Bible Study Resources

On Sunday at CBC we were talking about being biblical - and one of the things I said was that none of the Bible was written with us in mind. So when Paul was writing the letter to the Galatians he was not thinking about the Christians at CBC. 

And I specifically mentioned a verse that is often quoted, Jeremiah 29:11, "for I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future". Maybe I should say I mentioned a verse that is often misquoted - because Jeremiah wrote these words to the exiles in Babylon - not to the Christians at CBC.

My point was not that none of the Bible was written to us and therefore it doesn't apply or isn't relevant. 

Part of what it means to be biblical is that we believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, that it is a living word, and that it is relevant and speaks today through the Holy Spirit.

My point was that therefore we always need to go through a process of interpretation. That's obvious when we read a verse where it is clear that the biblical context is far removed from our context - say, a verse in Leviticus about not wearing clothes made from two types of material. But it is not always so obvious when we read a verse like Jeremiah 29:11. 

There are two main stages in this process of interpretation.

The first is to work out the meaning of the text in its original context - what did it mean then. The technical term for this stage in the process is 'exegesis'.

Once that's done we then ask God to show us how that applies in our situation - what does it mean now. This part of the process is called 'hermeneutics'.

On Sunday I mentioned some additional resources that can help us with the first part of this process. This first part in this process involves knowing something about the historical context about when a passage was written. We need to know something about the literary context - part of this involves reading more than just one verse - but unless you know Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic you are probably going to need some help here too. And then we're going to need some help understanding unfamiliar words.

Alongside the Holy Spirit and prayer, a good friend or home group and a good Bible translation the following are useful resources.

A Study Bible


A good study Bible is a great place to start because alongside the Bible text you will find helpful notes that will give you a brief insight into relevant issues. Lots of study Bibles are available - I currently use the NIV Life Application Study Bible and the NIV Study Bible.

The advantage with a Study Bible is that you only need to purchase one book and everything is contained in that one volume. This saves both space and money.

One of the disadvantages is that the notes are necessarily short and brief. Another danger is that because the notes are right there on the page we go straight to someone else's notes rather than prayerfully reflecting on the text itself and listening to God.

Of course many of these resources are available online or can be purchased via various apps and computer programs. 

For a number of years now I have used Olive Tree Bible Software. I have this on my laptop, iPad and phone which means I can have a whole library in my pocket. Another great advantage of using this kind of software is that it quickly links a whole range of resources together around a particular verse or passage.


A Commentary

The second resource that I mentioned was a commentary. A commentary is basically a book where someone else writes about the interpretive process. So it will tell you about the historical context. The linguistic issues. The literary context. Difficult words. Many commentaries will also make an attempt at application.

There are hundreds and hundreds of different commentaries to choose from - but a single volume commentary is a good place to start - this deals with the whole Bible in one book but in a bit more detail than the Study Bible.

I use the IVP New Bible Commentary and also the Africa Bible Commentary - which is written from an African perspective for an African audience and provides some value insights that get missed when we read from a purely white, western perspective.

You might decide, maybe because you're preaching on a particular book of the Bible, that you need more information than can be provided in a single volume commentary. This is when you start to turn to specific commentaries - a whole commentary written about one book of the Bible. You won't be surprised to discover that once again there are a whole variety to choose from. I tend to use commentaries from the NIV Application Commentary series and the BST (Bible Speaks Today) series.

A Bible Dictionary

A Bible dictionary will help you with those words that you don't understand, but will also contain information about the people and places that you read about in the Bible. The main dictionary that I regularly use is the IVP New Bible Dictionary.

Obviously, there is a whole range of resources and some of them are quite expensive. So if you want to borrow or have a look at some of them just let me know.

Being biblical

This week I'm re-blogging some slightly edited 'cut and paste' posts that I've written in the past - to expand on some of the things we glossed over on Sunday when we were thinking about what it means to be biblical.

Broadly speaking, when we talk about what it means to be biblical, I guess most of us mean that we believe the Bible and that what we do is governed by what we read in the Bible. The trouble is is that it's not quite as simple as that. We don't do everything that's written in the Bible. 

There are parts of the Old Testament that we would say are cultural and therefore do not apply to us any longer - the question then becomes: how do you decide which bits apply and which bits don't and on what basis do you make that call?

So for example, there will be those who say that it is wrong for a Christian to have a tattoo - and they would base this on Leviticus 19:28. But these same people are happy to ignore another verse earlier in the same chapter verse 19 by wearing clothes that are made of mixed fibres.

And things are not always any easier in the New Testament. Here at CBC we have women in leadership, we have women preachers. Within the Baptist Union we have women ministers. The General Secretary of the Baptist Union is currently a woman. And yet doesn't Paul quite clearly say that this should not be the case in places like 1 Corinthians 14:34?

So what do we mean when we say that we are biblical?

