gives
the reason for the first.
Psalm 1:1
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the
counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
Narrative - As the name indicates narrative literature is that
which lays out its material in a prose style of writing. Information is
presented without adornment, poetic structures may be inserted into the text
but overall the passage resembles a modern novel in its design. Our concept of
discrete sentences, paragraphs, and chapters would be alien to the ancient
Hebrew writers, in fact many of the oldest manuscript copies have no sentence
or paragraph breaks at all. One must be careful to follow the progression of
thought contained by the passage itself apart from the occasionally arbitrary
sentence, paragraph, verse, and chapter structure placed upon it by various
translators and scholars.
A subset of the narrative
form is historical writing which differs from the narrative mainly in the sense
of its view of time. Narrative is generally written with regard the present
while history is written with regard to the past, and in the case of the books
of the kings of Israel and Judah is done so as to present a moral standpoint;
contrasting the actions of the various kings to that desired by God. Historical
writing also allows present day readers to view past events as though they were
there. In this regard Genesis is historic in that Moses wrote what God revealed
to him of events that occurred at times ranging from the recent past to events
of several thousands of years in the past. Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy, however, are narrative because Moses is primarily writing about
events as they occur and most certainly within the memories of people still
alive at the time of the writing.
Genealogy - The Israelites placed a great value on genealogical
records so that each person's familial background would be understood.
Liberties were taken with the genealogies on some occasions for reasons of
emphasis; an example being the division of the generations of Jesus Christ as recounted
in Matthew 1 into three tidy groups of fourteen. This would be done as a memory
device and possible for literary symmetry and in no way takes from the accuracy
of the genealogy in this particular instance as its stated purpose was to prove
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That names have been omitted from this
record, indicating that certain generations have been left out, does not
overwhelm its goal. The genealogies of the book of Genesis may also contain
gaps but in this case they are often accompanied by a number of years assigned
to each individual. In this case the purpose of the genealogy would be to place
certain events and people in time so that it is much less likely for
generations to have been skipped.
The genealogical records within
the Bible serve three primary functions:
1.
Domestic – Used to determine the individual’s social position,
privileges, and obligations; such as the rights falling upon the first born
son.
1.
Political – Used to determine hereditary office, as well as to
settle legal claims such as that pictured in the book of Ruth.
1.
Religious – Used to establish membership, function, and descent
of priestly and levitical duties and position.
Prophecy - Prophecy in general encompasses both declarative and
predictive forms, though we are by far more familiar with the later. A brief
breakdown of both types follows:
1.
Declarative prophecy
- In this sense the prophet is one
who speaks for an other, carrying the context of the prophet being the mouth
through whom the other speaks. Although the prophet is generally understood to
be speaking for God it is possible for the prophet to speak for an other human
as well. In the Old Testament we have an example of the declarative prophet in
the relationship between Moses and his older brother Aaron:
Exodus 4:14-16 - And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is
not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also,
behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad
in his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I
will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall
do. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall
be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.
Exodus 7:1 - And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh:
and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
In this case Moses would be the speak for God Himself
as the prophet of God and Aaron in turn would speak for Moses as the prophet of
Moses.
1.
Predictive prophecy
- This form of prophecy is concerned
with what we generally view as the function of the prophet: The prophet
predicts events yet to occur, often speaking of them as though they are
accomplished fact as a reflection of the power of God’s word. There are two
types of predictive prophecy: That which is immediately fulfilled and that
which is fulfilled at some later point in time. A brief definition of both
types appears below:
1.
Immediate
fulfillment - in which the prophecy
is fulfilled shortly after it is spoken and is a key in determining if the one
who claims to be a prophet truly is a prophet, as seen below:
Deuteronomy 18:21-22 - And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the
word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the
LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which
the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously:
thou shalt not be afraid of him.
An example of an immediate predictive prophecy is
shown below:
Exodus 14:1-5 - And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of
Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the
sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea. For Pharaoh
will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the
wilderness hath shut them in. And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall
follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host;
that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so. And it was
told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of
his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done
this, that we have let Israel go from serving
1.
Delayed fulfillment
- in which the prophecy is not
fulfilled immediately but is delayed by a variable period of time. The
prophecies of Christ's birth and ministry were fulfilled after centuries, those
concerning His return are yet to be fulfilled. Most good study Bible will
include a list of at least some of the prophecies made concerning Jesus Christ.
An example of a prophecy of Christ that has a delayed fulfillment is shown
below:
Deuteronomy 18:15-19 - The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet
from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall
hearken; According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in
the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my
God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. And the LORD
said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will
raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put
my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command
him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my
words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
There are frequent occurrences in the bible where
both types of predictive prophecy are combined. In these cases the prophecy of
a significant event to take place in the future is immediately fulfilled as a
sign confirming the more complete fulfillment, or simply as a blessing. Many
examples of this type of prophecy are found in the book of Isaiah one of which
is used to apply as a confirmation of Isaiah's own prophetic ministry and that
of Jesus Christ:
Isaiah 61:1-3 - The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath
anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up
the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the
prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the
LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to
appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the
oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD,
that he might be glorified.
Prophetic passages in the
Bible can be found in a variety of literary forms and can range in length from
several words to several pages of text. The prophet’s personal response to the
message that has been received from God is also frequently found within
prophetic literature. One example of this occurs in Isaiah 21 where Isaiah
describes the physical effect of God’s proclamation against Babylon upon his
own body:
Isaiah 21:1-10 - An
oracle concerning the Desert by the Sea: Like whirlwinds sweeping through the
southland, an invader comes from the desert, from a land of terror. A dire
vision has been shown to me: The traitor betrays, the looter takes loot. Elam,
attack! Media, lay siege! I will bring to an end all the groaning she caused.
At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a woman in
labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by what I see. My heart
falters, fear makes me tremble; the twilight I longed for has become a horror
to me. They set the tables, they spread the rugs, they eat, they drink! Get up,
you officers, oil the shields! This is what the Lord says to me: "Go, post
a lookout and have him report what he sees. When he sees chariots with teams of
horses, riders on donkeys or riders on camels, let him be alert, fully
alert." And the lookout shouted, "Day after day, my lord, I
stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post. Look, here comes a man
in a chariot with a team of horses. And he gives back the answer: ‘Babylon has
fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the
ground!’" O my people, crushed on the threshing floor, I tell you what I
have heard from the LORD Almighty, from the God of Israel.
The prophecy of Habakkuk also
includes personal commentary on God’s message to the extent that the entirety
of his prophecy is in the form of a discussion between God and himself.
Prophecy is often regarded by
Bible students as the most difficult literary form within the Bible to
interpret. While this is often true the study of prophecy is also extremely
rewarding. By means of prayerful contemplation of prophecy the Christian gains
a wonderful sense of the power of God and the effectiveness of His plan. As
well, some of the most beautiful passages in the Bible are prophecies in poetic
form that concern the advent and mission of Jesus Christ. In one sense the
entire Old Testament is prophetic in that Christ is foreshadowed within its
text. For us to gain the greatest benefit from our study of prophecy some
guidelines for interpretation are now given:
1.
Study the New Testament
treatment of Old Testament prophecies and how the New Testament authors come to
regard the prophecies as being fulfilled.
2.
As many prophecies
contain both an immediate and a delayed fulfillment we must for each prophecy
attempt to grasp the meaning for the people who would originally have heard it,
its near fulfillment, and continue by studying its practical message for
Christians of all times, its delayed fulfillment.
3.
Always consider the
literal meaning of the prophecy before assigning some symbolic understanding
that may or may not be accurate. William of Occam was reported to have said:
"If something can be interpreted without assuming a complicated
hypothesis, there is no ground for assuming that hypothesis." This is
known as Occam’s razor and it fully applies to Bible study. Do not assume a
complex interpretation of the Bible when the Bible itself gives no clear
support for such an interpretation.
4.
Look within the
prophecy for other figures of speech to see how they are used, how they may
apply to the prophecy, and why they were employed in the first place
Symbols - A symbol is something which contains a meaning beyond
what is regarded as the normal meaning. In the Bible symbols are most
frequently found in the prophetic writings but they occur throughout the Bible
and must always be interpreted with attention being paid to the context
surrounding the symbol.
1.
Numbers - Numbers often used as symbols in the Bible,
especially in the books of Daniel and Revelation. Below is a list of common
interpretations of the symbolic value of numbers as they are used in the Bible
(note that this list is not exhaustive, merely a guide):
1.
1 – unity, independent existence, the number from which
all others descend
2.
2 – strengthening, confirmation, increase of courage
and/or strength
3.
