BIBLE STUDY TECHNIQUES

THE BIBLE

The Bible is from Koine Greek τὰ βιβλία, tà biblía, which means "the books". It means a collection of sacred texts or scriptures that Jews and Christians consider to be a product of divine inspiration and a record of the relationship between God and humans.

There was nothing like the bible as a whole, the word of God was in parchments, scrolls and script. The bringing together of these parchments formed the bible.

The Catholic Bible is composed of the 46 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament.

Old Testament

• Pentateuch : Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
• Historical books : Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees
• Sapiential books (Wisdom Literature): Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Wisdom, Sirach
• Prophetic books : Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

New Testament

• The Gospels : Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
• Historical book : Acts
• Pauline Epistles : Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews
• General Epistles : James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude
• Revelation

In the Catholic Bible, all scriptures are referred to as the Canon of the scriptures except for the Deuterocanonical Books which include; Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, parts of Esther and parts of Daniel. These books are usually not found in other bibbles but are sometimes included in a separate inter-testamental section called the "Apocrypha". So, other bibles have 39 Books in the Old Testament and 27 Books in the New Testament.

NB: The canon of Scripture refers to the books that are considered the authoritative Word of God. One of the terms used in describing the books that belong in Scripture is the word canon. This comes from the Greek word kanon, meaning reed or measurement. A canonical book is one that measures up to the standard of Holy Scripture.

In its fullest comprehension it signifies the authoritative list or closed number of the writings composed under Divine inspiration, and destined for the well-being of the Church, using the latter word in the wide sense of the theocratic society which began with God's revelation of Himself to the people of Israel, and which finds its ripe development and completion in the Catholic organism. The whole Biblical Canon therefore consists of the canons of the Old and New Testaments. The Greek kanon means primarily a reed, or measuring-rod; by a natural figure it was employed by ancient writers both profane and religious to denote a rule or standard.

The deuterocanonical (deuteros, "second") are those whose Scriptural character was contested in some quarters, but which long ago gained a secure footing in the Bible of the Catholic Church, though those of the O. T. are classed by Protestants as the "Apocrypha". These consist of seven books: Tobias, Judith, Baruch, Ecclesiasticus, Wisdom, First and Second Machabees; also certain additions to Esther and Daniel.

There are many different ways to read and study the Bible. You don’t have to do just one type of study; however, if you are new to reading or studying the Bible you should probably focus on one at a time. As you get more involved in Bible study you may find that as you are doing one type of study another will naturally grow out of it.

Here are 5 Bible study methods you can use

Read

Before you can feel comfortable with deep and advanced Bible study methods, you should first start reading your Bible regularly. Read it like you would other books—from cover to cover. Don’t just randomly jump into the pages of the Bible without regard for how it all fits together. You will have an almost impossible time understanding of Hebrews without having a basic knowledge of the Old Testament law. Take time to read the Bible linearly (straight through).

Another way to read the Bible is to do a chronological reading. This is where you read the Bible based on how the events occur in a historical time-line. As you may know, there are many books that overlap in their histories. Finding a chrono-logical reading program will show you which chapters or verses to read at a time to get a more accurate chronology of biblical events. Whichever method you choose, reading the Bible as a whole book is helpful in understanding more detailed studies.

Book Studies

When you become interested in a certain book you can study it in-depth. The best way to start a book study is to find an overview of the book to give you a general idea of the outline and contents of the material. If you have a study Bible these book overviews can be found at the beginning of the book in your Bible

Book summaries will tell you who the author was and when the book was written. They will also tell you the general themes covered in each book with a quick overview of the stories. From this summary you are ready to study the book in detail. Keep a notebook (either physical or digital) of the things you learn and it will help you the next time you are reading through the book.

Chapter Studies

Many chapters in the Bible have great meaning. Some are critical passages to help unlock truths in other chapters of the book, or other books of the Bible. For example, Paul spends a great deal of time explaining how to live a proper Christian life in 1 Corinthians. Yet the principles of love need to be understood so that you can properly apply the concepts found in the rest of the book. You find that when you study the 13^th chapter. It is well to take a whole book and study the chapters in their order. The Acts of the Apostles (or the Gospel of John) is a good book to begin with. In time one may take up every chapter in the Bible, but it would not be wise to begin with Genesis. Read the chapter for to-day's study five times. It is well to read it aloud at least once. The writer sees many things when he reads the Bible aloud that he does not see when he reads silently. Each new reading will bring out some new point.