Firstly we recognise that the Bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and within its pages we read the story of God and his interaction with men and women throughout history. Therefore when we read the Bible we discover God and find out what God is like.

And although the Bible is divided into two main parts, as well as containing lots of smaller books, it contains one overarching story - and therefore all those smaller parts have to be read and understood within the context of the single overarching story.

At the heart of this story we find Jesus - and the events of the first Easter - the cross and the empty grave. And therefore we learn to read the rest of the story from the perspective of the cross and the empty grave - but also bearing in mind that this story has a beginning and it has an end.

We also appreciate that the times in which we now live are very different to the times when the Bible was written - and therefore all of the Bible is cultural (and not just bits about tattoos or wearing clothes made of two kinds of fibre). And therefore it is never simply the case that we do something because it is written in the Bible.

So when we read the Bible we need to understand first of all what it was saying then - and then ask God to help us answer the question, "if that's what it said then - what is it saying to me now?" So - why is it that Israel were not allowed tattoos? Is it something to do with the practices of the nations around them? And if so why did they have to be different? Are there any similar issues that apply today (which may or may not have anything to do with tattoos)?

Because the Bible is the story of God it is important that we read it. Not just in church on a Sunday but daily - asking God to speak to us as we do so. This is not always easy and there are all kinds of things that can easily get in the way of this discipline.

 


Last year I read through the Bible following the Read Scripture plan from the great people at the Join the Bible Project. One of the great things about this scheme is that at the beginning of every new book, and at various other points along the way they have short (7-8 minute) videos that help explain the book, and provide pointers in understanding what you're reading. You can find out more by visiting their website here.

If you're looking for a book to help you understand and read the Bible I'd highly recommend these two:

How to read the Bible for all its worth and How to read the Bible book by book.

Choosing the right Bible

Today at CBC we looked at the whole question of what we mean when we say that we are biblical. I appreciate that we skimmed a whole load of material with barely a mention - but some of these subjects I have blogged about before. So hopefully over the next few days I will have some time to re-blog and provide a bit more detail to a few of those bullet points.

One of the things I mentioned on Sunday was the need for a good Bible translation - but didn't go into any detail. I most recently blogged on this subject in December. What follows is largely (but not exclusively) a cut and paste from that article. 

If you want to know a lot more on the subject of choosing a good Bible translation my go to book on this topic is 'How to read the Bible for all its worth' by Fee and Stuart - particularly chapter 2. 

Unless you can read Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic then you're going to need a Bible translated into a language you can read. When it comes to English Bibles there are lots to choose from - so which one is best?

Well, the answer to that question very much depends on what you want it for.

You might think that a literal, 'word for word' translation would be best. But if you've studied another language you will be aware that sentence structure and word order are not always the same as they are in English. Also, words do not always translate simply into another word. And figures of speech that were commonplace and understood in First Century Jerusalem simply make no sense to us today. So whilst such a translation might be faithful to the literal text it may be difficult to read (particularly out loud) and hard to understand.

Another approach taken to Bible translation is therefore 'thought for thought' rather than 'word for word'. This approach looks to communicate the meaning of the original but is not restricted to use the original words. These versions are often easier to read and understand, but sometimes mean that we miss links (such as the use of 'eye' in Judges 13:1 and 14:3).

(Sometimes 'word for word' and 'thought for thought' are called 'formal equivalence' and 'dynamic equivalence' respectively.)

At the opposite end of the spectrum to 'word for word' is the paraphrase. This is very much about telling the overarching story and takes 'thought for thought' to the extreme in that there is very little evidence of the original words or sentence structure in the text. You see this, for example, in the Message, where it is not possible to include verse numbers in the text because the meaning is communicated over a paragraph.

There are many different Bible translations in the English language and they will all fall somewhere on this spectrum. You'll find many charts and diagrams on the internet - here's one from the Olive Tree Blog.

The Bible that a person may choose is often a matter a personal preference and one that you grew up with. Personally, I use the NIV as my 'everyday' Bible. 

But when it comes to Bible study - whether this is personal study (as opposed to devotional daily reading), or preparation for a Bible Study or sermon - it is good to use more than one version - each from a different part of the spectrum. 

These days, computer Bible software makes this approach even easier, being able to carry around several Bibles in your pocket, on your phone. This is a screen shot from my iPad on which I use Olive Tree Bible Software making it very easy to switch between and compare versions of the same passage - as well as having easy access to study notes and commentaries.

Another helpful resource is the website Biblegateway which allows you to choose your verse and version and takes you straight there.

Again, which Bibles you actually end up with will often be a matter of personal preference.

When it comes to Bible study, I tend to use the ESV from the more literal end of the spectrum, the NRSV and the NIV from nearer the middle, and the Good News or Message from the paraphrase end.

I hope that helps shed a little light on why there are so many different versions and which ones to use when.