3 – the divine number of God, symbol of the Trinity –
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
4.
3 ½ – incompleteness, unattained or anticipated
fulfillment, imperfection; 42 months; 1,260 days; "times, time, and half a
time" – see especially the prophecies found in the books of Daniel and
Revelation for usage of this number
5.
4 – representative of the world or mankind
6.
5 – the number of the complete and normal human being
7.
6 – incompleteness, one short of 7
8.
7 – perfection (3 + 4), significant of the union of
heaven and earth - predominant in Genesis and Revelation
9.
10 – human perfection and wholeness (2 x 5)
10.
12 –
Christian endeavour in the world (3 x 4) – as in the 12 tribes of Israel
11.
24 –
perfection and wholeness of Christian endeavour in the world (2 x 12) –
reflected in the 24 elders that bow before the throne of God in heaven, see
Revelation 4:4
12.
40 – a
generation, human activity in the world, testing and/or judgement (4 x 10)
13.
70 – very
sacred, completeness and perfection (7 x 10)
14.
1,000 –
ultimate completeness and perfection (10 x 10 x 10)
15.
144,000 –
indicates the absolute security of the people of God of all generations (12 x
12 x 1,000)
Types - The
general definition of a type is that it is a divinely purposed literal reality
in the Old Testament that foreshadows a spiritual reality in the New Testament.
Types may be persons, places, objects, events, institutions, and offices; the
anti-type (New Testament fulfillment) of which should always be clear. Two
examples of types that appear in the Bible are:
1.
The lifting up
of the brass serpent in the wilderness as a type of the lifting up of Christ on
the cross at His crucifixion. The scripture references are Numbers 21:4-9 with
John 3:14-15.
Number 21:4-9 – And they journeyed from
John
1. The Passover celebration of the Israelite nation as a type of the atoning sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. The scripture references are Exodus 12:3-13 with 1 Corinthians 5:7-8
Exodus 12:3-13 - Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying,
In the tenth [day] of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb,
according to the house of [their] fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the
household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his
house take [it] according to the number of the souls; every man according to
his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without
blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take [it] out from the sheep, or
from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same
month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of
1 Corinthians 5:7-8 - Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a
new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for
us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the
leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened [bread] of sincerity
and truth.
In each of the preceding examples the type and its
anti-type are clearly defined and interpreted by the Bible.
Figures of Speech - A figure of speech is a word or phrase that is used
to convey something beyond its ordinary meaning. An example of figure of speech
would be to say that "The Sun has set." The Sun has not actually set
but has become hidden beyond the edge of the Earth due the Earth's own rotation,
we say that it has set but we are conveying information of an entirely
different sort. It is clear that we are using a figure of speech because the
context of the expression has been established over time. It is important to
regard the Biblical context of each figure of speech as it is encountered in
order to interpret properly what is being said, for often the opposite of what
seems to be true will be used and will only become apparent through reading the
surrounding verses. Several types of figures of speech are:
1.
Parables and
Allegories - stories told for the
purpose of driving home a specific idea or collection of ideas.
1.
Parable - A parable is a story that is true to life but is not
usually an event that has actually occurred (much like the novels of our day)
and may be considered to be an extended simile (see below). The parable is
usually designed to teach one main point, such as the parable of the Good
Samaritan is used by Jesus to teach the concept of loving one’s neighbour.
Parables are generally found in the gospels and are usually introduced by a
phrase similar to this: "And Jesus spoke this parable," an example is
below:
Luke 5:36-39 - And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new
garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the
piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. And no man
putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles,
and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new
bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway
desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.
Some guidelines for interpreting parables are as
follows:
1.
Take note of the actual
meaning of the story
2.
Study the occasion that
prompted the parable if it is given, this is the context
3.
Find the central point
of the parable
4.
Compare this point with
the teaching of the Bible
5.
If there seems to be
some interpretive problem obtain what information you are able relating to the
cultural background of the story and the people it was told to
6.
Resist the temptation
to allegorize the parable, a parable is a sermon of one point and frequently
the details of the parable merely exist to set off the main point and do not have
significance in and of themselves
1.
Allegory - An allegory is a story that is usually not true to
life and may be considered to be an extended metaphor (see below). An example
of an allegory is shown below:
John 15:1-8 - I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me
that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth
fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean
through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As
the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more
can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He
that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for
without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a
branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the
fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye
shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father
glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
The allegory usually teaches several points but may
concentrate upon one or two of significance. Some useful steps for interpreting
allegories are as follows:
1.
Note the details and
features of the allegory
2.
Note any interpretation
that is given by the story teller for the various details
3.
Consider the other
features of the allegory and see if a meaning can be derived for them from
other passages
4.
Do not try to identify
all the details of an allegory, some will just not fit into any interpretive
scheme since they exist solely for the purpose of setting off the main points
1.
Figures of
comparison - one item being compared
to an other.
1.
Metaphor - an implied comparison between two dissimilar items as
in: "My God is the rock of my refuge." (Psalm 94:22)
1.
Simile - a comparison between two things usually using the
words like or as, as in: "His heart is as firm as a stone." (Job
41:24)
1.
Figures of relation
- the substitution of one word for
an other that is related to it.
1.
Metonymy - a figure of speech in which an idea is deduced or
named through the use of a term indicating an associated idea, as in:
"When Moses is read" (2 Corinthians 3:15) to refer to the writings of
Moses rather than the person of Moses.
1.
Synecdoche - the use of a specific term in place of a general
term, or vice versa, as in: "Then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with
sorrow to the grave," (Genesis 42:38) which refers not only to the gray
hairs on the man's head but to the man himself.
Other figures of speech
1.
Anthropomorphism – speaking of God, either by man or by God Himself, as
though He had human body and formation. Although man has been created in God’s
image, and Jesus Himself ascended into heaven in human form, it is not
necessarily the case that God looks just as we do. Creation in His image is
generally believed to refer to our abilities of reason, self-consideration,
intelligence, and our possession of a soul. When anthropomorphism is used it
gives vivid imagery to the acts, thoughts, and will of God.
1.
Apostrophe - this occurs when the writer directly addresses things
or persons that are either absent or imaginary, as in: "Sun, stand thou
still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon." (Joshua
10:12)
1.
Euphemism - the substitution of a more agreeable expression for
one less accepted, as in the use of "He fell asleep" in the place of
"He died."
1.
Hyperbole - a deliberate exaggeration for the purpose of
emphasizing the stated point, as in: "I am weary with my groaning; all the
night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears." (Psalm 6:6)
1.
Interrogation - essentially a rhetorical question to which the answer
is obvious and does not need to be given, as in: "Is any thing too hard
for the LORD?" (Genesis 18:14). The question of Jesus upon the cross is
also a rhetorical question: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me?" (Matthew 27:46)
1.
Irony - in which the opposite of the intended meaning is
stated in order to emphasize or call attention to the intended meaning,
revealed by tone of voice in living people and by the context when written. In
2 Samuel
1.
Litotes - saying something by denying its opposite, as in the
use of "He is not far off" in the place of "He is near."
1.
Personification - the writer speaks about, not to, a non-personal or
non-living thing as though it had human characteristics, as in: "Let the
floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together." (Psalms 98:8)
1.
Pleonasm - the use of superfluous words, as in: "according
to all that we have heard with our ears." (2 Samuel 7:22)
One must always be careful to
observe the context of any figure of speech or literary device as the context
will always allow us to determine the cause and situation for any specific
passage. We cannot isolate discrete passages from their context at the risk of
greatly misrepresenting the truth of the Bible. An example of this taken to the
extreme is found in the Bible student who took the following two passages out
of their context:
Matthew 27:3-5 - Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned,
repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief
priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent
blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down
the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.
Luke 10:37 - Go, and do thou likewise.
It is obvious from this
example that the context is important to the proper understanding of any
passage within the Bible if we are to remain true to its teaching.
The "OICA" Methodology of Bible Study
OICA is an acronym
representing the for steps of an inductive Bible study:
1.
Observation - What is being said
2.
Interpretation - What is being meant
3.
Correlation - Where else is it being said and/or explained
4.
Application - What will I do about what is being said
Inductive Bible study is that
Bible study which occurs when the passage being studied is allowed to speak to
us, our conclusions being drawn from the passage. It is the opposite of
deductive Bible study, that which forms conclusions prior to the Bible study
and searches the Bible for support for these conclusions, often taking passages
out of their context in the process. In performing inductive Bible study we are
reading data from the passage, while in performing deductive Bible study we are
reading data into the passage.
