Bible Question: The Bible is vast and at times mysterious. At times I feel that I could study the Bible for the rest of my life and still gain only a small measure of the knowledge that is to be gained by reading the Word of God. What is the best way to study the Bible to gain a deeper knowledge? Are there resources that assist us in understanding more of what we read? Are there sources we can use that are guaranteed to have accurate historical information? How do I learn how to "rightly divide" the Word of God? |
Bible Answer: Greetings, Studying the Bible is easier than many people like to claim. However, you are right. You can study the Bible all your life and still get something new out of it every time you open it. First thing to remember when it comes to studying the Bible is perspective. You aren't reading a book written to the 21st century Christian. Most of the time, you're reading documents with an intended audience. Romans, for example, was written to the Roman church of the 1st century. As a result, trying to understand the passage from the perspective of the intended audience helps. Books such as Eerdmans Handbook to the Bible or Holman Bible Dictionary will provide insight into terms and topics used in the passage. Another useful resource is vine's complete expository dictionary. Second thing is to remember the language. The Bible wasn't written in Elizabethian English like the King James. The Bible was written originally in Hebrew, parts in Chaldean, and the new testament in Greek. If you don't have a solid background in greek and Hebrew, then having something like a Strong Concordance will help compensate, as will some of the resources listed above. Thirdly, you'll come across passages that will be hard to interpret even with the resources listed above. Sometimes turning to a few commentaries will help gain perspective. One that I've come to trust is the Expositor's commentary series. When studying the Bible, you should also keep the context in mind. Keeping a passage within the context will eliminate a lot of interpretation problems. The context is more than a paragraph, but the entire topic at hand. Like the Beattitudes in Matthew 5, for example. The context isn't just Matthew 5:3-12, but the entire sermon on the mount which is from Matthew 5:1 - 7:29. Hope these insights help. Jalek |