Divide the chapters into their natural divisions and find headings for them that describe in the most striking way their contents. For example, suppose the chapter studied is 1 John 5. You might divide in this way: 1st Division: verses 1-3; The Believer's Noble Parentage. 2nd Division: verses 4, 5; The Believer's Glorious Victory. 3rd Division: verses 6-10;  The Believer's Sure Ground of Faith. 4th Div: verses 11, 12; The Believer's Priceless Possession. 5th Div: verse 13; The Believer's Blessed Assurance. 6th Div: verses 14, 15; The Believer's Unquestioning Confidence. 7th Div: verses 16, 17; The Believer's Great Power and Responsibility. 8th Div: verses 18, 19; The Believer's Perfect Security. 9th Div: verse 20; The Believer's Precious Knowledge. 10th Div: verse 21; The Believer's Constant Duty.

To do a proper chapter study you need to understand the chapter in context. Don’t pull a chapter out of a book and try to interpret it without the context with which it was intended. A good concordance or topical Bible can help you find other verses related to the chapter you are studying.

Biographical or Character Studies

Studying the life of a person in the Bible can be rewarding and enlightening. Many Bible characters will show up in only one book; but there are some who span multiple books or are referenced many times in the Scriptures. Verses containing Moses in the book of Hebrews give more insight into his character than what you get when only reading the Exodus story of his life.

When doing a search for a person in the Bible, remember that sometimes their name may be spelled differently in the New Testament than it was in the Old Testament. This is due to Hebrew and Greek having different versions of the same name. An example is Elijah in the Old Testament being the same name as Elias in the New. Did you know that the name Jacob and James are the same root names? One is Hebrew and the other Greek.

Topical Studies

Another fun study is to find a topic and follow it through the Bible. This can be based on a single word or teaching. Again, a good study Bible or concordance will help here. There are even topical Bibles that do much of the work for you. Sometimes they are called topical Bibles, but they are also known as reference Bibles.

Pick your topic and then find all the verses you can related to it. Make sure you study the verses in context. This may mean reading a verse or two before and after the verse you are studying. Or you may need to spend time understanding whole chapters and books to understand the meaning of a single verse.

Keep Notes

Whichever Bible study method you employ, remember to write down what you learn. You will benefit personally from looking over your notes as you pass through certain books and chapters in your future reading time. These notes can help as you teach others what you are learning

THE APPROPRIATION OF BIBLE STUDY

People must be motivated before they will study a subject. Christians have all the reasons they could possibly need to study the Bible. Consider a few. As you do, note the emphasis on regular, frequent study.

1: Study so you can obey God and grow in His service.

Joshua 1:8 - Success in pleasing God requires obedience. To obey, we must meditate on God's word day and night. Frequent, regular study is required.

1 Peter 2:2 - Can a baby grow without nourishment? No. And neither can Christians grow without Bible study. Do we long for the word like a baby longs for milk if we neglect to attend assemblies or to study at home?

(See also 2 Tim. 2:15; Rom. 10:17; Matt. 4:4; John 6:44,45; 2 Peter 1:12-15.)

2: Study so you can avoid error and false teaching.

Hosea 4:6 - God's people were destroyed for lack of knowledge. Many Christians and congregations have been led astray by error and false teaching. To avoid this we must put teachers to the test (1 John 4:1, 6). How do we do this unless we know God's word (Gal. 1:8,9)?

Acts 17:11 - The Bereans distinguished truth from error because they studied the word. To imitate their example, we must study "daily."
(See also Matt. 22:29; 15:14; Prov. 2:1-20; Rom. 10:1-3.)

3: Study so you can teach others.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 - Parents should teach their children diligently through the day. This requires us to first have God's word in our own hearts. How can we teach what we do not know?

Hebrews 5:12 - The time comes when we ought to be teachers, but these had not studied so they needed others to teach them! There is no excuse for Christians who do not study. Teachers know they need to study. If you are not a teacher, you must study to prepare yourself to become a teacher!
(See also 2 Tim. 2:2; 1 Tim. 1:7; 1 Peter 3:15; Col. 3:16; Rom. 15:14.)

4: Study to express love for God and His word.

Psalm 1:2; 119:47,48,97-99 - One who delights in God's word will meditate on it day and night. The time we spend thinking about God's word indicates how much we love Him. Those who truly love Him will not complain about "having to go" to worship services or prepare for Bible classes. (See Psalm 19:7-11.)

John 14:15 - If we love God, we keep His commands (cf. 1 John 5:3). But obedience requires knowledge. So, one who loves God must study His word.
If we studied all subjects as negligently as some people study the Bible, we would surely be ignorant people. On the other hand, if we would study the Bible as diligently as some people study about sports, hobbies, etc., we would all be excellent Bible students. How much more important is it to understand the Bible than to understand secular subjects?

Prayer:
Lord, help me to give dedication to daily bible study and meditation; help me to appropriate it in every area of my life in the NAME OF JESUS. Amen!!!