Read the passage being
studied several times in order to get a good feel for the details. Act as
though you are reading this passage for the first time and observe all the
facts. Ask questions of the passage:
1.
Who is involved?
2.
What are they doing?
3.
Where are they? Where
are they going?
4.
When did this happen,
what happened before, what will happen afterwards.
5.
Why is this happening?
More questions may be found
in the section on the Chapter Analysis Method of Bible study. Observation is
crucial in obtaining a good understanding of any given Bible passage, in order
for it to be effective we must learn to avoid the following traps:
1.
Speed reading. Often,
either through familiarity, boredom, or lack of time, we tend to rush through a
passage. We must learn to take our time, extracting from the text every detail.
2.
Trusting our mind. Too
little do we actually write down what we are seeing in the Bible’s pages, our
memory for detail will be greatly enhanced once we start to take notes during
the observation process.
3.
Giving up. Just because
we have already studied a given text does not mean that we know all there is to
know about it. Simply because we have not studied the Bible in a classroom
environment, or have not gone to Bible college, does not mean that our Bible
study will be ineffective. It is God who rewards the student, as we gain
experience in Bible study we will still need to rely on His guiding hand, our
mind will simply be better at doing the work of Bible study
Don’t ask why now, we will
begin to ask why during the process of interpretation, you are attempting here
to get a good understanding of the flow of the passage, its surrounding events,
its characters – you are in short looking for every detail you can find. Take
your time through this stage as it is foundational to the overall impact of the
study.
Regard the passage as though
you are a detective, studying the passage for any clues that can help to answer
the following questions:
1.
What does this passage
mean?
2.
How would the original
readers have understood - this passage?
3.
What is the author
trying to say to me?
4.
Why is this here?
Keep in mind that: When
the plain sense of Bible makes common sense, seek no other meaning. The
Bible was written for normal people to understand, not merely the super
intelligent or those who (according to some cults) claim an additional
knowledge not generally given to all. Don't look for hidden meanings unless you
have good reason to think there is further meaning that is not obvious or
indicated by the surrounding context. This means that we are not to modify the
plain sense of the Bible when it contradicts our treasured beliefs but must
instead modify even our treasured beliefs when the teaching of the Bible is
against them. Remember also to ask questions, Christianity is not a faith
for the intellectually challenged and our God is not a God who acts in a manner
that is beyond our ability to understand, though He often acts in ways that are
beyond our capacity to understand. We can ask questions of all that we read in
the Bible and expect reasonable answers that we are able to understand and that
are consistent with teachings elsewhere in the Bible.
Some general principles of
interpretation are:
1.
Interpret the Bible by
the Bible, refer to parallel passages, noting both differences and similarities
2.
Research the words
recalling that even in English the meanings of various words will change over
time. Remember, too, that different words may be used to convey similar concepts,
such as our use of friend, girl/boyfriend, fiancée, husband/wife to define
various aspects of the love relationship.
3.
Evaluate the use of
grammar, why were the words put together as they have been?
4.
Carefully consider the
context of the verse, passage, paragraph, and chapter. Context is either near
(in the same body of text) or remote (in a removed portion of text).
5.
Discover what the
author's intent was in writing what you are reading. Paul's letters generally
convey the occasion of each letter, as do some of the gospels, for other
writing you may have to do some research.
6.
Study the background of
the book of which your study passage is a part by use of Bible dictionaries,
encyclopaedias, maps, etc.
Correlation can actually be
part of interpretation and is frequently done simultaneously. When you
correlate, you are bringing up sections from other parts of the chapter, book,
or entire Bible that help you to understand the section you are studying and
are operating on the principle that: The Bible is its own best interpreter.
An example of correlation would be to refer to parallel passages in the
synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) during a study of the gospel of
John. A concordance and/or cross reference system is especially valuable at
this stage. Other useful practices in correlation are: paraphrasing the
passage, summarizing the passage, outlining the passage, and making charts that
relate concepts and ideas in the passage to each other and to other passages
dealing with similar ideas. Various of these devices will appear in some form
or an other in the following section on the Bible study methods.
Application begins during
your study but continues on into your day-to-day living. Bible study without
application becomes a stale, intellectual exercise, like sitting in a car
without fuel you will not go anywhere. Your spiritual growth will not occur by
merely reading the Bible, its truths must be acted out. Do not rush into
application until you are sure what the passage says and means, then adjust
your life accordingly. Take steps also to measure your application, evaluate
your progress and make the necessary changes in your application. If you are
unable to apply the passage, try asking yourself these questions:
1.
Is there a command for
me to obey?
2.
Is there a good example
for me to follow?
3.
Is there a sin here for
me to avoid?
4.
Is there something here
I want to thank God for?
5.
Is there a promise I
can call my own?
6.
Is there a blessing I
can enjoy?
7.
Is there a failure from
which I can learn?
8.
Is there a victory for
me to win?
9.
Is there a new thought
about God, the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Satan, man?
10.
Is there a truth in this passage that has greatly
affected me?
Remember during your study
the words of Jesus:
Matthew 7:24-28 - Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I
will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain
descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house;
and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth
these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man,
which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods
came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was
the fall of it.
This is a clear warning to
all who would learn the Bible that its teaching is for application into one’s
life in order that that life may be build upon the Solid Rock. It is important
to allow change to occur as we read the Bible else we become like the man who
built his house on the sand, we hear the words of God but fail to take heed of
them and so our life is lost in the storm. Some of the study methods that
follow will give you opportunity to note various applications and provide for
you to be able to evaluate you application after a certain period of time. If
you will follow those prompts you will be able to allow God to change your life
through you times of fellowship with Him in the study of His word.
As you begin to apply what
you are learning through your Bible studies you will find that you have made
some progress toward change in a certain aspect of your life. At this point you
may be tempted to stop this particular application process and carry on with an
other application. Don’t. There may always be room for improvement, as Paul has
said in his letter to the church in Philippi:
Philippians 3:12 - Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I
follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of
Christ Jesus.
If you have been prompted by
the Holy Spirit toward some change in your life, or He is leading you through
such a change, you must not be satisfied with the fact that you may no longer
be doing the worst of what the Holy Spirit is leading you away from while
continuing to do the less bad aspects of this thing. When God comes to change
us He is asking that we eliminate all within us that is contrary to His will,
not merely the worst of it.
2. Deductive vs. Inductive Bible Study
In this section some common errors are explored that
will have a negative impact on the value and effectiveness of your Bible study.
It is not intended to be exhaustive but shows examples of the grossest errors
so that they may more easily be avoided.
In this practice the culture to which the particular
passage under investigation was addressed is re-defined in such a way as to
dispense with the universal application of an uncomfortable mandate. This
practice is most commonly used in instances such as the presentation of
homosexuality as a legitimate lifestyle rather than one that is condemned by
God. Each passage that speaks out against the practice of homosexuality is
re-interpreted in such a way as to make the culture to which it is addressed
guilty not of immoral behaviour but of an incomplete practice of love. In this
manner the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is no longer homosexuality but
inhospitality. However, once the Bible is twisted in this way it can be made to
say everything anyone would like it to say and it can therefore say nothing at all.
It is no longer a guide to Godly behaviour
but an echo of our own desires, an interesting book which may or may not apply to our lives today,
depending on what we wish. However, the Bible is not a book that addresses
itself in one way to the people of one age and in an other way to the people of
an other age. It cannot be since the Bible is the word to all ages by an eternal
unchanging God. What God demanded of the people of
Deductive
versus Inductive Bible Study
One of the most common errors is for the student to
replace inductive Bible study with deductive Bible study. The difference
between the two lies in the fact that while inductive Bible study (that which
is promoted throughout this lesson) seeks to glean knowledge from the Bible,
deductive Bible study attempts to use the Bible to support a previously made
conclusion. Inductive Bible study allows the Bible to lead the student.
Deductive Bible study has the student leading the Bible. One of the greatest
examples of the deductive method causing Christians to mis-understand the Bible
centres upon the following passage:
Revelation 4:1 – After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first
voice which I heard was as it
were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew
thee things which must be hereafter.
This passage is interpreted by millions of Christians
to symbolize the rapture of the Church prior to an event known as “The Great
Tribulation” at the time of the second coming of Jesus Christ (the actual
timing of which is beyond the scope of this lesson to address, the author
personally believes that the Church will exist on the earth during the
tribulation). In order for this interpretation to be valid
several facts must be established:
1.
John must be defined as
a type of the Christian Church in order for his call into
Heaven to be symbolic of the rapture
2.
The trumpet must be
defined as the last trump of which the apostle Paul speaks in 1 Corinthians
15:52
3.
