Page 2 of 3
The Word Study Method: Study the important words of the Bible. Find out how many times a word occurs in Scripture and how it is used. Find out the original meaning of the word. Compare translations, check the word's occurrences, and find the root meaning. Write an application.
The Character Analysis Method: Select a Bible character and research all the verses about that person in order to study his or her life and characteristics. Make notes on his or her attitudes, strengths, and weaknesses, and show how Bible truths are illustrated in his or her life. Live with that person during the study, walk in his or her shoes. See how he or she thinks, feels, and responds to circumstances. Choose a character quality you would like to work on yourself, and study what the Bible says about it. Select a situation in your own life to work on and memorize a verse that speaks to you.
The Devotional Method: Select a short passage of Scripture and meditate on it. Visualize the scene or the narrative. Put yourself into the biblical situation as an active participant. What would I say? How do I feel? Read through the passage several times, emphasizing a different word each time. Rephrase the passage in your own words to personalize it. Write out an application that is personal, practical, and possible. Ask yourself, Does this application help me become more like Jesus?
Research tools:
Concordance: This is a complete alphabetical listing of all the words in the Bible. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance or Young's Analytical Concordance are two popular editions. You can look up a key word and find the passage that you want, and even others that expand on it. A concordance can be very helpful in clarifying word meanings as you look them up in their various contexts.
Commentaries: These are collections of explanatory notes on and interpretations of the text of a book or section of the Bible. They explore the meaning of the biblical message by analyzing words used, grammar and syntax, and a passage's relation to the rest of the Bible. The New Bible Commentary, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Halley's Bible Handbook, and NIV Bible Commentary are popular. Commentaries are designed to expand on biblical passages through original language study, historical information, context, and in-depth review by scholars with various viewpoints and biases.
Study Bibles: These Bibles are designed to help you dig deeper into the text. They give background notes, a brief running commentary, maps, etc. Some popular editions are The Reformation Study Bible and the NIV Study Bible.
Lexicons: These are linguistic tools that help define word meanings and vocabulary. Even if you do not know the original Greek or Hebrew, these tools will help you understand word meanings and grammatical structure. Some give additional information about "morphological" variations, and some even provide references for where and how the words are used in other ancient literature.
Bible Dictionaries and Encyclopedias: These help explain many of the Bible's words, topics, customs, geography, etc. They often work just like a standard dictionary or encyclopedia, except that all the words and topics are found in Scripture. They can be great tools for finding more information so you can understand what is being said or what is going on in the biblical text. Titles such as The IVP Dictionary of the New Testament, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, and New Bible Dictionary are good. Some dictionaries go in-depth, providing more than just a general understanding of major theological points; these include Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Colin Brown, Ed., (Regency Reference Library, Zondervan) and Evangelical Dictionary of Theology.
