How To Study The Bible

How to Study the Bible Ways in which we can study the Bible We can study the Bible in many different ways. Rick Warren’s 12 Bible Study Methods lists a number of ways to study the Bible in addition to the following: Devotional Bible study Every Christian should read the Bible as part of their personal devotional time. When you read the Bible as part of your devotional time, read slowly and stop to think about things that impress you. Devotional Bible study should be coupled with prayer. Word study Using a concordance, check the number of times a word is referenced in the Bible. If you have a Greek-English Bible dictionary or Hebrew-English Bible dictionary, you can see what Greek or Hebrew word was behind different instances of an English word. If you don’t have these resources, the Amplified Bible provides an expanded translation that gives more insight into the traditional reading.

Observation, interpretation, and application The first thing people often ask themselves when reading the Bible is, “What does this mean?” The problem in answering this question is that we often interpret Scripture according to our own background (21st century, culture, Christian tradition) without considering what the author intended or what the intended audience read into that Scripture. For example, when we read Jeremiah’ prophesies we need to understand that God was warning the Israelites and other nations through Jeremiah. Only after we understand who was talking, who the audience was, and what the issues were, can we properly interpret the Scripture to mean something for ourselves. There are three steps we should follow in order to properly read a portion of Scripture. Taken together, these steps are the inductive method of Bible study: 1. Observation This is evidence-gathering. First, we need to know something about the context of the passage. If you have a study Bible, you can get this by reading the introduction to the Book. That will usually tell you the author, date, audience, and purpose of the writing. Next, read the passages before and after the particular part you are focusing on. Try to understand for yourself what is going on. Who is talking to whom? What is the author trying to say? Ask the questions who, what, when, where, why, and how. Read the particular passage in question. Note the words that stand out for you, using a separate piece of notepaper, if needed. Is there a turning point to the passage? What words are repeated? What are the metaphors or themes used? (For example: a wayward wife, a courtroom scene, a shepherd and his flock, a master and his slaves, a field or harvest, etc.) Why are those themes used—what is the key characteristic that is conveyed?

If you have a Greek word dictionary and are reading in the New Testament, such as Vine’s Expository Dictionary, you should use it to look up the full meaning of interesting words. Another way to do more in-depth word study is by examining different English translations, especially translations that are very different from the one you usually use. The New Living Translation often has good paraphrases that are easy to understand, whereas the New American Standard Bible offers a very literal reading. 2. Interpretation This is the part where we start figuring out what it all means … but first only what it meant for the author and the intended audience! If we’ve done a good job observing, the interpretation part should not be too difficult. Try your best to think about why these words and images were used. Who was angry, sad, or happy, and why? What did they do? Only after you’ve tried your best to determine the intent of the author and the meaning for the audience, then you can reference your commentary in the study Bible or in a separate commentary. (A commentary is a book where someone has observed and interpreted the passage.) 3. Application The final step is to determine what the passage means for your own situation —here and now—based on what it meant to the author and audience then and there. What are the similarities between the audience (or author, sometimes) and yourself? Usually, by this time, you’ll have already figured out the application. Oftentimes, it’s very difficult to keep from doing application during the previous stages. But if you are patient and methodical, the wait will be worth it.

General guidelines for Biblical interpretation Do 1. Read entire chapters together 2. Check cross-references (or end-ofparagraph references) to make sure your interpretation does not contradict other parts of the Bible. 3. Reference several interpretations to get the full meaning of a verse. 4. Research the background of a book, including the author, cultural setting, and historical context. 5. Remember that God is the hero of the story and that people in the narratives are not necessarily good examples to follow. 6. Realize narratives can teach us principles.

Don’t 1. Read a sentence in a way that ignores or contradicts the context. 2. Ignore obvious contradictions between your interpretation and other teaching of the Bible. 3. Write off certain Bible interpretations as without value—they have different purposes. 4. Assume that all stories can apply in every circumstance. 5. Think that we should follow every example simply because it is recorded in the Bible. 6. Forget the different between explicit teaching and principles taught implicitly.

7. Try to understand the intent of the author for the entire book.

7. Ignore questions of audience and intent.