Christ must be seen as
returning to gather up His followers as must occur at the time of the rapture
It may be argued that each of the preceding points
has been established, but the simplest and most natural interpretation
clearly show that these points are neither supported by this passage nor by any
passage which follows it. What is most readily apparent is that John has been
called by God to spiritually enter Heaven in order to see “things which must be
hereafter.” Those who deduce the rapture into this passage must overlook the
last half of the verse which clearly refers to John as an individual granted
the special privilege of seeing with his own eyes what the end of the world will
look like and to write about it so that his fellow believers may also know.
Facts are being read into the Bible that are not there and facts which are
there are overlooked.
One can deduce a correct interpretation as well. What is critical is that the student makes a conscious attempt to prevent their conclusions from interfering with their interpretation. We must remember that God is speaking to us through the Bible, we must allow Him to speak and be guided by His Holy Spirit rather than our own desires. We must be willing to discard a favoured belief if our Bible study shows it to be in error. We must be unwilling to discard a belief supported by the Bible even when “wiser minds” inform us otherwise.
An excellent argument of Ignoring Clarification occurs in one argument used to support the pre-tribulation rapture of the church. Verses in the Bible that indicate that God will not allow His children to suffer are used to argue that God will not allow His church to suffer and that the church must by necessity be raptured before the tribulation. Typical of such error the argument makes sense on the surface, until we come to realize that there are more Christians being persecuted around the world today than there have ever been in history. A broader view of the world around us, with a realization of what our brothers and sisters in other lands are enduring, would show us that the church is suffering now and that a pre-tribulation rapture will only end its suffering, not eliminate it.
This error, also referred to as “proof texting,” is
the practice where a verse or a phrase is isolated from the surrounding text in
order prove a point. Many examples of this occur in each case of which the
words of the isolated text are completely re-interpreted once they are removed
from their surroundings. This is especially prevalent among certain cults that
claim to be Christian but are not; such as the Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses and
the Seventh Day Adventists. Many non-Christian religions are also very good at
proof texting as well, such as the New Age Movement and the religion of Islam.
While Jesus Himself was often the subject of proof texting, as can be noticed
predominately in the gospel accounts of His life, in each case the text in
question is not taken out of its original context but is used to show Jesus’
credentials by means of passages to which most contemporaries would have
already been familiar. The error of proof texting occurs when the original text
is interpreted to say that which is in opposition to, or ignorant of, the
context in which the text is found.
The translation method and style of too many of our
modern translations tend to suggest that human opinion is of sufficient
authority to modify the reader’s understanding of the text. An example of this
occurs in the NIV footnote for Genesis 1:2:
Genesis 1:1-2 (NIV) – In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth. Now the earth was {2 Or possibly <became>}
formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit
of God was hovering over the waters.
Here the word “became” is considered as a
possible translation of the word that most translations translate into “was” in the text. Some Hebrew
scholars do indicate that “became” is a viable alternative and so on the
surface its use seems to be acceptable in translation. The problem lies in the
reasoning behind the use of “became.” Since the most natural reading of the
passage shows that God is involved in the act of creating rather than repair we
must determine the motivation for the use of “became” rather than “was.” The
primary motivation to translate the Hebrew into “became” rather than into “was”
appears to be to provide space between these two verses for the vast spans of
time required by the theory of evolution. In this translation all the long
millions of years are said to have occurred between verse one and verse two,
during which time evolutionary process is supposed to have resulted in the
fossils that are discovered throughout the world. The problem is that this type
of interpretation is selective, translating the text to say what translators
wish it to say rather than to reflect what is actually being said and results
in an inaccurate understanding of the Bible. Allowing evolution to occur prior
to verse two ignores the fact that death did not enter creation until Adam and
Eve rebelled against God and also ignores that God did not create any animal
life until the fourth day of creation. It is in capitulation to evolutionary
thought that the word “became” has even been considered since the only defence
ever made in its favour is specifically that it seems to allow within the Bible
the time that evolution demands and as such overlays a desired interpretation
upon the actual interpretation.
In this section some of the
most effective Bible study methods are described and accompanied by resources
that will allow you to do these studies in your own way. More complete
information is to be found in the following book:
Warren, Richard, with William A. Shell, 12 Dynamic
Bible Study Methods, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1987.
which is unfortunately now
out of print. All the material that follows has been taken exclusively from
this book and summarized for this course. I had the privilege of studying
this material under William (Bill) Shell in a class on Biblical Interpretation
at Reformed Bible College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1988 –1989 and found
both him and his teaching very beneficial as his heart was dedicated to the
equipping of the saints. If there is any copyright infringement I am
solely to blame and plead the excuse that this material is simply too valuable
not to share with others.
In each case a basic outline
of the method will be given and some useful tools for this method will be
listed. The studies begin with the basic types and progress toward studies that
are more in depth and require greater allocations of time but which will also
yield greater results. Most studies in this same publication are followed by a
chart which has been reproduced in this document as a series of links to Adobe
Portable Document Format files (PDF); you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader
installed in order to make use of these charts.
The Bible study methods
discussed in this document are:
4.
Method
One – The Devotional Method of Bible Study
5.
Method
Two – The Chapter Summary Method of Bible Study
6.
Method
Three – The Character Quality Method of Bible Study
7.
Method
Four – The Thematic Method of Bible Study
8.
Method
Five – The Biographical Method of Bible Study
9.
Method
Six – The Topical Method of Bible Study
10.
Method Seven – The Word Study
Method of Bible Study
11.
Method Eight – The Book
Background Method of Bible Study
12.
Method Nine – The Book Survey
Method of Bible Study
13.
Method Ten – The Chapter
Analysis Method of Bible Study
14.
Method Eleven – The Book
Synthesis Method of Bible Study
15.
Method Twelve – The Verse by
Verse Method of Bible Study
Method 1 - The Devotional
Method of Bible Study – Chart
In the Devotional Method of
Bible study a passage of the Bible, large or small, is read and meditated on
until the Holy Spirit guides you to an application of the passage into you life
in a way that is personal, practical, possible, and measurable. It is the
simplest and least costly in terms of time of all the Bible study methods in
this outline. The goal is to take the Bible seriously and to do what it says to
do.
1.
Tools
1.
Bible
1.
Hints
1.
This method can
be used as part of your quite times with God
2.
Requires little
investment of time and can be done as you travel or wait for life to catch up
to you
1.
Steps
1.
Step 1 - Pray for understanding and guidance as you apply the
passage into your life.
2.
Step 2 - Meditate on the verse(s) you have chosen for your
study
3.
Step 3 - Write out the application you will make from the
passage into your life.
4.
Step 4 - Memorize a verse from the passage that summarizes
what you have learned.
5.
Step 5 - Assess your application in the weeks that follow for
success or failure.
Method 2 - The Chapter
Summary Method of Bible Study – Chart
In the Chapter Summary Method
of Bible study we attempt to gain an understanding of the contents of any given
chapter of the Bible by reading it in its entirety several times (at least
five), asking a series of questions relating to the content of the chapter, and
ending with a general summary of the chapter. Note that the chapter divisions
currently in our Bible are not in the original manuscripts but were added later
(about 1,200 AD) by Bishop Stephen Langton in order to make the various parts
of the Bible more accessible to the general reader. Although usually well done,
at some points the chapter divisions interrupt the natural flow of the text.
There are 1,189 chapters in the Protestant Bible so there is a wealth of
material to study.
1.
Tools
1.
Bible
2.
Cross references
1.
Hints
1.
Read the chapter
from a Bible without notes in order to encourage fresh insights rather than
reaffirming those already found.
2.
Read the chapter
without stopping in order to get a feel for the flow of the chapter.
3.
Read the chapter
in various translations noting important differences discovered.
4.
Read the chapter
aloud but quietly to yourself as an aid to concentration.
1.
Steps
1.
Step One -
Caption - Give the chapter a short
but descriptive heading. Headings that are short and/or convey a vivid image of
the chapter are especially beneficial.
2.
Step Two -
Contents - Make a list or outline of
the major point of the chapter.
3.
Step Three - Chief People - Make a list of the major
individuals in the chapter, some reference to the surrounding chapters may be
necessary.
4.
Step Four - Central Verse - Select a verse that is
significant in the chapter or which you find is important during this study.
5.
Step Five - Crucial Word(s) - Make a list of the key
word(s) of the chapter.
6.
Step Six - Challenges - List any difficulties you may
have with the chapter. What don't you understand? Are there areas of your life
that need changing but cannot be changed?
7.
Step Seven - Cross References - Use your cross references
to find other passages in the Bible that help you to understand this chapter.
You should evaluate cross references in steps:
1.
Internal Cross
References - Look for cross references within the book you are studying.
2.
External Cross
References - Look for cross references within other books by the same author.
3.
Compare with
cross references within the same Testament (Old or New)
4.
Compare with
cross references within the Bible as a whole.
There are also several types of cross reference,
three are listed below (see your cross reference system for more details:
1.
Pure Cross
Reference – Says almost exactly the same thing as the verse you are studying.
2.
Illustrative
Cross Reference – Illustrates what the verse you are studying is saying.
1.
Contrasting
Cross Reference – Says the opposite of what the verse you are studying is
saying.
1.
Step Eight - Christ Revealed - As the Bible as a whole is
the revelation of Jesus Christ (the Old Testament points to Him, the Gospels
give the details of His earthly life, and Acts and the Letters show His
activity in the world) it should be possible to find His presence in all areas
of the Bible. Find out what you can discover of the nature, ministry, or person
of Christ from this chapter.
2.
Step Nine - Central Lesson(s) - List the major lessons
taught in the chapter that you have learned at this time (next time you study
this chapter entirely new insights may become evident).
3.
Step Ten - Conclusion - Here you will begin to apply
what you have learned. Two questions that are important to ask during any application
of the Bible are:
1.
How do these
insights apply to me personally?
2.
What am I going
to do about them?
Method Three - The Character Quality Method of Bible
Study – Chart
In the Character Quality
Method of Bible study we begin to use tools other than the Bible itself in
order to discover what the Bible has to say of specific personal
characteristics. A major emphasis of this study method is on personal
application of the lessons you will be learning into your own life. The main
goal of this method of Bible study is to learn God’s view of personal
characteristics.
1.
Tools
1.
Bible
2.
English
dictionary
3.
Bible
dictionary
4.
Lexicon
5.
Cross references
6.
Exhaustive
concordance
7.
Topical Bible or
topical listings
1.
Hints
1.
Select a
character quality that is of interest to you or that you wish to develop or
have victory over in your own life.
2.
This study may
take some time, be sure to allocate enough time to complete the study
adequately.
1.
Method
1.
Step One – Select the character quality you wish to study, look
it up in an English dictionary and make note of the definition
2.
Step Two – Name and define the opposite quality, again using
the English dictionary
3.
Step Three – Do a simple word study of the character quality
first using the Bible dictionary to define the quality from a Biblical
perspective. Use the concordance to find other verses containing the same
word(s), remembering that often many different English words can be used to
translate the same Hebrew or Greek original and vice versa. Then use the
lexicon determine the usage by the author(s) of the word(s) defining this
quality.
4.
Step Four – Find some cross references using either the verse
listings within your Bible or a dedicated book of cross references such as
"The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge." The concordance and
topical Bible (such as "Nave’s Topical Bible") will also be of
benefit in this step.
5.
Step Five – Do a brief biographical study of at least one person
who exhibits the character quality you are studying. Describe in brief the
quality and the Bible references to it in this person’s life. Use the following
questions to help you along:
1.
What shows this
quality in this person’s life?
2.
How did this
quality affect this person’s life?
3.
Did this quality
help or hinder this person’s growth to maturity, spiritual or otherwise? How?
4.
What are the
results of this quality in this person’s life?
6.
Step Six – Memorize at least one verse from your study that
seems to stand out and which will help you as you apply the lessons you are
learning into your own life.
7.
Step Seven – Select a situation or a relationship in which to work
on this character quality. Remember that we wish to minimize the negative
qualities in our lives and emphasize or enhance the positive qualities. Jonah’s
stubbornness helps us to see our own in light of its impact on our ability to
do the will of God in our lives, whereas Moses’ humility before God in spite of
his being able to meet God face to face can shed new light on how we are to
treat special characteristics of our own lives.
8.
Step Eight – Think of practical methods by which you may apply
the positive aspects of your study into your life. If you are studying the
quality of encouragement you might wish to go out of your way to encourage
Christian behaviour in you fellow believers.
9. Step Nine – Make note of progress as you apply these lessons into your life. This will allow you to evaluate your development in the area you have studied.
Method Four - The Thematic Method of Bible Study – Chart
In the thematic method of
Bible study you will approach a theme within the Bible and perform a basic
study of it. It is shorter than the Topical Method of Bible study, which comes
later in these notes, and is much less exhaustive in its scope. In a topical
study you would examine each possible verse that relates to your topic of
study, including each sub-them; in a thematic study you will study only those
verses that apply directly to a single theme
1.
Tools
1.
Study Bible
2.
Exhaustive
concordance
3.
Topical Bible or
cross references
1.
Hints
1.
Stay narrowly
focused on your theme since each associated idea can lead to hundreds of
additional cross references causing your simple thematic study to grow quickly
into a study requiring a great deal more time and effort than you have
allocated.
2.
Keep your list
of questions short as some themes may have one or two hundred references
associated with them which, if you have too many questions, would cause you to
tire of your study even before it is complete
1.
Steps
1.
Step One - Choose a theme to study, for your first thematic
study you may wish to choose a theme that is relatively simple
2.
Step Two - Make a list of all the verses you intend to study
using the tools described above and select from this list the verses that are
most applicable, or important, to your theme
3.
Step Three - Decide on, and make a list of, the questions you will
ask of each verse. If you have written more than five you may wish to choose
from this list as five questions is generally more than sufficient for the
study
4.
Step Four - Ask these questions of each verse in your list of
step two. You may not be able to obtain an answer for each question in each
verse, some verses may only answer one or two of your questions but this does
not mean that your verses have been improperly chosen
5.
Step Five - Draw some conclusions from your study. This would
include collating the notes you have made and summarizing the details of the
study
6.
Step Six - Write out a personal application and remember to
evaluate your progress.
Method Five - The Biographical Method of Bible Study – Chart
1.
Tools
1.
Bible
2.
Exhaustive
and/or biographical concordance
3.
Topical Bible
4.
Bible dictionary
or encyclopedia
1.
Hints
1.
Remember that
the person will often be referred to by means other than his/her proper name in
many passages
1.
Steps
1.
Step One - Choose an individual from the Bible for your study.
See the list below for a selection of persons from the Bible.
1.
Step Two - List all references concerning that person. A
concordance will help if the person is referred to in the Bible by their proper
name, but you may also wish to look for ambiguous references to the person (ie:
Pharaoh’s wife, or: the son of Zebedee).
2.
Step Three - Note your first impression of the person after your
first reading of the passages
3.
Step Four - Make a chronological outline of the person's life
after your second reading
4.
Step Five - Obtain some insights into the person after your
third reading
5.
Step Six - Identify some character qualities after your fourth
reading
6.
Step Seven - Show how some other Bible truths are illustrated in
this person's life
7.
Step Eight - Summarize the main lesson(s) you have learned
8.
Step Nine - Write out a personal application
9.
Step Ten - Make your study transferable
10. Step Eleven - Note someone with whom you will share the results of this study and
commit yourself to doing this.
A
Partial List of Biblical People
The three following lists
include some of the major men of the Bible, the minor but important men of the
Bible, and the prominent women of the Bible.
Major Men
of the Bible
|
1.
Abraham 2.
Daniel 3.
David 4.
Elijah 5.
Elisha 6.
Ezekiel 7.
Ezra 8.
Isaiah |
9.
Isaac 10.
Jacob 11.
Jeremiah 12.
Jesus 13.
John – apostle 14.
Joseph – OT 15.
Joshua 16.
Moses |
17.
Nehemiah 18.
Paul 19.
Peter 20.
Pharaoh 21.
Samson 22.
Samuel 23.
Saul – OT 24.
Solomon |
Minor but
Important Men of the Bible
|
1.
Aaron 2.
Abel 3.
Abimelech 4.
Abner 5.
Absalom 6.
Achan 7.
Adam 8.
Ahab 9.
Ahithophel 10.
Amos 11.
Ananias 12.
Andrew 13.
Apollos 14.
Apostles – any |
15.
Aquila 16.
Asa 17.
Balaam 18.
Barnabas 19.
Barzillai 20.
Caiaphas 21.
Caleb 22.
Eli 23.
Esau 24.
Gehazi 25.
Gideon 26.
Habakkuk 27.
Haggai 28.
Haman |
29.
Herod 30.
Hezekiah 31.
Hosea 32.
Jabez 33.
James 34.
Jehoshaphat 35.
Jeroboam 36.
Joab 37.
Job 38.
John the Baptist 39.
Jonah 40.
Jonathan 41.
Judas Iscariot 42.
Judges – any |
43.
Kings – any 44.
Laban 45.
Lot 46.
Luke 47.
Mark 48.
Matthew 49.
Melchizedek 50.
Mephibosheth 51.
Mordecai 52.
Naaman 53.
Nathan 54.
Noah 55.
Philemon 56.
Philip |
57.
Pontius Pilate 58.
Prophets – any 59.
Rehoboam 60.
Shamgar 61.
Silas 62.
Stephen 63.
Timothy 64.
Titus 65.
Tychicus 66.
Uzziah 67.
Zechariah 68.
Zedekiah 69.
Zephaniah 70.
Zerubbabel |
Prominent
Women of the Bible
|
1.
Abigail 2.
Abishag 3.
Anna 4.
Bathsheba 5.
Deborah 6.
Delilah 7.
Dinah 8.
Dorcas 9.
Elizabeth 10.
Esther |
11.
Eunice 12.
Eve 13.
Hagar 14.
Hannah 15.
Jezebel 16.
Jochebed 17.
Leah 18.
Lydia 19.
Martha 20.
Mary – Jesus’ mother |
21.
Mary Magdalene 22.
Mary of Bethany 23.
Michal 24.
Miriam 25.
Naaman’s maid 26.
Naomi 27.
Priscilla 28.
Queen of Sheba 29.
Rachel 30.
Rahab |
31.
Rebecca 32.
Ruth 33.
Sapphira 34.
Sarah 35.
The Shunammite 36.
Vashti 37.
Zipporah |
General
Questions for a Biographical Study
Here is a list of seventy
questions you can use in constructing a biographical study. You shouldn’t try
to use every question listed here in a single study. Depending on the depth of
your study and the time you have, select the questions you would like to have
answered. The questions are categorized into seven major divisions for easier
use. As you think of other questions, add them to this list.
Reputation
1.
Who wrote what
we know about this person?
2.
What did people
say about him/her?
3.
What did his
enemies say about him/her?
4.
What did his
family (wife/husband, children, brothers, sisters, parents) say about him/her?
5.
What did God say
about him/her?
6.
Why do you think
God allowed this person to be mentioned in the Bible?
Tests of
Character
1.
What were his
aims and motives?
2.
What was he/she
like in his home?
3.
How did he/she
respond to failure? Did he/she get discouraged easily?
4.
How did he/she
respond to adversity? Did he/she handle criticism well?
5.
How did he/she
respond to success? Did he/she get proud when praised?
6.
How did he/she
respond to the trivial and mundane things in life? Was he/she faithful in the
little things?
7.
How quickly did
he/she praise God for the good/bad things that happened to him/her?
8.
How quickly did
he/she obey God when told to do something?
Background
1.
What can you
discover about his family and ancestry?
2.
What does his
named mean? Why was he/she given that name? Was it ever changed?
3.
What was his
home life like? How was he/she raised? Where was he/she raised?
4.
What were the
characteristics of his parents? Did they influence him/her?
5.
Was there
anything special about his birth?
6.
Where did he/she
live? What was his everyday life like?
7.
Was he/she
exposed to other cultures? Did they affect him/her in any way?
8.
What was the
condition of his country -- politically and spiritually -- during his lifetime?
9.
What kind of
training did he/she have? Did he/she have any schooling?
10. What was his occupation?
11. How long did he/she live? Where did he/she die? How
did he/she die?
Significant
Events
1.
Was there any
great crisis in his life? How did he/she handle it?
2.
What are the
great accomplishments for which he/she is remembered?
3.
Did he/she
experience a divine ‘call?’ How did he/she respond to it?
4.
What crucial
decisions did he/she have to make? How did they affect him/her? Others?
5.
Did any recurring
problem keep coming up in his life?
6.
Where did he/she
succeed? Where did he/she fail? Why?
7.
How did the
environment and circumstances affect him/her?
8.
What part did
he/she play in the history of God’s plan?
9.
Did he/she
believe in the sovereignty of God (God’s control over all events)?
Relationships
1.
How did he/she
get along with other people? Was he/she a loner? Was he/she a team person?
2.
How did he/she
treat other people? Did he/she use them of serve them?
3.
What was his/her
wife/husband like? How did she/he influence him/her/her?
4.
What were his
children like? How did they influence him/her?
5.
Who were his
close companions? What were they like? How did they influence him/her?
6.
Who were his
enemies? What were they like? How did they influence him/her?
7.
What influence
did he/she have on others? On his nation? On other nations?
8.
Did he/she take
care of his family? How did his children turn out?
9.
Did his friends
and family help or hinder him/her in serving the Lord?
10. Did he/she train anyone to take his place? Did he/she
leave a "Timothy" (disciple) behind?
Personality
1.
What type of
person was he? What made him/her the way he/she was?
2.
Was his
temperament choleric, melancholic, sanguine, or phlegmatic?
3.
What were the
outstanding strengths in his character? What traits did he/she have?
4.
Did his life
show any development of character as time passed? Was there growth and
progression there?
5.
What were his
particular faults and weaknesses?
6.
What were his
particular sins? What steps led to those sins?
7.
In what area was
his greatest battle: lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, or pride of life?
8.
What were the
results of his sins and weaknesses?
9.
Did he/she ever
get the victory over his particular sins and weaknesses?
10. What qualities made him/her a success or failure?
A List
of Positive Character Qualities to Find
|
A
Servant Agreeableness Balance Boldness Bravery Calmness Carefulness Cautiousness Characterized
by the Beatitudes Chasteness Cheerfulness Cleanliness Compassionate Confidence Consideration Contentedness Courageousness |
Courteousness Creativity Dedication Deference Dependability Determinate Diligence Discernment Discipline Discreetness Durableness Earnestness Energy Enthusiasm Fairness Faithfulness Flexibleness
Forgiveness |
Generosity Gentleness Good
Stewardship Gratefulness Honesty Humbleness Independence Industry Integrity Kindness Lovingness Loyalty Man of
Faith Meekness Mercifulness Moderateness
Modesty |
Obedience
Observer Optimism Orderliness Patience Peacemaking Perspective Positiveness Pureness Quietness Resourcefulness Respectfulness Reverence Righteousness Sacrifice Self-control Self-denying
Self-giving |
Sense
of Humor Sensitivity Sincerity Stableness Submissiveness Sympathy Thankfulness Thriftiness Tolerance Trustworthiness Uncomplaining Uncompromising Wholeheartedness Wisdom Zealousness |
A List
of Negative Character Qualities to Find
|
A
Busybody A
Cop-out A
Doubter A
Drunkard A Liar A
Sluggard A
Worrier Adulterous Angry
Without Cause Annoying Apathetic Apostate Argumentative Arrogant Ashamed
of Christ Backbiter Bigoted Bitter Blasphemous Boastful Callous Careless |
Coarse
Complaining Compromising Conceited Covetous Cowardly Crafty/Sly Cruel Deceitful Dishonest Disobedient Disrespectful Doctrinally
Off Dogmatic Double-minded Envious Fearful Fears
Men Fickle Flatterer Foolish Forgetful Forgets
God Fornicator |
Friend
of the World Gluttonous Gossiper Greedy Grudging Halfhearted Harsh Headstrong Humorless Hypocritical Idle Idolatrous Immodest Immoral Impolite Impulsive Independent
Spirit Indifferent Inhuman Insensitive Insulting Irritating |
Jealous Lazy Legalistic Libelous Loves
Men's Praise Lukewarm Lusts
for Power Malicious Manipulative Murmurer Negligent Prejudiced Presumptuous Procrastinator Profane Proud Rebellious Rejoices
in Evil Reprobate Rude/Gross Sarcastic Scornful Self-righteous |
Selfish Sensual Shallow Shortsighted Slanderer Stingy Stubborn Talkative Tyrannical Unclean Undisciplined Unfair Unfaithful Unforgiving Ungrateful Unkind Unreliable Unsociable Vain Violent Wasteful Wavering Worldly |
Method Six - The Topical Method of Bible Study – Chart
Previously you encountered
the Thematic Method of Bible study in which you studied a narrow theme of the
Bible in simple detail asking prepared questions of verses from a chosen list.
With the topical study you will study a topic of the Bible, which may contain
several themes, and you will not be asking prepared questions, instead you will
be recording all insights you find from your study. The topical method will
usually take longer than the thematic so you will want to assure yourself that
sufficient time is available to at least make a significant start on the study.
1.
Tools
1.
Bible
2.
Exhaustive
concordance and/or cross references
3.
Topical Bible
1.
Hints (taken from Dr. R. A. Torrey)
1.
Be systematic by
listing all the concepts related to your topic, being as comprehensive as
possible and study each idea individually and in systematic and logical order.
2.
Be thorough by
as much as possible making a study of every verse that relates to the topic.
3.
Be exact, trying
to get the exact meaning for each verse you are studying. Remember not to
remove the verses from their context but use the context to help you in your
study.
1.
Steps
1.
Step One - Compile a list of words related to the topic you will
study
2.
Step Two - Collect all references relating to each word
3.
Step Three - Consider each reference individually
4.
Step Four - Compare and group the references
5.
Step Five - Condense the results of your study into a brief
outline
6.
Step Six - Conclude your study
Method Seven - The Word Study Method of Bible Study – Chart
1.
Tools
1.
Bible and
several alternate translations
2.
Exhaustive
concordance
3.
Bible dictionary
or encyclopedia
4.
A set of word
studies
5.
English
dictionary
1.
Hints
1.
Remember that
often a single word in the original language may be replaced by many different
words, or even phrases, when translated into English.
2.
An exhaustive
concordance such as Strong's or Young's are especially valuable for this study
since they associate each discrete original word to its English translation.
1.
Steps
1.
Step One - Choose the word you will study
2.
Step Two - Find its English definition in the English
dictionary
3.
Step Three - Compare treatments of the word in the various
translations
4.
Step Four - Note the definition of the original word (Hebrew,
Greek, or Aramaic)
5.
Step Five - Discover just where the word is used in the Bible
1.
How often does
it occur?
2.
In which books
is it found?
3.
In which book is
it used most?
4.
Where does the
word first appear?
5.
Where does it
first appear in the book you are studying?
6.
Which writers
used the word?
6.
Step Six - Find the origin and root meaning of the word, how
the word was used by the secular culture of the day
7.
Step Seven - Determine how the word was used in the Bible and how
it would have been understood in the culture to which the Bible was originally
addressed
8.
Step Eight - Write an application
A
Suggested List of Key Words for the Word Study Method of Bible Study
|
Adoption |
Faint Faith Flesh Hope |
Kingdom Know Law Marriage |
Name Obey Passover Peace Preach Sabbath |
Sanctify Save Servant Sin Soul Spirit |
Method Eight - The Book Background Method of Bible
Study – Chart
1.
Tools
1.
Bible dictionary
and/or bible encyclopedia
2.
Bible handbook
3.
Bible atlas
4.
Various tools
that allow you to experience in your time the environment of the Biblical
cultures
1.
Steps
1.
Step One - Choose the subject or book of the Bible
2.
Step Two - List your reference tools so that at the end of the
study you can see which were of the greatest help in your study.
3.
Step Three - Discover what you are able of the following:
1.
Who is the
writer of the book
2.
What is the date
of the book
3.
Where was the
book written
4.
For whom was the
book written
5.
Why was the book
written
6.
How does the
book fit into the Bible overall
In addition, see what light can be shed on the study
when it is evaluated in the following contexts:
1.
Geographical
setting
2.
Historical
events, prior, occurring, or expected
3.
Culture of the
day
4.
Political
situation
5.
Anticipation of
coming events or personage(s)
1.
Step Four - Summarize your research
2.
Step Five
- Write out your personal
application
Method Nine - The Book Survey Method of Bible Study – Chart
The Book Survey Method of
Bible study is the first of three methods of Bible study that, together, give
you an extremely comprehensive view of each book of the Bible. These three will
require the greatest effort on your part but will ultimately yield the best
results when used properly. Each of the three emphasizes a different aspect of
one overall process of study which are:
1.
Survey - Book
Survey Method - in which you will
obtain a detailed overview of a particular book of the Bible
2.
Analysis -
Chapter Analysis Method - in which
you will study everything in each chapter in great detail
3.
Synthesis -
Book Synthesis Method - in which you
will take what you learned in the previous two study stages and put it all back
together, drawing conclusions as you go and gaining an appreciation of the
whole of the book.
The basic goal of the Book
Survey Method of Bible study is to gain a detailed understanding as to why the
book was written, its context, its theme, its structure, and its content.
1.
Tools
1.
Bible and
several additional modern translations
2.
Bible dictionary
and/or Bible encyclopedia
3.
Bible handbook,
such as Unger's or Halley's
4.
Old and New
Testament surveys
5.
Cultural
contextualization tools
1.
Hints
1.
If you have
already done a Book Background Bible study on the book you may wish to refer to
it for background information useful to you in this study
1.
Steps
1.
Step One - Read the book following the suggestions below:
1.
Read through the
book in one sitting. After Psalms Isaiah is the Bible's largest book and the
average reader can read through it in a few hours. Reading the book in this
manner gives you a good overview of its contents. For the larger books you may
wish to divide it into two more manageable sections which you can then read
with a break between.
2.
Read through the
book in a recent translation so that the language usage is current and will not
distract from the contents of the book.
3.
Read through the
book as though the verse and chapter divisions are non-existent so as to get
the flow of the book and the relationship of its ideas to one an other.
4.
Read through the
book several times, you will be surprised at what you notice in a second or
third reading that you missed originally.
5.
Read through the
book without referring to any external notes of any kind, it is important to
concentrate upon the text of the book itself without using any interpretive
device.
6.
Read through the
book with prayer, asking God to speak to you through this study and open your
eyes to the lesson(s) he/she wants you to learn.
7.
Read through the
book with pen or pencil in hand and begin to take notes and make observations
on what you are reading on the second or third time through.
1.
Step Two - Make notes on what you read, this step actually
begins toward the end of step one. Write down your impressions of the book and
important details that you discover. Use the following list to guide you:
1.
Is the book
written in one of the following genres: Historic, poetic, prophetic, law,
biographic, correspondence, narrative, etc. See the section earlier on types of
literature in the Bible.
2.
Note your first
impressions as you read the book. What do you think was the purpose of the
author?
3.
What words does
the author use frequently? What words does the author consider important or
significant?
4.
Is there a key
verse to the book or a key statement?
5.
What is the
literary style of the author? How does the style of writing relate to the
message of the book?
6.
Does the author
reveal his emotions? How would the readers have responded to this emotion? How
do you respond to this emotion?
7.
Make note of
what you believe to be the main theme(s) of the book. Is there a major thrust
to the book?
8.
How is the book
structured? Remember that our chapters and verses (and often our paragraphs)
were all added centuries after the original authors completed their work.
Around what aspects of reality (people, geography, events, time, etc.) is the
book centered?
9.
How do people
fit into the book? Are there central characters and if so what part(s) do they
play in the book?
1.
Step Three - Do a background study of the book. In this step you
will essentially be following the outline given in the Book Background Method
of Bible study.
2.
Step Four - Make a horizontal chart of the book's contents. A
horizontal chart is a pictorial representation of the book on one or two sheets
of paper and which allows you to visually grasp the general details of the
book. Follow these steps to make a horizontal chart:
1.
On a single
sheet of paper, or at the most two, make as many vertical columns as there are
chapters in the book you are studying.
2.
Re-read the book
and note the major divisions, usually similar to the chapter divisions though
not always, and make headings relating to these divisions in as few words as
possible.
3.
Read through the
book again, yes this will be the fifth time you read the book, and think of a
short title for each chapter and record them just below the divisions of the
previous step, above each of the columns. Some characteristics of good titles
are that they are:
1.
short, usually
one to four words
2.
picturesque,
helping you visualize the chapter contents
3.
from the text if
possible
4.
unique and not
used as chapter titles of earlier studies
5.
able to show
where in the book the chapter falls
1.
Read through the
book again and create a series of titles for the paragraphs
1.
Step Five - Make a preliminary outline of the book from all that
you have done before. You are concentrating on the major points of the book as
later you will be using the Book Synthesis Method in which you will make a
detailed outline of the book. Some helpful points:
1.
Make an
preliminary outline of the book, concentrating on the major points.
2.
Have your
outline organized in sequence of descending importance. List major points first
followed by the minor points.
3.
Use paragraphs
will help with the outline as they are generally grouped around major ideas.
4.
Compare your
outline to those done by others to see where they differ and where they are
similar.
1.
Step Six - Write out a personal application and remember to
return periodically to this step so that you can evaluate your progress.
Method Ten - The Chapter Analysis Method of Bible
Study – Chart
The Chapter Analysis Method
of Bible study picks up where the Book Summary Method of Bible study leaves
off. You now have a reasonable grasp of the overall picture of the book, what
it means, why it was written, etc. and you are now able to begin to examine the
individual items making up the book. The best way of subdividing a book of the
Bible is to use the chapter divisions, since these are generally accurate, and
to study each chapter in detail. You will examine each paragraph, sentence, and
word in a detailed and systematic manner.
1.
Tools
1.
Bible and
several additional modern translations
2.
Bible dictionary
and/or Bible encyclopedia
3.
Bible handbook,
such as Unger's or Halley's
4.
Old and New
Testament surveys
5.
Cultural
contextualization tools
1.
Steps
1.
Step One - Create a chapter summary. First read the chapter
several times over, making some general observations on the chapter as a whole.
Once you have completed this process describe the content of the chapter,
summarizing it in one of the following ways:
1.
Paraphrase the
chapter, rephrasing it in your own words in such a way that you could read it
to an other person in a way that they would understand.
2.
Outline the
chapter, following the internal paragraph divisions of the chapter. Give each
paragraph a heading and place the subpoints of the paragraph beneath.
3.
Rewrite the
chapter leaving out all modifying clauses and phrases. You would write out the
chapter using just the subjects, verbs, and objects.
1.
Step Two - Note your observations and insights. Look at every
detail of the chapter, examining each sentence and word, and writing down
everything you see. Refer to the section on the OICA approach to Bible study
involving observation for some assistance in this step. On the following page
you will also find a list of things to look for in a Bible passage.
2.
Step Three - Ask detailed questions of the chapter. Write upon
the form each question you ask even if you cannot find an answer for it now.
The time may come when you do find an answer to the question in an other study
and be able then to place it here as well. Be sure to note any difficulties you
have with the passage so that you can research them in the future. Refer to the
list below to help you find answers to your questions:
1.
Observe the
context of the passage, refer to step two of the Book Survey Method of Bible
study for assistance here.
2.
Define the words
and phrases used so that you have the correct meaning of the structural
components of the passage.
3.
The structure
and grammar of a passage is of benefit to help you to understand the flow of
ideas and concepts within the passage so that you can see them in relation to
each other.
4.
Use other
translations to see if their use of English is more understandable.
5.
Try to view the
passage against its background (historic, cultural, geographic, economic,
social, current events, etc.). Use your Bible dictionary or encyclopedia to
obtain this information.
6.
See what other
passages in the Bible say about the concepts covered within this chapter. This
is actually done more thoroughly in step four.
7.
If all other
means have failed refer to a commentary and compare your interpretation of the
passage with that of the commentator.
1.
Step Four - Correlate your chapter with other Bible passages.
See step seven of the Chapter Summary Method of Bible study for help on using
cross references.
2.
Step Five - Make a list of some possible applications. You will
not be attempting to apply all that you write here, you are making a list for
future reference and from which, in step seven, you will choose one application
to work into your life.
3.
Step Six - Formulate and make note of some conclusions. After
reviewing the first five steps of this study write down your conclusions on the
chapter. You may discover additional information during this step which you
should also note.
4.
Step Seven - Write out one application from the list you compiled
in step five. Be sure that it is practical and that it is applicable to your
life. Remember to return to your written application in the near future so that
you can evaluate your progress.
What
to Look for in a Chapter Analysis Study
Listed here in brief form are
30 items to look for in your observation part of the Chapter Analysis Method of
Bible study:
1.
Ask the six
vital observation questions: What? Who? Where? When? Why? How?
2.
Look for key
words.
3.
Look for
repeated words and phrases.
4.
Look for
questions being asked.
5.
Look for answers
being given.
6.
Look for
commands.
7.
Look for
warnings.
8.
Look for
comparisons - things that are alike.
9.
Look for
contrasts - things that are different.
10. Look for illustrations.
11. Look for causes and effects and reasons for doing
things.
12. Look for promises and their conditions for
fulfillment.
13. Look for progression from the general to the
specific.
14. Look for progression from the specific to the
general.
15. Look for steps of progression in a narrative or
biography.
16. Look for lists of things.
17. Look for results.
18. Look for advice, admonitions, and attitudes.
19. Look for the tone of the passage - emotional
atmosphere.
20. Look for connectives, articles, and prepositions.
21. Look for explanations.
22. Look for Old Testament quotes in the New Testament.
23. Look for the literary form.
24. Look for paradoxes.
25. Look for emphasis through the use of space -
proportion.
26. Look for planned exaggerations or hyperboles.
27. Look at the grammatical construction of each
sentence.
28. Look for the use of the current events of the times.
29. Look for the force of the verbs.
30. Look for anything unusual or unexpected.
The above are just a few of the things you can look
for in your observation step in you Bible study. Don't let this long list
discourage you. You shouldn't try to do each one of the suggested items. It
will take time for you to get into the habit of seeing more and more things in
the text. The more you practice observing, the more alert you will become. So
remember: look, search, observe, then write your findings down!
Method Eleven - The Book Synthesis Method of Bible
Study – Chart
With the Book Synthesis
Method of Bible study we come to the final method of three devoted to the study
of an entire book of the Bible. The first is the Book Survey Method of Bible
study, in which we gained a detailed overview of a specific book of the Bible;
the second is the Chapter Analysis Method of Bible study, in which we studied
each chapter of the book in great detail. Now, in the Book Synthesis Method of
Bible study we will summarize and condense the lessons learned previously. The
word synthesis indicates the putting together of the discrete items that
together compose a whole; thus in the Book Synthesis Method of Bible study we
will put back together the details we extracted from the book through our
previous two studies.
1.
Tools
1.
Bible and
several additional modern translations
2.
Bible dictionary
and/or Bible encyclopedia
3.
Bible handbook,
such as Unger's or Halley's
4.
Old and New
Testament surveys
5.
Cultural
contextualization tools
1.
Hints
1.
Have the results
of both your Book Survey Method and your Chapter Analysis Method available and
complete, you will need to refer to them frequently during this study.
1.
Steps
1.
Step One - Reread the book several times in the same manner as
you did in the Book Survey method
2.
Step Two - Write out a detailed, final, outline using the
preliminary outline from your Book Survey and the passage summaries from your
Chapter Analysis. These, when coupled with your current readings, will allow
you to put this outline in its final form.
3.
Step Three - Write down a descriptive book title using the same
methods by which you gave titles to each section in your Chapter Analysis. The
title should be original and define the contents of the book in as few words as
possible.
4.
Step Four - Make a summary of your insights. You will here
summarize the major and minor themes as well as the conclusions of the book as
you discovered them in the previous two studies. Avoid commentaries for the
moment as you are attempting to arrive at your own understanding of the Bible.
Feel free to add new ideas you have discovered during the readings in step one.
5.
Step Five - Write out a personal application. Review all
applications listed in your Book Survey and Chapter Analysis studies, noting
any which you have not yet completed and making definite plans to complete them
in the near future if not immediately. If all are complete select other
potential applications and make plans to implement these in your life as soon
as possible.
6.
Step Six - Share the results of your study with other. The
Christian faith is unique in that each of us is individually saved through
Christ Jesus, yet our carrying out of that faith is best done in a community of
believers. Time and again we as Christians are referred to in the New Testament
as the Body of Christ and we are encouraged to build each other up in the
faith:
Ephesians 4:11-16 And he/she gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some,
evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints,
for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we
all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about
with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow
up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole
body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth,
according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh
increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
One of the ways in which the building up other
Christians takes place is to share with them what you have learned of God, be
it through Bible studies such as this or illuminations from the Holy Spirit.
Method Twelve - The
Verse by Verse Method of Bible Study – Chart
In the Verse by Verse Method
of Bible study you will select a passage of the Bible and examine it in great
detail, asking questions of it, finding cross references to it, and
paraphrasing each verse within it. The Verse by Verse Bible study concludes
with your obtaining a practical, personal application for each verse in the
study.
1.
Tools
Bible
Cross references
Exhaustive concordance
Bible dictionary and/or encyclopedia
Word studies
1.
Hints
1.
If you are short
on time you can do this study without the reference tools above, except for the
Bible of course.
1.
Steps
1.
Step One - Write out each verse of the passage in your own
words, striving for accuracy and not referring to other paraphrases except by
way of example. You are attempting to put the passage into your own words, not
into the words of an other person.
2.
Step Two - List any questions you have on any verse in your
study, note any answers you are able to find, and record any observations you
have made on that verse. Do this for each verse in the study. It may be helpful
for you to indicate questions, answers, and observations with the letters Q,
A, or O so that each will be easier to find upon returning to the
study at other times.
3.
Step Three - Find some cross references for each verse, trying
for at least one for each verse, and indicate if the reference is for a
specific word, phrase, or concept within that verse.
4.
Step Four - For each verse note any insights you have found in
your study.
5.
Step Five - Write a brief personal application for each verse
or, failing that, make note of some devotional thought to which you may return
in a Devotional Bible study and build upon it.
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This document last modified January 29, 2003